Dog throwing up: when to worry and what to do
Vomiting is the forceful bringing up of food or fluid with retching and belly effort, while regurgitation is food sliding out of the esophagus without effort. A dog that throws up once or twice and then eats, drinks and plays normally often has a minor stomach upset, for example after eating something it shouldn’t. Repeated vomiting, retching with nothing coming up, blood, diarrhea, a possible toxin or swallowed object, a vomiting puppy, or a dog that seems weak or in pain needs a vet now.
General health information, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your pet, contact a vet.
How urgent is it?
Go down the list and stop at the first row that matches your pet.
See a vet now
- Retching or trying to vomit with little or nothing coming up, especially with a swollen belly, restlessness, heavy drooling or fast breathing
- Blood in the vomit, or dark material that looks like coffee grounds
- May have eaten something toxic (such as chocolate, xylitol, onions, grapes or raisins) or an object such as a toy, sock, string or bone, even if your dog still seems fine
- Weak, very lethargic, wobbly or collapsed, has pale gums or a fever, or the belly seems painful when touched
- Vomits again and again within a few hours, or can’t keep even water down
- Seems dehydrated, or is pacing, hunched over or stretched in a “praying” position (chest down, rear up), whining or breathing fast
- Also has diarrhea, especially with blood, or has stopped eating
- Is a puppy (especially one not fully vaccinated), an older dog, or a dog with a health condition such as kidney or heart disease, and has vomited more than once
See a vet within 24 hours
- Has vomited three or more times today but is alert, eating and keeping water down
- Vomiting has gone on for more than 24 hours, even if your dog seems fine
- Brings up undigested food without effort or retching, often soon after eating or drinking, and it has happened more than once (this is regurgitation, which can point to a problem with the esophagus)
- Vomiting keeps coming back over days or weeks, even about once a week, or your dog is losing weight or has a lasting change in appetite
Watch at home
- Threw up once or twice and is otherwise eating, drinking, playing and pooping normally
- Threw up once after eating grass and shows no other signs
Not sure which row fits?
Describe your pet’s symptoms and get a free urgency check in about a minute.
Check my pet’s symptomsCommon causes
| Cause | What you may notice | Usual urgency |
|---|---|---|
| Eating something it shouldn’t | Vomiting after getting into the trash, spoiled food, table scraps or plants; often settles within a day | Watch |
| Chronic illness (for example liver or kidney disease, food intolerance, inflammatory bowel disease) | Vomiting that keeps coming back over weeks, weight loss, low energy | Within 24 h |
| Problem with the esophagus (regurgitation) | Undigested food comes up without effort, often soon after eating, sometimes tube-shaped; may come with coughing | Within 24 h |
| Infection or intestinal parasites (including parvovirus in puppies) | Vomiting with diarrhea that may be bloody, lethargy, not eating; most serious in puppies and unvaccinated dogs | Now |
| Swallowed object | Repeated vomiting that is hard to stop, not eating, lethargy, belly pain | Now |
| Toxic food or substance | Vomiting after eating chocolate, xylitol, macadamia nuts or a lot of salty food; can be followed by lethargy, wobbliness, tremors or seizures | Now |
| Pancreatitis | Repeated vomiting with belly pain and not eating | Now |
| Bloat or stomach twisting (GDV) | Retching with nothing coming up, swollen belly, restlessness, drooling; more common in large, deep-chested breeds | Now |
What you can do at home
- Keep fresh water available at all times. If your dog gulps a lot at once and vomits again, offer small amounts more often.
- If your adult dog vomited food once or twice but otherwise seems well, a short break from food (about 12 hours) followed by small, frequent portions of a plain, easily digested meal is commonly advised, such as boiled chicken and white rice without seasoning, or a diet your vet recommends. If it stays down, go back to the usual food gradually over a few days. This does not apply to yellow foam on an empty stomach. Ask your vet first for puppies, older dogs and dogs with an illness.
- If your dog is a large, deep-chested breed, split the daily food into two or more smaller meals instead of one big meal, and keep exercise calm before and after meals.
