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While I don't deal with this all the time, there are days when a dog vomits. It's part of life with dogs. I've been feeding raw for nearly ten years and I've found that my dogs vomit for a variety of reasons. It's not fun, but it can be informational.

Please keep in mind that this post is not about chronic vomiting. If your dog is exhibiting signs of illness, please contact your veterinarian.

Vomiting vs. Regurgitation

Before we get into what my dogs are up to, I think it's important to distinguish the difference between vomiting and regurgitation. The difference has to do with where the food was when a dog ejects it from their system.

According to Washington State University, with vomiting, the food is coming from the stomach and upper intestines. With regurgitation, the food is coming from the esophagus.

Vomiting After Eating Raw Dog Food

If a dog is new to raw feeding, vomiting may happen because their gut is preparing for a different meal and when the raw hits their gut, it doesn't sit well and it comes back up. A dog may vomit after eating a raw meal because…

• the pH of a kibble-fed dog's gut is different than that of a raw fed dog's gut
• the meal is a mixture of raw and kibble, which is too much for some dogs
• the dog doesn't have a healthy gut microbiome, which is needed to digest their new diet
• the dog is eating too fast because, “yayyyyy, raw meat, finally my human gets it!”

Although these experiences can be disconcerting, for many dogs, it's part of the process and natural that they'll vomit their food and re-eat it.

What worked for me was working on my dogs' gut health. When Apollo joined our family at seven months, I added a digestive supplement, to his diet to improve his gut microbiome after months of eating kibble. Today, I give my dogs a whole food supplement that supports gut health, the immune system, and more.

Why My Raw Fed Dogs Vomit

My dogs don't vomit all the time, but when they do toss their lunch, I pay attention because they're telling me something isn't working with their food. The following are the reasons my dogs vomit and what I did to correct their diet or anything else.

1 – Eating Disgusting Things

Sometimes, dogs eat disgusting things, and sometimes, they vomit.

We never have to deal with the dogs getting into the trash or anything in the garage. But my dogs have eaten slugs and, once, a snake and then vomited them up in the house. When this happens, my dogs might vomit once or twice. When they're ready, I feed them something easy on the gut mixed with Rx Vitamins Rx Clay Powder Digestive Supplement for Dogs. The clay is hydrated calcium aluminosilicate, which works as a digestive supplement that…

• soothes and repairs the intestinal tract
• removes toxins from the gut
• relieves minor inflammation
• relieves vomiting

The directions say to add one scoop for every 10 pounds of body weight, but I often mix a tablespoon in bone broth, raw goat's milk, or kefir and feed this to my dog for 24 hours.

2 – Hunger Pukes

Hunger pukes happen when a dog has a build-up of stomach acids in anticipation of a meal that doesn't come. My dogs have them from time to time; usually in the morning. The vomit is a clear liquid with a yellow tint, because their stomachs are empty. The following options can help dogs that experience hunger pukes:

• I feed my dog around the same time every day
• If I'm late with my dog's meal, I give him a small snack
• on fasting days, instead of no food, I feed raw goat's milk or bone broth

Some raw feeders feed a larger meal in the evening or later in the evening. Because blood sugar spikes are higher in the evening and last through the night, kind of ruining the 16-hour fasting time period I created by only feeding my dogs between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

3 – Eating Too Many Bones

Although a dog's gut is acidic, making it easier to digest raw meat and bones, sometimes the bones can linger and irritate the gut. A few of my dogs struggle if I feed them too many raw meaty bones. Learning which bones are a good fit for each of my dogs was the solution.

My dogs don't have issues with air dried treats and we've had a subscription to Real Dog Box for years.

4 – Chemotherapy Drugs

I had a dog that was diagnosed with cancer, and one of the drugs in his protocol causes nausea and, if left untreated, will lead to vomiting. Otherwise, my dog was strong and healthy; I'm thankful that the veterinarian prescribed Cerenia. He received a dose as part of the treatment, and I've been instructed to repeat the dosage every 24 hours for our days. Fortunately, my dog tolerated the chemo well and only needed two follow-up doses once.

If your dog is struggling with chemotherapy treatment, please speak with your oncologist about options that will provide relief.

5 – Car Sickness

When Rodrigo was a puppy, he would vomit in the car if we drove more than a mile from home. I tried ginger treats, pumpkin treats, and Children's Dramamine. Nothing worked. The following advice from a dog trainer did work:

• for a week, Rodrigo and I would sit in the car; we didn't go anywhere. We just sat in the driveway.
• during the second week, I slowly drove around our driveway.
• during the third week, we went to the bottom of the hill and back.
• by the fourth week, he could handle short trips around town.

We stopped there because we wouldn't be going on longer trips. Eventually, he was able to go on longer trips without issue.

Making Changes to their Raw Food Diet

Feeding too many ingredients in a single raw meal can be too rich, but, in my experience, this has never resulted in vomiting. When my dogs eat a rich meal, they get diarrhea.

When my dogs vomit, I pay attention to see if I need to change their diet. Sometimes, vomiting can turn a dog off of eating because they associate the meal with being sick.

If my dog is hungry (tries to eat and is showing interest in food), after vomiting, but is hesitant (sniffs, then turns or backs away), I take their dish away and feed them something completely different and slowly incorporate their normal food back into the rotation.

If a Dog Repeatedly Vomits

So, when do we call the vet?

Thankfully, I haven't had to call the veterinarian because of vomiting. I've always thought that if vomiting was accompanied by other signs of illness, I would call the vet or head to the emergency vet. But I should know this information, so I looked it up and learned that…

“It is not as concerning for your dog to vomit 2-3 times within 10 minutes and then be fine. If your dog vomits three or more times over a period of eight hours, you should be worried. If there is any blood in either, you should take your dog to the vet immediately.” ~ St. Francis Veterinary Hospital

Cleaning Up Dog Vomit

I don't have any secret tips or tricks for cleaning up vomit. We have hardwood floors and tile and one of my dogs is kind enough to vomit outside.

There are tons of carpet stain removers on the market, even a few that claim to be natural. There are also many homemade stain removers that work too. I usually clean up the mess, soaking up as much as possible, and then I use dish soap and hot water to scrub the spot clean.

White Vinegar

You can also make a paste with vinegar and cornstarch; this is for tough, ground in dirt and I wonder if it'll also work on older stains.

• combine 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to form a paste
• rub the paste into the stain using a dry cloth
• let the area set for two days, then vacuum

I want to try this with baking soda; it's safe to mix baking soda with vinegar.

Baking Soda (Recommended for Vomit)

• cleanup the chunks (yeah, I know)
• blot the area with high paper towels
• pour baking soda over the area and gently tap with a paper towel
• leave for an hour
• vacuum up the stop

You can also use cornstarch in place of the baking soda.

Read More About Dog Health and Raw Feeding

• A Complete Glossary of Common Raw Feeding Terms Used by Dog Owners
• Ultimate Guide to Kombucha for Dogs: Benefits and Risks
• The Omnivore Misconception: Unraveling the Truth About Dogs
• How Soon Do the Benefits of Raw Dog Food Appear?
• Easy Venison Homemade Dog Food Recipe