Canine vomiting is common. It may be a great cause for concern, or it may not be. Let’s look at some of the common reasons for dogs vomiting, as this helps to explain when you need to take action and when it’s best to leave it alone.
In anyone, vomiting is a strong reaction by the body to expel something it doesn’t want. This can be from ingesting a foreign object, such as a toy, or eating food that is damaging to the health of the dog. It’s a protective measure, to ensure survival, as the ingested item may otherwise seriously damage or even kill the dog.
This means that you should never be alarmed by the vomiting itself, but by what caused it.
Puppies are more inclined to swallow things they shouldn’t. They need to keep chewing on hard objects and if you don’t provide them with natural and safe things to chew on, they will find their own. It’s a strong need to keep their teeth healthy.
Many objects will safely pass through the dog and there is little need to be concerned. However, it is a good idea to be watchful. If a dog can swallow a foreign object, it will be able to pass through the digestive system.
One area of concern is poison. It’s a good idea not to have any around, for any purpose. Find more humane methods to deal with the problem. It’s better for the targeted ‘pest’, the environment as well as any potential danger to your dogs (and children).
Vomiting often accompanies diarrhoea when food poisoning occurs. The body purges the offending food as quickly as possible. This should never be interfered with. If you stop the purging, then the problem remains in the body to wreak its havoc.
Dogs digestion is much more able to cope with a wide variety of natural foods, than almost any other species. This is because dogs come from the scavenger family of animals.
Animals who scavenge can live very well on old, decayed or rotten food. Their digestion process is designed to use any natural food they can find. The focus here is on natural.
Unnatural food is that which is not found in nature. This includes cooked food, food which contains synthetic additives, whether it is to preserve, to colour, to flavour, to attempt to replace nutrients or simply as a cheap filler. It all boils down to unnatural ‘food’ which your dog’s system doesn’t like.
Most commercial dog food fits this category. Your dog may not start out by vomiting, as the body adapts to a wide variety of environmental factors. But over time, the effect is cumulative and that’s when the body can no longer adapt. So it tries to expel the further damaging food.
Apart from this, when you buy commercial dog food, you never know when they change the ingredients. What your dog was once able to digest, may no longer be part of the brand.
Feeding your dog a quality, natural food, that you have prepared yourself, gives you much more control. And can prevent canine vomiting altogether.
