Why does my dog keep throwing up?

Original Question: Skittles has vomited in the middle of the night (on my bed) the last five nights in a row. It is a clear-ish liquid with brown tinges that seeps right through to the mattress protector. Otherwise, he acts completely normally. He doesn't seem sick at all, and he has his full appetite. He eats 1/2 cup of Acana kibble twice a day (around 7 am and 5:30 pm). He hasn't lost any weight. He seems completely normal other than the vomiting during the night. - Annette

Jan 29, 2019

Hi Annette,

Thanks for your question.

Canine vomiting can be due to a large number of different causes and based on the information given I can’t make a diagnosis. The most common reason when a dog is otherwise healthy, eating and drinking normally, not on any other medication and doesn’t have diarrhea, is a simple gastritis or inflammation of the stomach.

These cases will typically settle down after a few days being fed a bland, intestinal diet but there are many other causes such as ulceration of the stomach, bacterial overgrowth, inflammatory bowel disease, liver or kidney disease, and parasitic disease to name but a few. Any dog who is vomiting multiple times a day or doesn’t stop after maybe 3 to 5 days of just symptomatic dietary management should definitely be examined by their vet as further treatment is likely to be needed. It might be that a different diet is suggested and nothing major is carried out, but it’s always good to get a baseline check so then if weight does start to drop, then we’ve got a weight at the start of the problem. We can look for trends, we can try a few minor management changes before needing to jump into something more serious when a dog or a cat becomes more seriously unwell if they’re vomiting still doesn’t stop. As with all things, check with your vet, get them checked out and hopefully you get to the bottom of the problem.