As a dog owner, you know that your dog can sometimes have digestive issues just like the human members of your family. In fact, dogs can be more prone to vomiting than their human counterparts in certain circumstances. It can be difficult to determine what constitutes normal tummy troubles and what requires a visit to the veterinarian. Get to know about some of the digestive issue circumstances that should send you to the pet hospital or veterinarian. Then, you can be sure you are doing what is best for your dog going forward.
Lack of Appetite for Several Days
Occasionally, even the dog that is the most enthusiastic eater will have days when they are just not hungry or do not feel like eating. This is completely fine and could be caused by a wide variety of factors including a cold or flu-like virus, depression, or could even be caused by fluctuations in weather or major changes around the house (i.e. stress).
If this lack of appetite and refusal to eat lasts three or more days, however, it may be cause enough for concern to head to the veterinarian. When your dog does not eat for that long, they could have a serious infection of some kind, an intestinal blockage, or other serious digestive issue.
Frequent Vomiting
As previously mentioned, a dog will vomit from time to time and be just fine in terms of their health. The problem comes when they are vomiting frequently or repeatedly over a long period of time. If your dog vomits repeatedly within a few hours time, you need to get them to the veterinarian immediately.
Frequent vomiting can lead to rapid dehydration which can be life-threatening to your dog. Additionally, if your dog vomits after every feeding or at least once or twice a day over the course of several days, you may have a problem. Vomiting after every meal could be a sign of some kind of blockage in the digestive system or other major internal issue.
Prolonged Diarrhea
Much like vomiting, it is normal for your dog to have a loose stool issue every once in a while. When they have diarrhea that lasts for more than a short period of time, they have explosive diarrhea, or they have such bad diarrhea that they cannot make it outside before it happens, then you should be heading straight out the door to the veterinarian's office.
Diarrhea is dehydrating which can pose a danger to your dog's health and well-being. It can also be a sign of serious infections in the stomach, intestine, or even the liver.
Now that you know some of the canine tummy troubles that should send you and your dog to the vet, you can be sure that you head to the veterinarian's office or pet hospital if you notice any of these issues.
