Administering medication to your dog can be a stressful experience for both you and your furry friend. However, it can become even more complicated when your dog throws up the medication, adding to your worries.
For pet owners who are already concerned about their pet vomiting food, the thought of them vomiting medication can be even more alarming.
So, what are the reasons behind this behavior? How can you prevent your dog from vomiting their medication? What should you do if your dog vomits flea medication? And what steps should you take if your dog vomits within 15-60 minutes after taking medication? Join me as we explore these questions and find out.
Dogs may vomit medication due to various reasons, such as: ♦ Allergies ♦ Infections ♦ The medication is too harsh on their stomach If your dog vomits medication, you can take the following steps: ♦ Administer the medication with food such as canned food, pumpkin, boiled chicken, or treats. ♦ Consider changing the medication. ♦ Give your dog probiotics to support their digestive system. ♦ Provide small amounts of Pedialyte or bouillon, and a liquid diet. If there is no vomiting after about 24 hours, gradually introduce a bland diet and a 50:50 chicken and rice diet. To learn more about these steps and how to manage medication-related vomiting in dogs, keep reading.
Why does your dog keep throwing up his medicine?
Well, there can be several reasons. It can be because of the medicine, or it can also be because of an issue with your beloved pet. Let’s check what these reasons are.
1. It can be because of an allergy..
If your dog throws up the medicine as soon as you give it to him, it might be because his body has a mechanism against it.
Many dogs have allergies to different things, and some include meds too. So it’s essential to read the leaflet about the side effects.
If you suspect he’s allergic, stop the administration and revisit your vet as soon as possible.
If the dog has an allergy to the meds, you can sometimes see redness and inflammation in the ear. But keep in mind, an ear infection can have the same symptoms.
Check the gums for paleness and the ears for redness. The paleness can be from multiple causes, but anemia caused by a bad reaction to meds such as antibiotics might be one.
2. It can be because of an infection…
If your dog throws up his medication, you can assume he has an infection in the gastrointestinal tract that warrants using that certain type of meds.
This can differ from medicine to medicine.
If it is 8 hours after taking the medication, it is unlikely that the vomiting was due to the medication but another issue like this.
3. Meds can be too rough..
Just like certain meds like antibiotics are really rough on our stomachs, they can be rough on your loved ones too.
Some medications are too rough on dogs’ digestive tract that can result in vomiting and bloody diarrhea.
How to keep your dog from throwing up its medicine?
Seeing your loved one throw up can be a heart-wrenching scene, whether it is because of meds or not.
So let’s see how to keep a dog from throwing up his medicine. There are several ways.
1. Give him medicine with food…
Vets always recommend dog owners to give their meds along with food so it would ease stomach issues.
This way, it’s easy for you to make him take his meds, and also it would lessen any damage on his insides. But, the act of forcing medicine down their throat every time is mostly very stressful to your dog.
There are various ways you can use food to give them meds. Below I have mentioned a few of them.
Canned food.
What you can do is feed him some canned dog food or put the medication in a ball of canned food to feed him as a treat.
Pumpkin.
You can give him meds with pumpkin. It is well known to settle the stomach so that it will be perfect in this matter. You can try this with rice or replace the pumpkin with sweet potato.
Boiled chicken
What else is their favorite except for meat? You can try giving them bland food like chicken and rice to soothe his stomach beforehand.
Treats
You can give their favorite treats after they swallow their meds so they can forget the aftertaste.
2. Change the medication..
For this, you should consult your vet first. They may be able to change the meds to something that will be less irritating to your dog’s stomach.
Or they could even give you a medication to inject and show you how to do it.
3. Try the below method before every pill..
Why wait to know if your dog would vomit his pill out after he takes it? You can try the following method, which massively reduces the chances of throwing up after taking the meds.
After taking the meds, you can start by giving small amounts of Pedialyte or bouillon and going on a liquid diet. Then after 24 hrs of no vomiting, reintroduce a bland diet and give your pet a 50:50 chicken and rice diet.
No matter how the meds are dosed, once daily or every 12 hours, you can give the dog a few saltines slowly overtime to settle the stomach. Also, wait 4 hours before dosing again.
Then 12 hours after the initial dose, give a much smaller test dose, maybe a quarter of the original amount in something like a treat, or roll it in a cheese slice.
But if your pet vomits again, please refrain from this method and consult the vet about switching meds.
4. Give probiotics
Probiotics are a safe alternative you can give. Typically, these are made up of friendly bacteria that aid to keep your dog’s body healthy and functioning well.
