Ways to Make A Dog Throw Up (For Emergencies!)

Dogs are not always healthy. Sometimes a dog will be sick and the most obvious sign will be that a dog will be throwing up. As such, you need to know if the dog is vomiting due to preventable causes, sickness, or poison. And sometimes you may need to induce vomiting.

Being able to induce vomiting in dogs is not a bad trick for a dog owner to have. Just keep in mind that there are a variety of reasons for a dog to expel what is in his stomach. Knowing why is something that helps keep your dog healthy.

Obvious Caveat: You should always have the number of a good veterinarian on hand and have no problem going to the veterinarian. While the dog may be vomiting due to an obvious preventable cause, sometimes the vomiting may be a sign of something more serious. This can be some sort of disease or poisoning. Thus, inducing vomiting may not be a bad idea or it should be avoided totally, depending on the situation. As always, ask your veterinarian if you are not sure and go with that advice.

Table of Contents

• Some of the Reasons Your Dog May Be Vomiting
• When To Fear Poisoning
• What Do Vets Use to Induce Vomiting?
• How Can I Stimulate My Dog to Vomit?
  • How Do I Make My Dog Throw Up After Eating Chocolate?
  • How Do I Make My Dog Vomit with Salt Water?
  • How Do You Make a Dog Throw Up After Swallowing a Foreign Object?
  • What Household Items Can Make a Dog Throw Up?
• A Wrap Up
• FAQs

Some of the Reasons Your Dog May Be Vomiting

In general, a dog will throw up food for a variety of health reasons that aren’t worrying. But a little paranoia is not a bad thing.

When the dog vomits, keep an eye on them for just a little bit. If they bahave normally, then odds are that they ate a little too much and their stomach is getting rid of the excess. Or they just ate something that disagreed with them, and they are getting rid of the problem. While it is hardly an ideal situation, it is nonetheless a reasonable situation, albeit a little messy. Maybe your dog is throwing up yellow bile, in which case it’s also a normal thing.

However, the dog may have more serious issues. If the dog lays down, it may be sick. Then it is up to you if the veterinarian needs to be called or not. However, if the dog was acting sick prior to vomiting, and the vomit just does not look right, it may be time to get to the veterinarian. There are a number of different issues to keep in mind here. Bottom line is that between those that would maliciously poison canines and the sheer number of plants and foods that would cause a dog to vomit, it pays to worry about a dog acting sick after throwing up.

When it comes to what to watch for, it is usually obvious. If the dog attempts to eat the vomit, then it was merely regurgitated and there is no worry. But if the dog has been showing signs of depression or weakness, has not been drinking a lot lately, or has lost weight, there are signs of a fever or abdominal pain, or the vomit has blood in it, it may be time to look at going to the veterinarian.

If you do end up taking the canine to the veterinarian, try to grab some of the vomit for the veterinarian. All you need is a sandwich bag and a spoon; the veterinarian will actually appreciate having a sample to at least look and possibly test for other issues. A sample can help a veterinarian determine what is wrong far quicker than a description, no matter how detailed.

Hopefully, the dog will only be sick with a boring garden-variety sickness, the canine equivalent of the cold or flu, but if there is something more serious the veterinarian should be able to tell the precise problem.

When To Fear Poisoning

The canine digestive system is both stronger and weaker than the human system: While it can handle some things that humans cannot, the list of those things is far smaller than a human’s. There are a number of things that can cause vomiting, and not all of them are pleasant. As such, make sure that there are no poisonous plants in the environment, that all cleaners are put up and difficult for the dog to get into, and that you are not feeding them anything that is poisonous.

However, a little paranoia is never a bad thing. As noted, some people are malicious, and so have no problem poisoning a dog either to make a point or just to see what would happen.

If the dog is throwing up after coming in from outside and looks sick despite being healthy a few minutes prior, then the animal may have been poisoned. At that point, just go straight to the veterinarian’s office.

What Do Vets Use to Induce Vomiting?

The veterinarian is likely to use apomorphine or ropinirole to induce vomiting.

