should i feed my dog after regurgitation

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated November 19, 2024

Contributions sourced from

What to Feed a Dog When Regurgitating

Here at My Pet Nutritionist, we help a lot of dogs who present with regurgitation. Its not a pleasant sensation for us humans, and its no different for our canine companions. Regurgitation can occur for various reasons, which we will take a brief look at in this blog. We will also discuss what is the best food to feed your dog, and what supplements could be considered for your dog suffering with regurgitation.

What is Regurgitation?

Regurgitation is the expulsion of undigested food via the mouth. Unlike when a dog vomits, when there are warning signs such as licking of the lips, drool etc, when a dog regurgitates, its very much instantaneous with no pre-warning.

One of the biggest risks of regurgitation, especially in brachycephalic breeds, is aspiration pneumonia. When regurgitation occurs, the larynx can struggle to close quickly enough. Being open at the time of regurgitation can cause particles of food to be breathed in, which causes the pneumonia.

What Can Cause Regurgitation?

There are various reasons a dog may regurgitate. Its not necessarily a condition on its own, but its more a symptom of an underlaying illness. It can also be partly down to breed predisposition due to being congenital. Breeds with a predisposition include:

Chinese shar pei
Newfoundland
Miniature schnauzer
Great dane
German shepherd
Labrador
Fox terrier

Acquired causes (those which regurgitation is a symptom of) include:

Acid reflux: the pressure of the chyme in the stomach due to digestive incapabilities, causes the dog to regurgitate. Read more about acid reflux here.
Megaoesophagus: peristalsis is unable to occur, so food sits in the oesophagus in the chest. Read more on megaoesophagus here.
Laryngeal Paralysis: the larynx is unable to function, so the windpipe and throat may be open at the same time. This causes coughing and gagging, which can lead to regurgitation. Read more on Laryngeal Paralysis here.
Brachycephalic Obstructive Airways Syndrome (BOAS): some of the breathing and swallowing pathways which are affected in those with BOAS can cause regurgitation. Food particles can get stuck at various points in the digestive system in these dogs. Surgery is required to open the relevant pathways to reduce the risk of regurgitation.
Foreign Body: when something is lodged in the throat or chest cavity, regurgitation can occur, as food particles are unable to bypass the blockage.
Cancer: depending on where the tumour is, your dog may be unable to digest food, and/or food particles may get stuck somewhere along the digestive tract, leading to their expulsion through the mouth.
Stress: digestive function is compromised when the body is under stress as the sympathetic nervous system kicks in. hypersensitivity occurs during stressful situations too, which heightens the risk of oesophageal irritation, and therefore regurgitation.
Incorrect Diet: feeding your dog a diet that does not suit them is a major cause of regurgitation. The body reacts to unsuitable food because the Enteric Nervous System (ENS) causes the digestive tract to become hypersensitive, which leads to regurgitation. Allergies and intolerances can also cause this reaction, so its important to get on top of these.

What Should you Feed?

Recurring regurgitation can be a huge sign that the diet you are feeding your dog is unsuitable, and needs tweaking.

Changing the Type of Food

Its very likely that the type of food you are feeding your dog needs changing if your dog is regurgitating. Of course, we recommend feeding a diet as fresh as possible. Raw food, or cooked food (using one of

our balanced recipes

). If you are feeding raw food already, and your dog is regurgitating, it may be worth looking into feeding a balanced, cooked diet. Many dogs who regurgitate do better on a cooked diet.

Feeding an easily digestible protein such as white fish using

our balanced white fish cooked food recipe

may be beneficial for a dog with regular episodes of regurgitation.

In some cases, the dog requires a lower fat diet. Feeding leaner proteins may help. These tend to put less stress on the digestive tract, and are therefore much easier to digest, reducing the risk of regurgitation. It really is a case of finding what suits your individual dog best!

Why would we recommend avoiding dry food? The lack of moisture, and vast amount of difficult-to-digest ingredients in dry foods can cause havoc with the digestive system, which can cause regurgitation.

Findings Here

Getting on Top of Allergies and Intolerances

Working on eliminating foods the dog doesnt tolerate is essential. The more gut inflammation caused by feeding intolerable foods, the higher the chance of regurgitation.

A full elimination diet may be required this entails feeding one single protein for a prolonged period of time (6-12 weeks), in order to see if it is well tolerated or not, before moving on to the next.

Read our blog on Elimination Diets

here

Our

Transform package

is ideal for those suffering from allergies and intolerances!

Findings Here

Changing the Frequency of Meals

Many dogs who suffer from regurgitation require smaller, but more frequent meals. This is particularly useful in dogs with slow digestion, and those with weak peristalsis. Feeding smaller portions allows the body to digest food more thoroughly, causing less irritation in the digestive tract. Better digestion, means less chance of regurgitation.

Supplementing your Dogs Diet

There are some supplements which may be beneficial to those suffering with recurring regurgitation. Of course, its important underlaying illness is ruled out first, with your veterinarian, but the following supplements may reduce the risk of regurgitation in your dog.

Mucilage Herbs

Mucilage herbs help heal and protect the gut as well as soothing the digestive tract. Those with regurgitation often have irritation throughout the digestive tract following a meal, so adding mucilage herbs into the regime, helps keep the digestive tract comfortable.

Some examples of mucilage herbs include slippery elm, marshmallow root, and deglycyrrhizinated liquorice (DGL). Our product

Gut Guardian

contains all three, plus calming chamomile, and soil based probiotics.

Omega 3

Adding omega 3 to your pets diet helps to bring down inflammation in the body. Our canids meaty diet is naturally high in omega 6, particularly if feeding farmed meats. Omega 6 is inflammatory, so feeding anti-inflammatory omega 3, particularly Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) helps balance inflammation.

