Digestive upsets are the most common reason dogs are seen out of hours, and most of them did not need to be. The useful skill is knowing which situation you have within the first hour.
The emergency list
Stop reading and telephone a vet if you see any of these.
- Unproductive retching with a hard, swollen abdomen and restlessness, particularly in a deep-chested breed. This is the picture of gastric torsion and the clock is measured in hours
- Blood, fresh in the vomit or stools, or black tarry stools
- Repeated vomiting that continues beyond a few hours, or vomiting with no interest in water
- Lethargy, collapse, pale gums, a painful abdomen or a hunched posture
- A puppy, a very small dog, an elderly dog or a diabetic dog, which have no reserves
- A known or suspected foreign body, a corn cob, a stone, a toy, a sock, or anything toxic
Take a photograph of what came up and of the stools. It is unappealing and genuinely useful to the vet.
The home-care version
A single vomit or one episode of diarrhoea in a bright, well adult dog that is drinking normally can usually be managed at home for twenty-four hours.
- Water stays available at all times. Small amounts often, rather than a full bowl swallowed at once
- Rest the stomach briefly, typically a few hours rather than a full day, unless your vet says otherwise. Do not fast puppies, small breeds, elderly or diabetic dogs
- Small bland meals afterwards: what your vet recommends, or a plain, easily digested option, in several small portions
- Return to the normal food gradually over two or three days
- No treats, no chews, no scraps while the gut settles
- Keep the dog quiet, short lead outings only
Improvement should be visible within a day. If it is not, that is the appointment.
What not to do
Do not give human anti-diarrhoeal or anti-sickness medication: several are unsafe for dogs and some mask the very signs a vet needs. Do not withhold water. Do not assume a dog that vomited once and seems fine has definitely not swallowed something, particularly if it scavenges.
What to look at, in detail
Colour and content tell a vet a good deal. Yellow foam on an empty stomach, often first thing in the morning, is common and usually not sinister. Undigested food brought back minutes after eating points at speed of eating or at a problem higher up. Anything that looks like coffee grounds suggests digested blood, and that is a call.
In the stools, look at consistency, colour, frequency, and whether there is mucus or fresh blood. Frequent small amounts with straining points at the large intestine; large volumes of watery stool point at the small intestine. You do not need to interpret it, you only need to describe it accurately.
Dogs that need a lower threshold
Some dogs should be seen sooner rather than watched. Puppies and toy breeds, which dehydrate and drop their blood sugar quickly. Elderly dogs. Dogs with a chronic condition or on daily medication, particularly anti-inflammatories, where a digestive upset can be a warning sign. Diabetic dogs, where a missed meal after insulin is dangerous. And any dog that has had abdominal surgery recently.
For those, the twenty-four hour home plan does not apply: telephone the same day.
Why it happened
Most cases here are dietary: something picked up on a pavement, a sudden change of food, a rich treat, a raid on a bin. Others are infectious, parasitic, or, particularly in an anxious dog, stress-related. A dog with recurring episodes rather than one bad day needs a proper investigation rather than another bland-diet weekend.
Prevention is mostly management: a solid "leave it", a shorter lead past bins and terraces, a steady diet with slow transitions, parasite treatment on schedule, and not letting the dog drink from puddles and troughs.
Rehydration, and why it matters more than food
A dog loses fluid quickly through repeated vomiting or watery stools, and dehydration is what turns an unpleasant day into a veterinary problem. Check by lifting the skin over the shoulders: it should fall straight back. Dry, tacky gums and sunken-looking eyes are later signs.
Offer water constantly in small amounts. A dog that drinks a full bowl at once after vomiting usually brings it straight back, which then looks like deterioration. If your dog will not or cannot keep water down for several hours, that is the moment to call rather than to persist at home.
Recording it
Note the date, the time, what came up, whether the dog ate afterwards and what it had been doing that day. Three isolated incidents look like nothing; three incidents always on the day after a particular chew look like a cause.
If someone else walks your dog, ask them to report the stools and any vomiting the same day, with what the dog was seen to eat. That note is frequently how an owner discovers that the problem is a specific route rather than the food.
General information for dog owners in Luxembourg, not veterinary or legal advice. For your own dog, ask your vet, a qualified behaviourist or your commune. How this journal is written and checked.
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