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It’s not out-of-the-ordinary for dogs to experience nausea. Rest assured, having a queasy canine is quite common.
And, just like with humans, there are many different reasons why animals become nauseous.
It could be that your dog needs to vomit to rid themselves of whatever is ailing them. Such a situation will typically subside on its own — though you must be proactive if something toxic may have been ingested.
Another common culprit is travel which can be super stressful for pets. Yup! Motion sickness is disruptive for many dogs.
The good news is you can usually manage a bout of nausea. With the right approach, vomiting and uneasiness can be prevented.
There Are Many Treatments For a Nauseous Dog
Bismuth subsalicylate can be used for stubborn cases, but keep reading to learn more…
Calming That Canine
The best approach, if possible, for handling your dog’s nausea is to simply calm them. The source of uneasiness should be addressed which, admittedly, it is much easier said than done!
Ultimately it may be necessary to involve a dog behaviorist.
One thing’s for sure:
Striving to calm your canine is key because stress and anxiety are likely contributing to feelings of nausea.
Are you looking for a simple solution?
Many owners have luck with certain products that are designed for this very purpose. For example, anxiety relief calming soft chews can be given prior to travel or for unfamiliar situations.
3 Drugs And Dog Dosing
Also look into dimenhydrinate as well as Rescue Remedy.
As mentioned above, Pepto Bismol is probably the most popular name that dog owners utilize for reducing nausea.
As with all drugs, body weight is a major factor in determining how much to provide. For Pepto, in order to curb nausea or upset stomach, one teaspoon per 15 pounds or one tablet per 40 pounds is usually sufficient.
FYI: It’s relatively difficult to determine dosage for puppies as well as smaller breeds. Be very cautious and conservative. You really should consult with a vet!
Fast Fido Before a Trip
Often times you can avoid the need for an antiemetic by restricting your dog’s food. This is a time-tested method for reducing nausea and/or motion sickness.
You never want your dog to go on a trip with a full stomach!
It’s smart to withhold solids for at least 12 hours prior to travel. In fact, full on fasting your dog may work best for alleviating (even fully preventing) feelings of nausea.
Caution: Keep a watchful eye for signs of a dehydrated dog when using this technique. Be sure to provide plenty of fresh water.
Dangerous Dehydration
Speaking of dehydration, nauseated dogs (puppies included) are very susceptible and severe vomiting may bring it on quickly.
It cannot be stressed enough:
Water must be regularly consumed to avoid a worsening of the situation.
You can test for dehydration by pulling up the skin between the shoulder blades. The dog is likely fine if it bounces back with ease, but it’s concerning if the skin takes a few seconds to return.
Warning: Your dog could take a turn for the worse if vomiting continues (especially if they won’t drink or cannot keep water down). If so, get them to the vet ASAP.
Crating And Frequent Stops
A practical way to prevent pet nausea is to crate them. Dogs tend to feel more secure when they are enclosed during travel.
Frequent stops will serve as a stress reducer, reducing the chances of more nausea. For more common sense tips check out this video.
Dogs With Low Glucose
Is your dog frequently nauseated?
They could have hypoglycemia which is basically low blood sugar.
Hypoglycemia symptoms include lethargy, shivering and weakness in addition to nausea. This is something to consider and discuss with your veterinarian.
The Bottom Line
First try to help your dog with nausea by using stress reduction methods and relatively safe remedies rather than potentially harmful pharmaceuticals.
Calming chews and crating are good options. Perhaps even more effective is withholding food from your dog prior to travel.
Play it safe and let a vet handle any serious issues.
If going it alone understand that motion sickness, prolonged nausea and vomiting can make your dog more prone to dehydration.
This is for anyone who wondered about a good post-barf diet. We have a Boston Terrier who has had a bout of pancreatitis, and his go-to food, along with other dogs we have who have been sick, is the following:
Steam one to one-and-a-half cups Calrose rice (the outcome will be over two cups)
Steam four to six peeled carrots
Bake or steam three boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Chop finely a large bunch of fresh parsley
Add all of this with some unsalted broth to a food processor and hit pulse, in batches, until the entire mixture is very well mixed. Add water if you need to.
