Health
White foam on the floor, yellow bile on an empty stomach, or four bouts overnight and a chin on the floor. Not equally serious, and none is treated from the cupboard.
Caution. He is trying to vomit and nothing comes up, he is restless and his belly is swelling: leave for the clinic now, this is what a twisted stomach looks like. Also today: vomit with blood, repeated vomiting where even water will not stay down, a puppy or old dog vomiting and not eating, a flat dog with a painful belly.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
Six in the morning, a patch of white foam on the floor, and an hour later the dog eats his breakfast as if nothing happened. Another house: the dog brings up yellow liquid on an empty stomach, several mornings in a row. A third: he has vomited four times since last night, will not look at food and is lying with his chin on the floor, staring at nothing. The first two usually have a simple explanation and can be talked through with your vet on the phone or at the next check-up. The third cannot wait. This page shows you how to tell them apart, what to write down, what your vet will ask and what not to do at home. What you will not find is something to give him "to settle his stomach": with a vomiting dog, the vet first wants to know why, and the answer comes from feeling his belly, sometimes from an X-ray.
If you are heading to the clinic, take the packaging of whatever you think he ate and a photo of the vomit. On the phone, say how many times he has vomited, since when, what came up and whether he is drinking. A small dog can dehydrate in a single afternoon.
Vomiting has dozens of causes, from a meal wolfed down too fast to kidney disease. The vet sorts them by the history, and you are the one holding the history.
Vomiting or regurgitation? People mix them up all the time. Vomiting takes effort: he tenses, his belly heaves several times, often he drools and swallows repeatedly first, then up comes partly digested food, frequently with bile. Regurgitation is effortless: he lowers his head and the food just drops out, undigested, sometimes in a tube shape, a few minutes after eating, with no heaving. Repeated regurgitation points to the oesophagus, and that means a different set of tests. If you are not sure what you saw, film it next time. Ten seconds of video shortens the consultation.
What came up. Undigested or digested food, yellow-green liquid, white froth, blood, bits of toy, grass, hair, worms. Take a photo, yes, even of vomit.
When. The time and how it relates to meals (straight after, a few hours later, in the morning on an empty stomach, at night), and how many times in 24 hours. Yellow vomit in the morning, in an otherwise healthy dog fed once a day, usually comes from the stomach being empty too long. Your vet may suggest splitting his ration, but that is their call, once everything else has been ruled out.
The rest of the dog. Whether he is eating, drinking, weeing, passing stools, and what the stools look like. Note too whether he has been drinking more than usual for a few weeks. In a dog over eight, vomiting plus heavy thirst calls for blood tests, not patience. Add his weight to the notes, and what his belly looks like.
What he could get at. The bin, party leftovers, the compost heap, broken toys, socks, garden stones, houseplants, a handbag with chewing gum and medicines in it. Ask everyone in the house what they gave him. Children usually know, if you ask without telling them off.
His history. Vaccinations, last worming, any current treatment (some cause nausea), known conditions, operations, the last time he vomited like this and what it turned out to be.
In training we see dogs who, after a trail, gulp cold water too fast with a stomach full of air from panting and bring up a little froth. Once, in an otherwise healthy dog, it is nothing to panic about. Twice a week is a different conversation.
| What you see | First ideas | When to see the vet |
|---|---|---|
| One vomit with food; he is bright and eats afterwards | Ate too fast, too much or something unsuitable | If it happens again the same day |
| Yellow liquid in the morning on an empty stomach; otherwise well | Bile on an empty stomach | Book an appointment; note mealtimes until then |
| White froth a few times; bright dog | Empty stomach; a productive cough mistaken for vomiting | If it repeats or a cough appears |
| Retching with nothing coming up; swollen belly; restless | Twisted stomach (bloat) | Now, on the way to the clinic |
| Repeated vomiting plus diarrhoea, in a puppy | Parvovirus; worms; foreign body | Today |
| Repeated vomiting, pain, cannot settle | Foreign body; pancreatitis | Today |
| Vomiting plus heavy thirst, older dog | Kidneys; liver; hormonal disease | Appointment in the next few days, with blood tests |
| Vomiting, thirst, unspayed bitch after a season | Pyometra | Today |
| Vomit with blood or like coffee grounds | Ulcer; foreign body; poisoning; clotting disorder | Today |
The table helps you put some order on what you are seeing. The diagnosis is made by the vet, with a hand on the dog's belly.
Before you leave, ask when and with what to restart food, and which signs should bring you back the same day. Type them into your phone while you are still with the vet.
A healthy dog does vomit now and then, once every few months, for no obvious reason and with no after-effects. If you have noted the dates, you already have the answer to the vet's "how often?". Once the episodes become weekly, even if each one looks trivial, you are dealing with a chronic symptom. It gets investigated before he starts losing weight.
A dog who vomited once and is asking for food an hour later is not a case. One who has vomited twice a week for the past month is a case nobody has opened yet. If you do not have a regular vet, our page on related services helps you choose a practice.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
Most often an empty stomach and saliva, in a dog who is otherwise bright; once means nothing. If it keeps happening, if he coughs first (kennel cough often ends in froth that looks like vomit), or if he retches with nothing coming up, with a swollen belly and restlessness, go to the clinic straight away: that is how a twisted stomach starts.
The yellow is bile, and it shows up when the stomach has been empty for many hours, typically in the morning in dogs fed once a day. If it is the only sign and he is well, note mealtimes and talk to your vet about splitting his ration; it is not an emergency. If it comes with lethargy, poor appetite or heavy thirst, bile no longer explains it and he needs blood tests.
In a healthy adult who vomited once and refuses the next meal, you can wait until the following morning, with water available in small amounts. If he vomits again, will not drink, is lying flat or has eaten nothing for 24 hours, ring the vet. With puppies, small dogs and old dogs, do not wait even the first night.
Nobody knows exactly. Plenty of healthy dogs eat grass without vomiting and without being ill, and only some bring it up afterwards. Grass on its own is not a sign of illness. It becomes one when it comes with something else: repeated vomiting, soft stools, weight loss, poor appetite. Then the grass is a detail in the diary and the rest of the list is the reason to see the vet.
No. Human medicines for nausea or the stomach are not made for dogs, and some harm them. Even veterinary ones, given without an examination, are a bad idea: they can mask a foreign body or a blockage, so he stops vomiting while the problem stays inside. Your vet prescribes them after feeling the belly and, where needed, after an X-ray.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
A puddle on the carpet at five in the morning, or three days of soft stool with mucus. Two different problems, and neither one gets solved from your medicine cabinet.
Half a bar of dark chocolate missing, the grape stalk bare, the sock gone. Gather the wrapper, work out how much he ate and call. Do not make him sick yourself.
One dog grazes calmly in the park, another gulps long blades and is sick on the carpet. Those are two different behaviours, and each one gets a different answer.
He sniffed the bowl and walked off, twice running, yet he's drinking and wagging. With a bright adult you can wait a day. With a puppy or an old dog, you can't.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.