The first is used solely by veterinarians and the second is only available through a prescription, so it is unlikely that either will be used by most people. They also require a little trust on the part of the dog’s owner, as they are not necessarily administered by the throat, and require some training to use. However, the veterinarian will usually let you in with your animal in order to keep it calm.

How Can I Stimulate My Dog to Vomit?

There are some times when you may need to induce a canine to vomit.

First, make sure that the dog has not swallowed something sharp, something caustic, something oily; in the first two cases you could be doing more damage and in the third you could induce suffocating. Also, some conditions such as seizures could make vomiting dangerous as well.

If you do need to induce vomiting, such as it ate something it should not have, then it is relatively easy to induce.

How Do I Make My Dog Throw Up After Eating Chocolate?

One of the most dangerous things that a dog can swallow is chocolate; it is practically a poison for canines. One of the best things to use to induce vomiting is hydrogen peroxide. PetMD notes that hydrogen peroxide is a natural emetic that can be used reasonably safely to induce vomiting. The ideal is to use a 3% solution in order to induce vomiting; any more than that and you are likely to cause the canine harm. However, keep in mind that your dog may be off a little the next couple of days.

If you do decide to use hydrogen peroxide and the dog has not eaten recently start by giving him a little food or a treat; some dogs just vomit easier if they have something to throw up. Measure out ½ to 1 teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide per 10 pounds of weight; a 50-pound dog should thus use 2-1/2 to 5 teaspoons. A dosing syringe or turkey baster is best to administer the peroxide, but you can spoon it in if absolutely necessary. Stay with the dog until he throws up.

If necessary, walk the dog around a bit. Even try to get him to bounce; the motion may help induce vomiting. If the dog has not thrown up in ten minutes, give an additional dose. After the second dose and still nothing, it is time to take him to the vet; something stronger is required. If he does throw up, however, move him away from whatever comes up. This’ll prevent him from attempting to eat it. If you do decide to go to the veterinarian’s, collect some of the vomit for the veterinarian.

How Do I Make My Dog Vomit with Salt Water?

Some people will debate using salt water to induce vomiting. Before asking, “How Much Salt Will Make a Dog Throw Up?”, put it away. Saltwater is toxic to canines and dry salt does nothing outside of irritating the animal.

Before you even think about it, alcohol is usually poisonous to canines, as is syrup of ipecac. Again, the canine digestive system is different than the human one. So things that work for humans may not work for dogs.

Also, do not even think of putting a finger down the animal’s throat; the most likely result is getting yourself bitten for all of your trouble.

How Do You Make a Dog Throw Up After Swallowing a Foreign Object?

First, make sure that there are few items available for the dog to swallow in the first place. If the dog does swallow an object, induce vomiting using hydrogen peroxide as above. In this case, you want to give them some food if possible in order to act as cushioning.

As noted above, make sure that the object in question is not sharp or otherwise dangerous. If that is the case, inducing vomiting will cause the dog a lot of damage. At that point, just take the animal straight to the veterinarian and let them do their thing.

What Household Items Can Make a Dog Throw Up?

If you do not have hydrogen peroxide, do not induce vomiting. There are a lot of people that suggest a lot of things that they say will work. Odds are good that all you will do is cause more damage.

At that point just take the animal straight to the veterinarian. Your animal is a part of the family. They should not be an experiment to determine what will induce vomiting and what does not. Show the animal some basic respect and take him to his doctor. It may not be the solution you are looking for. But it may save you from answering some questions from the local police.

A Wrap Up

In short, vomiting may not be as big a problem as it may look like at first glance. Dogs vomit all the time, usually because their eyes were more convincing than their stomach could carrt. However, this does not mean that you should not worry if you should notice that there is something else going on.

No one knows their canine better than the owner. As such you should base your reaction based on that knowledge. And again: If you are not sure, default to heading to the vet as soon as you grab a sample of the vomit. Your canine deserves all your attention, especially when he is not feeling well.

FAQs