This mixture is very good for a dog who needs a bland diet for a while. We use it frequently. It can freeze in batches if you wrap it well or make sure no air is in the containers.
We also have found that giving a bit of Pedialyte with honey in it greatly reduces nausea. Just a bit every hour or so. This also helps small dogs, as they are particularly susceptible to plummeting blood sugar, which also makes nausea worse.
My Jack Russell Terrier caught and ate a dove this morning. Since then she’s been throwing up lots of slime and doesn’t want to eat. She drinks lots of water and luckily that stays down. But she’s moaning and we don’t know what to do to help her. It breaks our heart to see her so down and sick. Any advise?
I would suggest making boiled hamburger and white rice. Try to coax her to eat it. If she wont, try a chicken or turkey baby food. If she won’t eat either of those, I would give her an anti-acid stomach pill. My vet told me to give my 10 pound Shih-Poo half of one when he was very nauseous. If it continues for more than days you need to take your pooch to the vet!
My miniature Poodle has been throwing up since last night and it continues today. She threw up her food that she just ate. Should I be concerned?
My dog, a 10 year old Lab, has been in and out of the hospital over the last 2 weeks. She’s had all the tests including blood, liver, stool, Barium test and Ultrasounds. I also had her stomach pumped. She’s now on bland food and 4 different meds, down from 6. But today, and $4,000 later, she’s still acting ill and walks around with her nose in the snow. She didn’t eat anything bad and all tests look normal. What can this be? Nobody knows!
Denise, can you tell me what has happened with your Lab? Our Rottweiler/Lab mix has been sick for two weeks with nausea and vomiting. I’m very curious to find out if you know what was wrong with your dog.
Has your dog been tested for Ehrlichia? This is transmitted by ticks. Using Frontline, or something similar, doesn’t fully stop the ticks since they still bite before they die.
My 8 year old Lab was diagnosed with this last weekend and the meds that he was put on cause nausea/vomiting. Why do they give them stuff that makes them sicker?
I have a 4 month old sick Chihuahua. He’s been throwing up periodically. I can’t figure out what he could have gotten a hold of or what could be making him sick. Does anyone have any advice regarding what I should do? He will throw up, seem sick, and then sleep a few hours waking up fine. I just can’t figure out what could cause it or what I should do for him when he gets sick. Any advice or help would be very much appreciated.
Try feeding him a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for a few days. Also, make sure that he gets plenty of water.
My Chihuahuas were diagnosed with high liver enzymes when they had bouts of throwing up. I give them chicken baby food and rice as they can tolerate it.
Has your doctor done x-rays? I don’t want to scare you. My dog was acting the same and I took her to vet. Exam and blood work was normal so they took x-rays and she had a large mass in her stomach. She had to have her spleen removed and a mass on her liver as well. She has cancer and we are waiting to learn the type, so we know how or if treatment is an option.
My Shih Tzu is five years old. She has a cough and tried to vomit but didn’t. This happened after she ate. Should I be worried?
I have two Chihuahua Pomeranian mix dogs. One is three years old, the other is almost two years old. They have both been throwing up a lot lately. It seems to only happen after eating or drinking a lot and afterwards running around. I’m getting worried. What should I do?
I would feed them in their kennel. Once they have had a chance to digest for a while, let them out. Maybe start with 30 minutes and work up longer until they either digest before they run around or understand they need to relax before they play after a meal.
My puppy is 7 months old and is throwing up yellow water. Should I be concerned? He has thrown up three times this morning.
Yellow water means an empty stomach. The bile that the body produces to aid digestion is bright yellow. Your puppy may have eaten something that he should not have, or something that his body just cannot digest. Make sure he has plenty of fresh water and that you keep the floors and any reachable areas free of anything of concern. My puppy would even eat the cans that our cat food came in. I would step on quarter-sized shrapnel and had to figure out what it was.
Anyone small, puppies and children included, can become dehydrated quickly with vomiting or diarrhea. Therefore, they should be given medical attention if this continues beyond 24 hours.
My dog is throwing up and shivering. Is there anything I can give her over-the-counter? She weighs 16 pounds.
Try homeopathic Nux Vomica 6C, 1 pellet, 4 times per day.