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Vomiting

What to do if a dog starts vomiting?

Purpose

Vomiting is common enough in dogs that a single mild episode isn't automatically an emergency. Knowing what mild looks like, and staying alert for what isn't, is the job. This SOP walks through the observe-and-care steps and the signs that mean it's time for the vet.

At a Glance

  • Isolated vomiting can come from stress, a change in diet, ingesting plants or bugs, or eating too quickly. The vomit may be white or yellow bile, digested, or undigested food.
  • Give the manager or lead a heads-up the moment a dog vomits, and log what you saw, photo included, under the dog's medical notes.
  • Examine the vomit for blood or foreign objects before treating it as mild.
  • Withhold food for 24 hours to let the stomach settle, but check with the veterinarian first for young puppies.
  • Keep fresh water available and offer a bland diet, and keep monitoring until the episode has clearly ended.
  • Repeated vomiting, projectile vomiting, blood, or foreign objects in the vomit are signs of something more serious. See In-Person Vet Appointments for how that visit is handled.

Steps

  1. Give the manager or lead on shift a heads-up, and log the vomiting in our kennel system with a picture under the dog's medical notes.
  2. Examine the vomit for blood or foreign objects to be certain it's mild in nature.
  3. Withhold food for 24 hours to allow the stomach to settle down. For young puppies, withholding food may not be an option, so check with the veterinarian based on the pet's age, size, and breed.
  4. Provide plenty of fresh water.
  5. Provide a bland diet.
  6. Monitor closely to ensure the episode or episodes of vomiting have ended.
  7. Take the dog to the vet if it vomits multiple times, has projectile vomiting, you find blood (red blood or dark, coffee-ground-looking content, which is dried blood), or foreign objects such as strings, bones, or evidence of toys in the vomit. These are signs of a potentially serious condition.

Edge Cases

  • Young puppies are the one group where withholding food for the full 24 hours may not be appropriate. Check with the veterinarian based on the pet's age, size, and breed before withholding.
  • Blood in the vomit isn't always bright red. Dark, coffee-ground-looking content is dried blood and counts the same as fresh blood for escalating to the vet.
  • Unproductive vomiting is also a symptom of bloat, a life-threatening emergency. See Bloat if the dog is also showing distress, restlessness, or a distended, hard abdomen.

Who to Ask

If you're not sure whether the vomit counts as mild, or the dog vomits again after the first episode, flag it for the manager on duty rather than continuing to wait it out.

How often should staff monitor a dog after a vomiting episode?

Keep watching until you're sure the episode or episodes have ended, with fresh water and a bland diet in the meantime. There's no fixed check-in interval past that; a second episode, projectile vomiting, blood, or foreign material in the vomit means the monitoring stops and a vet visit starts.