My Dog Is Sick After Eating | Drinking

Here are some tips on how to stop your dog being sick after eating or drinking based on our own experience with our chocolate labrador.

Why is my dog sick?

As I mentioned previously my dog is sick especially after drinking. We started feeding her 3 times a day instead of twice and it did help a bit but not totally. Anyway I read a book that included dog treatments and came across some ideas on how to stop your dog vomiting. When you give a dog dry food the food swells up inside their stomachs. This can be a problem for some dogs. If they then drink afterwards the food swells even more and this can make your dog sick.

Our chocolate labrador is very greedy and wolfs down her food so fast that she takes in a lot of air as well. This is what was making her sick. Giving her smaller amounts to eat at a time helped but didn't stop the food swelling especially after eating. I guess my dog has a sensitive stomach (like me!). What we do now is to put her dog food out and then pour boiling water over it. When it has cooled we let her eat and say stop when she starts eating too fast. We keep only a small amount of water in her drinking bowl so she can't drink too much straight away and then after about half hour we let her drink as much as she wants.

Doing this has stopped my dog vomiting and given me peace of mind about camping next time! If you find that your dog is sick after drinking or after eating then try this out and see if it helps.

Clipping dogs nails and coat

Clipping Dogs Nails

I really don't like clipping my dogs nails. I'm so worried that I'll cut too far and it will start bleeding. I've come to realise that it is actually an art! If it isn't done correctly your dog can suffer from skin and nail injury. My dog doesn't enjoy it when her nails have to be clipped and she tries to take her paw away as I do it which of course makes it more difficult for me.

Here's my advice. Make sure your clippers are the right size for your dog and that they are sharp! Try to use the clippers that have a movable metal strip the other side of the clipping bit as this helps prevent you from cutting too short.

If your dog is unwell then be nice and don't subject him or her to any type of clipping.

Clipping Dogs Coat

If you have a dog with a long haired coat then clipping their coat can help get rid of dirt, knots and more importantly parasites. Fortunately with a labrador I don't have to bother with coat clipping. My Aunt has spingers and so has to keep them clipped regularly. She takes them to a pet health parlor. Doing it yourself would I imagine be rather scary. I cut my husbands hair (with clippers) and although I say so myself I think I do a good job. He doesn't complain and no one laughs at him! But I don't think I'd have the courage to clip a dog. They move!

Each dog breed and coat is different and so requires specific clipping. If the coat is clipped badly, your dog could end up with skin problems or skin disease. Just a build up of dust can cause this.

So I would recommend coat clipping is done by the professionals.

First Aid Kit For Dog Owners

If you have a dog then you ought really to have a first aid kit for them. When we go camping we put 2 first aid kits in the car - one for us and the other for our dog. As you know dogs can do some silly things sometimes and certainly our dog has no concept of danger if there is a cat to chase or something else interesting around. Unfortunately for us out dog suffers with grass pollen - I'll write about that later - so we have to have quite a few things for skin rashes and cleaning eyes.

Cuts and wounds
We had one occasion when she stood on some glass and so needed to stop the bleeding before we could get her to the vet. Therefore we always put some gauze and tape in the doggie first aid kit. Apparently  hydrogen peroxide is very good for cleaning wounds but I haven't used that myself.

Dog in shock
If you have a dog that has gone into shock then as with humans you must keep them warm so keep a clean large towel or blanket in the car just in case.

Bites and stings
Always include some antihistamine in case your dog gets stung and you can also get antibiotic gels and eye washes. You can always prepare your own emergency eye wash using boiled water (cooled) and salt.

General items
Cotton, gauzes and cotton pads are good for mopping up and removing dirt. Having had a holiday in a location where there were lots of ticks we now always have some tweezers and TCP in the kit. Scissors (safer with rounded tips), syringes for giving medication by mouth and elastic bandages are also a good idea. I know some people keep a rectal thermometer in their kit but I don't personally - I'm not happy about doing that myself!

We also have a Labrador care book that we take with us. Its full of great information and advice with examples of first aid. Remember to have your vets number on your mobile or if you are in a different place look one up and put it in your phone temporarily.

