My Puppy is Throwing Up Fairly Often. What Do I Do?
It’s week 3 since I brought home my little French bulldog puppy. I could not help but feel happy despite the initial anxiety of the first two weeks. Week 3, however, was more stressed out since my little French bulldog puppy was throwing up a lot.
Well, the search showed me lots of information and articles on the many possible reasons for my puppy’s vomiting. There was so much different and sometimes contradictory information it was difficult for me as a new pet owner to understand which is useful.
There are a couple of main reasons why the Frenchie can have those issues
It was always better to have a clear picture and eliminate the possibility of harmless throwing up instead of rushing first to the vet. It made sense to me since
- rushing to the vet immediately,
- paying veterinarian fees and
- also wasting valuable vet time
which could have been used up by another sick doggy well all didn’t sound like a sensible decision to me.
The most important thing is to first differentiate between vomiting or regurgitation.
While regurgitation is very normal amongst puppies. Vomiting is not and in most cases is a sign of an underlying medical problem and requires a visit to the vet. Regurgitation however rarely requires a visit to the veterinarian.
Well, so what I learned is that regurgitation is a process of throwing out undigested food without any muscle contractions. Whereas vomiting is the expelling of food or any other substance along with severe or mild stomach and abdominal muscle contractions. Regurgitation that happens now and then is completely harmless however chronic regurgitation can lead to nutrition worries for a puppy. Usually a rich in protein food can cause it. For example, kibble, which is rich in protein, as well as raw. I have a boy who has been doing this, but it is very easy to regulate. I have switched his food to Royal Canine digestive system food. It worked really well and also started giving him raw food as well, just smaller portions but more frequent. It worked really well.
Vomiting, however, does need your immediate attention but it may or may not require a vet’s immediate attention. If it is indeed a case of vomiting then the next important point is you must find out (if you can ) is to pinpoint a cause for the puppy’s vomiting. Also, note how frequently is your puppy vomiting? If your puppy swallowed something poisonous or spoilt food, ate something that irritates his or her stomach, ate food which is too rich, ate too much food, ate too quickly or went for some exercise too soon after a meal then chances are it’s a one-time vomit. These types of vomiting are more irritating for a pet parent than for the pet and can be easily avoided. More importantly, they are not a cause for serious alarm and do not indicate any underlying medical condition.
Vomiting is serious when it’s accompanied by blood or fecal matter.
Vomiting can also be a symptom of canine parvo virus or canine distemper virus ( awful amongst puppies before their vaccinations are complete).
Repeated vomiting, vomiting accompanied by loose stools, vomiting not connected with eating, or if your puppy feels bad before and after vomiting are all causes for concern. In the first two instances, you need to take your dog to the vet immediately. In the rest of the circumstances, you need to schedule a visit to the vet as soon as possible. Keep in mind that if your puppy vomits two or three times in a day or for two or three days you should take her or him to your veterinarian for a check-up.
Also important as an indicator is your pup’s vaccination record. Need I say how important it is to check your french bulldog puppy’s vaccination record to confirm whether he or she have received their full vaccinations including the distemper vaccination. If your frenchie pup has received all of his or her vaccinations then you need not worry about parvo or distemper virus. Also, a very good tool is available for the pet owners now. There is a test, called titer test. It tests for parvo, distemper, or corona virus antibodies. Usually, after two sets of shots, the titers show high. That means that the puppy is protected from those deceases. Those tests are offered at the vet’s office, it is a blood test. Usually, vets charge for it around $120.00 for the 2 tests and about $140.00 for all three. Blood is drawn once and sent to the lab. I have many puppy owners do that test. It really gives you a piece of mind. Also, you have to wait 10 days after the vaccine in order to test the puppy. The antibodies take about 10 days to show up. If you test earlier, they may not be there yet, even the vaccination was effective, but just did not quite show up yet.