A dog getting sick can be a stressful time for pet parents. There may be a simple cause you can manage at home, or more clinical pet health issues requiring veterinary care.

It’s a sound every dog owner knows well: a wet hacking sound that may start with a slight cough but can turn into a mess on the floor that requires cleanup.

Dogs getting sick isn’t uncommon. The mystery usually centers on figuring out why they got sick.

For pet parents, this can mean playing detective to figure out whether your dog ate too much grass, if their kibble might be bad, or if there’s a more serious pet health issue at play. That may mean determining whether it’s a passive, protective response to undigested food or an irritated stomach, or a clinical issue that might require veterinary care.

Here’s the science: When a dog vomits, signals from the gastrointestinal tract or the bloodstream reach the brain. If there are any toxins detected in the body, that triggers forced expulsion, whether it’s from a piece of moldy bread or a more serious health or organ issue.

Owners may also keep in mind key distinctions in a dog’s type of issue. Vomiting is an active process and usually involves retching or an abdominal effort. Regurgitation is a passive process that often occurs soon after eating, though it can sometimes happen hours after a meal.

Beyond the obvious pile or puddle on the floor, keep an eye out for these other symptoms:

  • Drooling or lip-licking: Symptoms of nausea or hypersalivation may include excessive drooling or constant lip-licking.
  • Lethargy: If your dog isn’t bouncing back after vomiting.
  • Heaving without vomit: A retching sound without any vomit can be a sign of Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (GDV), a life threatening emergency known as bloat.
  • Diarrhea: This can be a sign of another digestive or health issue.
  • Blood: Bright red streaks or vomit that is digested blood and looks like coffee grounds.

Yellow foam type vomit

If your dog vomits yellow, foam-like bile specifically in the morning, it could indicate Bilious Vomiting Syndrome. This occurs when the stomach is empty for too long, allowing bile to reflux back into the stomach and irritate its lining.

This one may have a simple fix: a small late-night snack.

Dogs are effectively vacuum cleaners with fur, which makes diagnosing the cause a bit of a challenge. There may be simple causes or more systemic clinical pet health issues to diagnose and treat. Here is a look at some possible causes:

  • Eating: This could be their regular food or treats, or leftovers from the foods you eat. Your pet may also consume non-food items, such as socks, toy stuffing, or floor rugs.
  • Obstruction: This may stem from something they ate above, which could be a type of “foreign body” that gets stuck in their intestines.
  • Infections: This may involve bacterial or viral infections, ranging from Salmonella to Parvovirus, as well as intestinal parasites.
  • Chronic health conditions: Any number of metabolic disorders, such as diabetes or Addison’s disease, could also be a factor. This can include symptoms such as chronic vomiting.
  • Psychological causes: Some research points to possible mental-related stressors for chronic dog vomiting, including sleep cycles or other anxiety-related issues.
  • Systemic issues: Kidney or liver failure, pancreatitis, or heatstroke.

If your dog vomits once and shows no other behavioral or lifestyle changes, you can usually monitor them at home. Vomiting may occur only once and may not require an immediate vet call or visit. But if that continues into a second day or beyond, that may warrant veterinary attention.

However, follow these steps to manage the situation:

  1. Change their eating times: Remove food for 6 to 12 hours to let their digestive system settle. (Note: Fasting may be different and require vet consultation for any puppies or toy breeds, or dogs with chronic health conditions like diabetes.)
  2. Keep them watered: Offer small, frequent amounts of water in their bowl. Do not let them gulp a full bowl of water at once, though, as this may trigger another round of vomiting.
  3. Bland food: Regular kibble or food may be tough on their stomach post-vomiting. Gradually introduce a 2:1 ratio of boiled white rice to lean protein, such as boiled chicken. Extra-lean ground beef may still be too fatty for dogs with an upset stomach, especially those with pancreatitis. Chicken and rice should only be offered in place of commercial dog food for up to 3 days, before returning to the traditional dog food.
  4. Seek vet care: Contact your vet’s office immediately if your dog continues vomiting for more than 24 hours, if there is blood, or if the dog seems in pain or tucked up. More immediate vet care is advised for puppies, toy breeds, those with diabetes or known endocrine disease, and dogs with suspected foreign object ingestion.

Photograph the vomit

If you have to contact the vet, make sure you have all the information they might need to properly diagnose your dog’s health concern. This could mean snapping a photo of the vomit. Sure, it sounds gross. But since cleanup is likely already underway, this can be a helpful way to share important clues (such as color and consistency) for the vet to evaluate based on their expertise.

Knowing what to do if your dog vomits can be a stressful and uncertain situation. While there may be simple, non-serious causes that can be monitored and managed at home, dog vomiting could be tied to more serious clinical health issues needing a veterinarian’s care.

Understanding the symptoms is a part of the process in diagnosing the issue, along with taking proper steps to recognize more serious issues that could be at play.