Some great sources of Omega 3 include krill oil, raw or tinned sardines, raw eggs and algae oil.

Its important to not only feed a suitable diet, and supplement correctly, but its just as important to get to the bottom of the underlying cause of your dogs regurgitation with the help of your veterinarian.We like to look at cases on an individual basis; if you would like tailored help with your dogs regurgitation, and potential underlying issues, please dont hesitate to book in for a consultation with one of our team.Team MPN x

What to Feed Dogs After Theyve Vomited

Dogs vomit for many reasons. Some are life-threatening, others are just a mild annoyance, and a whole bunch of causes fall somewhere in between. But once your dog is on the road to recovery, youll wonder what to feed them so they dont start vomiting again.

In this article, well look at what and how to feed dogs at home after theyve vomitedand even more importantly, when you should head to the veterinarians office instead.

Should You Feed a Dog After They Vomit?

The short answer? No, whether its an emergency situation or not.

Emergency Cases of Vomiting in Dogs

Your dog may need to be seen by a vet right away, and trying home treatments first or giving your dog some food could be dangerous. If any of the following apply to your dog, call your veterinarian or a veterinary emergency hospital immediately for advice:

Your dog is very young or old, or has a health problem that could make them especially vulnerable todehydration, inadequate nutrition, and other effects of vomiting
Your dog has vomited at least three times within 24 hours
Your dog is trying to vomit but nothing is coming up
There is blood in your dogs vomit
Your dog seems weak, disoriented, or in pain
Your dog has severediarrheaor other worrisome symptoms in addition to vomiting

Mild Cases of Vomiting in Dogs

On the other hand, if your otherwise healthy adult dog has just vomited once or twice and seems to feel pretty good, its possible they just ate something unusual or have a mild case of gastroenteritis and will feel better soon.

In this case, you dont need to rush to the vet, but the first step in treating mild vomiting in a healthy adult dog is to stop feeding them. Putting food into an upset tummy is irritating and makes it more likely that vomiting will continue.

Take your dogs food away for 1224 hours, and dont give them any treats or table scraps. Leave water out for your dog to drink, but if they tend to tank up, keep the water level low to encourage them to drink small amounts frequently.

However, there are some dogs that should never go without food. Young puppies can becomehypoglycemicif they dont eat frequently enough.

Dogs that are on insulin fordiabetesor have tumors in their pancreas (insulinomas) are also at high risk for hypoglycemia if they dont eat regularly. Call your veterinarian for advice before withholding food for any dog that isnt healthy and at least 1 year old.

What to Feed Your Dog After Fasting

After the fasting period (if appropriate), you can use food as treatment if your dogs vomiting is acute and mild. Acute vomiting starts suddenly and doesnt last for more than a few daysfood poisoning or stomach bugs like norovirus are common examples of acute vomiting in people.

Mild vomiting doesnt significantly affect a dogs overall well-being or occur more than two or three times in 24 hours. If you didnt know your dog vomited, you might not think anything was wrong.

So your dog has acute and mild vomiting, and youve withheld food for 12 to 24 hours. Now what? Start reintroducing food gradually. Think of how you might start eating after youve been vomiting: You wouldnt immediately order yourself a pizza; youd probably start with toast or a few crackers and see how it goes. You want to do something similar for your dog.

Start by offering your dog a small amount of bland food thats easy to digest. Your options are:

Homemade Food

Mix the following:

Boiled, white-meat chicken (no skin or bones) or lean hamburger meat
Cooked white riceor boiled and mashed potatoes

While these recipes are not nutritionally complete and balanced for long-term feeding, they are safe for dogs to eat for a few days.

Over-the-Counter Food

These highly digestible diets, easy on a dogs stomach, are offered by reputable pet food manufacturers:

Prescription Diets

Most veterinarians will have at least a few cans of prescription, highly digestible dog food in stock. These are two good options:

Your Dogs Regular Food

If your dog is on a special diet or you simply cant get your hands on a highly digestible dog food, slowly start your dog back on their regular diet.

Wet foods are generally a better option than kibble, at least in the short term. Wet foods tend to be more digestible than dry, and the extra water will help keep your dog hydrated.

How Much to Feed Your Dog Each Day After Vomiting

How you start feeding your dog again is just as important as what you feed them. This feeding guide will help you gradually transition back to a normal diet for a dog that has been vomiting.

Day 1

Day 2

Offer your dog 10% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them 25% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them another 25% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them 50% of their normal meal size.

Day 3

Offer your dog 50% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them another 50% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them a normal meal size.

Day 4

Day 5 and on

Call your veterinarian if at any point during this process your dog starts vomiting again, wont eat, or their symptoms are getting worse.

Is There a Prescription Diet for Dogs With Chronic Vomiting?

There are prescription diets for many conditions that cause chronic vomiting. Once a dogs vomiting has continued for more than a couple of weeks, it is considered chronic rather than acute. Many health problems can cause chronic vomiting in dogs, including:

Diet plays a part in managing many of these diseases. For example:

Dogs with chronic vomiting often dont have a great appetite. You may find it tempting to prepare your dog home-cooked meals, but this can be dangerous if it goes on too long.

Most recipes for home-cooked diets are not nutritionally complete and balanced, even for healthy dogs.

Add in a chronic illness, and preparing a healthy diet for long-term feeding becomes almost impossible without the input of a veterinary nutritionist.

Its vital for dogs that have been vomiting to get the right nutrition. Your veterinarian can help you pick the best food based on the specifics of your dogs case.

Featured image:Chalabala/iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

WRITTEN BY

Jennifer Coates, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Jennifer Coates is an accomplished veterinarian, writer, editor, and consultant with years of experience in the fields of veterinary...