- Write down when it happened, how often and what came up, and whether your dog retched first or the food just slid out. Take a photo of the vomit. This helps the vet.
What not to do
- Do not take water away, unless a vet tells you to.
- Do not give human medicines, stomach remedies or home remedies unless a vet tells you to.
- Do not offer a big meal, treats or new foods right after your dog vomits. Start again with small portions.
- Do not wait to see if it passes if your dog may have eaten something toxic or swallowed an object. Call a vet or an animal poison control line right away.
- Do not wait if your dog is retching with nothing coming up and the belly looks swollen. This can be life-threatening within hours.
What to tell the vet
- When the vomiting started, how many times it has happened and how soon after meals
- What it looked like: food, foam, yellow liquid, grass, blood or dark material like coffee grounds (show the photo), and whether your dog retched first or it came up without effort
- Anything your dog may have eaten: trash, toys, string, bones, people food, medicines or plants
- Other signs: diarrhea, appetite, energy, drinking, weight change
- What and when your dog eats, any recent change of food, and for a puppy, which vaccinations it has had
Questions owners ask
Why is my dog throwing up?
A common reason is eating something that doesn’t agree with it, such as trash, spoiled food, table scraps or plants. Other causes include intestinal parasites, infections, food intolerance, toxins, swallowed objects, pancreatitis and liver or kidney disease. Vomiting is a sign, not an illness in itself. If your dog keeps throwing up or shows other signs, a vet needs to find the cause.
My dog threw up but is acting normal. Should I worry?
Occasional vomiting in an otherwise healthy dog is not always a problem. If your dog threw up once or twice, for example after eating grass, and then eats, drinks, plays and poops normally, you can usually watch at home. Eating grass is common in healthy dogs: in a survey of 1,571 owners of plant-eating dogs, 22% said their dog often vomited afterward and 9% said it often seemed ill beforehand. See a vet if your dog vomits three or more times in a day, for more than 24 hours, or keeps vomiting, even about once a week.
What can I give my dog for an upset stomach and vomiting?
Do not give human medicines, stomach remedies or home remedies unless a vet tells you to. What helps is keeping fresh water available and, for an adult dog that vomited once or twice and otherwise seems well, a short break from food (about 12 hours) and then small portions of a plain, easily digested meal, such as boiled chicken and white rice without seasoning, or a diet your vet recommends. Puppies, older dogs, dogs with health conditions and any dog that keeps vomiting should see a vet instead.
Is a dog vomiting and having diarrhea an emergency?
Vomiting together with diarrhea is a reason to call a vet now, because a dog can lose a lot of fluid and become dehydrated quickly. It is especially urgent if there is blood in the vomit or stool, or your dog is lethargic, has belly pain, won’t eat, or is a puppy that is not fully vaccinated. Infections such as parvovirus can start this way.
What does it mean when my dog throws up white foam, food or blood?
Vomit can be fluid, foam or food. Yellowish or greenish foam or liquid is usually bile, and a single episode on an empty stomach is often not serious. Undigested food that comes out without retching, sometimes tube-shaped, is more typical of regurgitation from the esophagus. Fresh red blood, or dark material like coffee grounds, which is digested blood, needs a vet now. White foam, like any color on its own, doesn’t tell the cause, so also look at how often it happens and how your dog is doing.
Related symptoms
Sources
- Vomiting in Dogs (Pet Owner Version), Merck Veterinary Manual
- Disorders of the Stomach and Intestines in Dogs (Pet Owner Version), Merck Veterinary Manual
- Vomiting in Dogs, VCA Animal Hospitals
- Vomiting, Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center
- Gastric Dilation and Volvulus in Small Animals, Merck Veterinary Manual
- People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets, ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- Why Is My Pet Vomiting? Here’s One Option, University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine
- Canine parvovirus, American Veterinary Medical Association
- Characterisation of plant eating in dogs, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2008 (Sueda, Hart, Cliff)
Last reviewed October 25, 2026