Dogs, just like people, can face any kind of stomach disorder. What do you need to do in order to get rid of stomach disorder of your dog? Let's discuss it in detail.
Symptoms of Upset Stomach
Dogs get an upset stomach due to several reasons that can range from eating too fast to an obstruction in their intestines. Here are some of the most common symptoms of an upset tummy:
- Dry-heaving
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Gas
- Pain in the stomach area
- Biting
- Avoid eating
- Eating grass
- Bloating
- Being lethargic
- Fever
- Thirst
Any or all of these can cause problems. It's important to determine if stomach is upset merely from eating something that didn't agree with your dog's stomach or if it's something serious that must be treated immediately.
Causes of Upset Stomach
Most of the times, your dog comes down with a troublesome tummy. Dogs may be allergic to the food they are eating, eat too fast, or eat too much. It's also common for dogs to eat things they shouldn't like coins, string, balls, food wrappers, etc.
Stress is another issue that can cause a sensitive pet to get sick. Something like a trip to the vet's office can cause a nervous pooch can cause them stomach disorder. Or, your pet may be prone to getting carsick.
Any of these issues can cause stomach upset in your pet. A few more possible causes are:
- Changes made in a dog's diet
- Parasites like worms
- Stale food
- Injury to the stomach
Serious Stomach Issues
How can you know if your dog's stomach upset is something serious or life threatening? If your dog is throwing up and the vomit contains blood, then it may be something like an obstruction that must be dealt with as soon as possible to save your pet's life. If it has swallowed something like a ball, then it won't pass all the way through his intestines and if it isn't surgically removed, it will eventually cause infection or worse and your dog could die.
Additionally, if your dog ate something poisonous, it's a drastic measure to get it to the vet for treatment. Be sure to keep anything like insect poison, rat poison, etc out of your dog's reach.
There are also diseases or other medical conditions that cause upset stomachs that are very serious such as parvo, stomach ulcers, pancreatitis, or a twisted stomach. These things must be treated by your veterinarian quickly to help your pet.
Treatment for Upset Stomach in Dogs
If the cause of your dog's upset stomach is not something serious, your vet will probably tell you to rest your dog's stomach for 24 hours and don't feed him in order to let his stomach calm itself. But make sure he still has plenty of fresh clean water. Some dogs prefer ice chips when they don't feel good and this is also an alternative to ensure he is getting enough liquids while he is sick. You can even try something like Gator-aide to get some electrolytes back into his system.
After 24 hours, try feeding your dog something bland such as plain white rice mixed with plain cooked chicken, and if he doesn't throw up, then you can gradually get him back to eating normally again.
Your vet may also give you other instructions to help your queasy pet feel better by telling you to give him something like Pepto-Bismol. However, don't just try to make him drink a bowl of it! You must let your veterinarian prescribe the correct dosage.
Adding some plain yogurt to your dog's food can get some healthy pro-biotic bacteria into his system, which may work to settle his stomach as well.
Monitoring is Important
It's important to monitor the situation to make sure things aren't getting worse, so be sure to pay attention to your dog's condition. If the above measures aren't working, your vet may have to intervene. For instance, sometimes upset stomach and throwing up means your dog has an infestation of parasites like round worms and must be treated accordingly.
The bottom line is, when our pet gets an upset stomach it could be anything as simple as eating something bad or something more serious. We need to monitor them and help them.
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