Veterinary products are made especially for canines and cats. Over-the-counter probiotics and yogurt may also be beneficial.
If the dog throws up an antibiotic, should you give it another one?
Well, the answer to this question can be both yes or no, depending on several things. However, with antibiotics especially, keep giving it to him as directed by your vet unless he tells you otherwise.
Answer is yes if..
Your dog vomits within the first 8 hours of taking it because the antibiotic will likely not be absorbed if so.
Your vet may recommend redosing and also a bland diet.
Also, you will need to redose him if you see the pill in the vomit.
That would mean it is definitely not absorbed. It would be okay to wait an hour and give him another pill.
Answer is no if…
Your dog throws up after 8 hours. Commonly the gastric transit period for dogs is roughly 6 to 12 hours.
So throwing up after this period is better than throwing up right away since at least a small dose of antibiotic has likely entered the small bowel.
And if it did enter the small bowel, that means it is absorbed.
Considering antibiotics, you can also speak with your veterinarian about administering an antacid along with the antibiotic because that might help with throwing up.
What to do if the dog threw up flea medicine?
First, let’s see what flea medicine is. It is taken to control fleas, and there are many safe and effective flea control products for dogs.
They are either available with a veterinarian’s prescription or sold over the counter. Many products kill and prevent other parasites, including ticks, heartworms, intestinal parasites, mites, and biting flies.
For flea medicine, vet advice is that if the dog throws up the medicine within the first six hours, he needs to retake it. With flea medicine, it is better to be safe than sorry.
It is believed that redosing heartworm pills do significantly less harm than actually getting infected with heartworms.
By the way, here’s whether dogs need to shave to get rid of fleas and ticks.
What to do if the dog threw up 15-60 minutes after taking the medicine?
Now let’s see what steps we can take after your dog throws up his meds are. For easiness, I have divided it into three time periods.
1. First 30 MINUTES: Observe
Firstly, what you have to do after your dog vomits is to clean the vomit. Then inspect it and see if it contains the pill or parts of it.
Also, take note of the consistency, color, and amount of vomit; you could even take a picture with your phone.
This information might be helpful for your vet later.
2. 30-60 MINUTES: Keep an eye
Check how the dog is feeling or if he has any other symptoms.
If your dog isn’t showing additional symptoms and doesn’t vomit again, then it’s all okay! If you found the tablet in his vomit, this is a good time to call and ask your vet if redosing is necessary.
If vomiting is accompanied by weakness, lethargy, seizures, or more vomiting, you should go to the veterinarian as soon as possible because this might indicate something more serious.
3. 1-2 HOURS: Get to work
If you had to go to the vet because of any other symptoms, as mentioned in the previous step, he would let you know what to do next.
If the condition is serious, they will run diagnostic tests to check for infections or parasites and administer IV fluids if your dog is dehydrated.
He will also see if there is a need to reduce the medication or if it is needed to switch medications. Make sure to watch your dog carefully for the rest of the day to ensure no other symptoms are there.
Give him more fluids to replace the fluids he lost while throwing up. If he keeps throwing up his pills again, it would be wise to consult the vet and switch medications.
Recommended reading: Here is everything you need to know about gulping attacks.
Things to be aware of.
Your loved one throwing up can be a very heartbreaking scenario for you to see whether it’s because of his pills or not.
But there are few things you should be aware of when it comes to vomiting because it can be confused with regurgitation for some dog owners.
Now let’s see what the differences are between these two occurrences.
Vomiting VS Regurgitation.
- Vomiting is the ejection of the stomach and upper intestine contents through the mouth, whereas regurgitation is expulsion from the esophagus.
- Vomit comes from the later part of the digestive tract, so it has more fluid and is of yellow or brown color because of bile. But the contents of regurgitation, such as the food or pills, do not make it to the stomach and are not digested. So the food will look much like it did when it was eaten.
- In vomiting, the dog will have to use his abdominal muscles to get the contents out.
So it’s a strenuous and dynamic process. However, in regurgitation, there are no such active movements.
Regurgitation often happens right after eating, unlike vomiting, although it can also occur because of issues with the esophagus.
So it is better if you can identify between vomiting and regurgitation so it will be helpful for your vet.
Conclusion.
So as I have mentioned above, now you know the reasons why your dog is throwing up his medicines. Although there are several methods to keep him from throwing them up, you should keep in mind to consult the veterinarian if anything occurs out of the ordinary, such as bloody vomit or fever. Hope this entire comprehensive guide will help you to understand your loved one’s health and safety well.
Good luck!
