Top 9 Reasons Your Dog Vomits Yellow & What To Do About It
At some point in your life as a dog owner, your dog will vomit. While it’s not a pleasant experience, vomiting is a natural function of the body to help protect it against potential harm. In this article, we will discuss some of the reasons your dog might vomit yellow and what you should do about it.
1. Upset Stomach
Like us, dogs get upset tummies too, which can impact their mood and cause them to vomit. Often, these upsets are mild and triggered by minor issues such as eating too quickly.
It is easy to tell if this is the case as typically, your dog will only vomit once and quickly return to its usual self. There will be no other visible symptoms, so you don’t need to take any action; just let them be. However, if you are concerned, you can easily book an appointment with us to check over your dog and ease your anxieties.
2. Empty Stomach
You might not think an empty stomach could induce vomiting in your dog, but you would be wrong. An empty stomach could lead to Bilious Vomiting Syndrome, particularly common in small dogs.
The dog gets hungry over a prolonged period, and in response, they vomit yellow foam as there is only yellow bile residing in their stomach. A simple way to stop Bilious Vomiting Syndrome is to adjust your feeding schedule and provide your dog with smaller, frequent meals.
3. Changes In Diet
New foods can significantly impact your dog’s health and might leave you with some sick to clean up. It may be that you gave your dog fatty foods, accidentally fed them toxic food, or flared up some unknown food allergies. Don’t worry because it is relatively common and often impossible to know without your dog experiencing it.
Luckily, these reactions are simple to treat. Contact your veterinarian, and they will refer you to a veterinary nutritionist who can advise you of the right foods for your dog and get you back on track.
4. Eating Too Much Grass
It is a known fact amongst pet owners that dogs eat grass, and eating grass in large quantities can lead to your dog vomiting. Often after eating too much grass, a dog will vomit yellow for several reasons: grass generally upsets your dog’s stomach, contains parasites, or has traces of slugs causing your dog to vomit.
If this occurs, you should consider visiting your veterinarian because there may be underlying health issues, a lack of fibre in its diet, or pesticides in the grass. Your vet will perform some tests, a complete blood count and may provide intravenous fluids to rehydrate your pup and find out how to make your dog feel better.
5. Intestinal Blockage
All dogs are guilty of chomping down on something that they shouldn’t at some point in their lives. It isn’t usually the end of the world, but a foreign object can sometimes get trapped in your dog, leading to chronic vomiting. Ejection out the mouth is their body’s attempt to remove the intestinal blockage from their system without intervention.
Sometimes vomiting can help, but the best thing to do is take your dog to see a vet. They’ll perform a physical exam, take an x-ray, and find the best way to remove the object to return your dog to its once care-free state.
6. Underlying Diseases
A dog vomiting yellow bile could also indicate some dangerous diseases that require immediate attention. Evidence of any additional symptoms is the first sign that your dog may be vomiting because of more than just an upset tummy.
Particular symptoms to pay attention to include:
- decreased appetite
- diarrhea
- overly lethargic
- stomach pain
- the appearance of blood in stool or vomit.
These symptoms coupled with yellow vomit could mean any number of diseases such as metabolic diseases, kidney disease, liver disease, and gall bladder disease. All of them require veterinary attention, so get your dog to the vet as soon as possible. Your vet will perform all the relevant exams, take scans and blood work to arrive at a diagnosis and treatment plan.
7. Digestive Diseases
Some breeds of dogs are more prone to digestive illnesses, such as Collies, Great Danes, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds. However, that does not make every other dog invincible. If your pet is suffering from a digestive disorder, it will most likely be experiencing diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, and vomiting.
These are typical symptoms of many common illnesses such as pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. They can clear up quickly with the proper treatment, but you may need to work with your vet to develop a suitable nutritional plan as this may reoccur. Continued treatment may be necessary in severe cases, but this is unlikely, so there is no need to start worrying now.
8. Parasites
With parasites, you’ll notice some atypical symptoms coupled with vomiting yellow bile that should grab your attention. Your pet will wear a dull coat, display decreased activity and weight loss; if you see these symptoms in your pet, contact your vet.
It’s not something major to worry about, as worming medication will work to bring your pup back to normal in no time. It simply means that you need to worm your pet more regularly in the future.
9. Viral Infection
A viral infection that causes bouts of vomiting is the most concerning and will require immediate attention. If this is the situation, you’ll notice that your pet will be fragile, tired, and have severe vomiting, so you should call your vet, even after hours, as only a vet can save a dog from a viral infection.
Your vet will medicate your dog and often place them in intensive care. If you have the slightest thought that your dog has an infection, we recommend promptly visiting your vet.
What To Do If Your Dog Vomits Yellow
When dogs vomit yellow, it can mean many things, as our top 9 causes of vomiting have shown. Without seeing a vet, it can be tough to tell what exactly is upsetting your pup, so here is a general rule of thumb on top of common reasons for vomiting.
If your dog only vomits once, it is likely a one-off, and all is well. However, if your pet vomits repeatedly, behaves out of the ordinary, or shows any unique symptoms, you must call your vet. It is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your furry best friend.