Why Is Your Dog Vomiting
📝 Summary
Dog vomiting has many causes: dietary indiscretion, gastroenteritis (bacterial, viral, toxic), gut blockage, esophageal obstruction, bloat, megaesophagus, pyloric stenosis, stomach foreign bodies, and roundworms. Persistent or severe vomiting needs a vet, especially with blood, lethargy, or bloat.
1 Causes of sudden (acute) vomiting
Dietary: eating too much, a sudden food change, irritating or allergic food, or ingesting a toxin. Gastroenteritis: bacterial (E. coli, Campylobacter, leptospira), viral (distemper, parvovirus, coronavirus), or toxic (lead, organophosphate, drug poisoning). Blockage: a foreign object such as a stone, film, or cloth, or a twist, mass, or intussusception that closes the gut. Esophageal obstruction: something stuck or a narrowed esophagus that stops food reaching the stomach. And gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat), which triggers vomiting reflexively.
2 Causes of persistent vomiting
Megaesophagus: vomiting soon after eating, with a pouch-like bulge at the chest, mainly in puppies. Pyloric stenosis: smooth-muscle spasm blocks stomach emptying and reflexively causes vomiting. Stomach foreign bodies: irritation of the stomach wall. Roundworms: when worms lodge in the stomach, a dog may even vomit them. Other causes include partial gut obstruction, gastritis, esophageal ulcers, and gastroesophageal issues.
3 When to get help
Because vomiting spans everything from a mild tummy upset to a surgical emergency, watch for blood, lethargy, continuous retching, a swollen belly, or suspected toxin intake. Any of these, or vomiting that will not stop, warrants prompt veterinary care.
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