Some dogs can be aggressive when injured or scared so depending on your dog it might be a good idea to put a muzzle in your kit. Having said all this I hope you don't have any occasion to use your dog first aid kits.

Cute Dog Video

This youtube video is about a dog that falls for a cat! It is really cute and reminds us all why we love pets so much! This dog is sick in love!



I admit I had tears in my eyes after watching this.

Dog Vomiting and Diarrhea Treatment

At some point it is unfortunately inevitable that your dog will get sick. If your pet gets vomiting and diarrhea, this is something you want to STOP now! I'm not talking about when your dog is sick the once after drinking or eating but when it's a proper dog illness. Here are the top ways for dog treatment at home.

Dog Vomiting:

FASTING TIME. A 24 hour fast is the most important thing you can do to allow your pet's inflamed stomach to heal. Allow access to controlled amounts of water, but no food. After 24 hours offer bland food such as plain cooked white rice; give equivalent amounts of rice as you do dog or cat food. After 48 hours mix their regular food with rice and don't fully go to regular food until after 72 hours. My dog loves rice so it's not a hardship to get offered just that.

A CUP OF TEA. Peppermint Tea is an old remedy used for upset stomachs in people. Brew up a strong cup of tea, but allow it to cool before offering it.

For Diarrhea:

FIRM IT WITH FIBER. Dietary fiber absorbs water in the intestine, which helps to decrease diarrhea. Ground flax is a great source for dogs (1tsp/cup of dog food). Canned pumpkin is a great source for your cat (1tsp/day).

PROBIOTICS. Restore the natural bacteria in the intestine, to help the intestinal immune system. The most effective supplement is Lactobacillus acidophilus.

HUMAN REMEDIES. Pepto Bismol is an old standby that can be effective for dogs. Immodium (Loperamide) is the only safe over-the-counter anti-diarrhea drug for cats.

Treating early often means preventing BIG problems such as dehydration. However if in doubt then go to your vet for treatment.

Emergency Dog Choking Treatment

Here is some great advice from Dr Andrew Jones regarding emergency dog choking treatment. Imagine you are out for a walk and your dog is playing with the ball when suddenly he gets over excited and inhales the ball! With my dog this could happen because she is quite mad when there's a ball around. Often my dog is sick when she gets something stuck in her throat - she sits there heaving it looks disgusting. A dog vomiting in not a pleasant site.

If a ball is stuck in a dogs throat they are likely to gasp and start choking while struggling to breath and then keel over. It might not be a ball but another object. You have a very sick pet - these are fairly common dog problems.

What would you do? My first thought is to try to reach inside the mouth to remove the ball but thats not so easy. It's very difficult to get a hand to the back of the throat, especially if its a small dog.

In this situation you have to act fast - you don't have time to rush to your Vet. If this situation were a choking person you would perform The Heimlich. Well its the same with a dog! This is what you do.

Hold your dog upside down, head pointing down and spine against you.

Repeat sharp thrusts to the abdomen.

Lay your dog down and check the throat for the ball.

Keep repeating until the ball comes out.

Pet owners should really know basic CPR not only for their dogs health but also for humans!

(My dog is sick after drinking - you can read about it in my previous post how my dog is sick)

How My Dog Is Sick

I have a female chocolate labrador and she is very greedy so when my dog is sick I assume it's due to overeating! That is what I thought anyway but I don't over feed her and certainly never give her treats at the table. Then I found out that the neighbours son was throwing away his bread rolls into our garden - not great for my dogs health and probably the cause of my sick pet. After getting that sorted out I thought she would stop being sick so often but it still continued. I spoke to the vet about whether I should be getting some dog treatment and explained how my dog is sick and when it happens. She suggested feeding her 3 times a day rather than twice.

This did improve it but when on holiday in the summer it got worse - my dog vomiting at the camp site was not good. Very embarrassing when my dog is sick in the middle of the playing field.

Anyway I found a book about dogs and came across some helpful stuff. Have a look at my post If your dog is sick try this.