by Bozena Hartley

Created on: March 31, 2010

Vomiting in puppies is quite common. Sometimes, it is not serious and your puppy can quickly recover on his own, but other times veterinary intervention may be required. It is important to know what might cause your puppy to vomit, what to do when your dog keeps vomiting, and how to recognize whether you have to rush to the vet immediately, or wait and see if the puppy gets better on his own.

Causes

There are three main reasons for puppies to throw up: they either ate something they shouldn't have, they are ill, or they have a sensitive stomach.

Puppies are very curious and might eat anything they come across, whether it is food or not. This curiosity combined with the need for chewing can result in your puppy ingesting something that he should not have.

Overeating on his own puppy food isn't generally a problem, but if you leave a plateful of ham and cheese sandwiches or a couple of pounds of meat anywhere in his vicinity, he will most likely eat all of it. Feeling very full, your puppy will probably become inactive for a while and might vomit. Vomiting in that case should make him feel better and won't have any lasting effects of his overall health. Afterwards, all he might need is some rest before becoming his usual happy self again.

Occasional eating of human food may not have any future repercussions unless it is contaminated, which could result in a bacterial infection. However, there are many human foods that are poisonous to dogs, such as onions, chocolate or avocados. Also, many houseplants and common household products are toxic to dogs. If your puppy ingests any of these, he may get sick and vomit, but it may also affect his overall health in the future. For example, onions (even in powdered form) are known to cause anemia in dogs. It is important to keep toxic substances away from your puppy and, if you realize he's ingested any of them, you should take him to the vet right away.

Puppies love to chew and play with anything they find and may swallow something that is not food at all, like shoe laces, buttons, small children's toys, etc. Many of such items are too large to pass through the puppy's intestinal system and may become stuck causing intestinal blockage. Intestinal blockage in dogs a serious issue that could lead to death if not treated. Your puppy will vomit and sometimes the item causing the blockage may come back. However, if your puppy cannot keep his food in, vomits unproductively, has diarrhea, is in pain and all around doesn't feel

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