Why is my dog ​​vomiting white foam?

When a dog vomits white foam, food or thick saliva, it is usually a defense mechanism of its body, to eliminate what is causing internal damage. Therefore, we must be attentive to this type of situation experienced by the animal at any time of the day.

Vomiting in dogs can occur on some occasions, either because the dog ate too much, or ingested a food rejected by the chemistry of his body. Similarly, these could be a symptom that something is wrong with the health of our pet. 

In this sense, the animal may be experiencing a collapse in the tracheal area, due to the smallness of said part of its body, severe gastritis or cardiac pathology, which is common in some breeds of dogs with an enlarged heart.

There are many causes of vomiting in dogs, so it is important to pay attention to these symptoms, monitoring the situation, in order to assess how often they vomit, if they foam at the mouth, tremble, cough, etc. 

However, the judgment you make about the condition of the dog is preliminary, since the final diagnosis must be determined by the veterinarian in charge, since each animal has a different morphology.

3 causes of vomiting in dogs

Seeing your dog vomiting is a situation that will put you on alert, because at that moment you will not know what is happening in your body. In this sense, it is important to document yourself on the subject, in order to act immediately. Therefore, if you are one of the people who says “my dog ​​vomits a lot and I don’t know what the reason is”, you will be interested in knowing the most common causes of this symptom in dogs.

Overexertion in the dog

Exerting yourself while doing some physical activity leads to a series of harmful consequences for human health and, in animals, it shouldn’t be any different.

This means that if we demand too much from our pets, taking them for long walks in the open field, we could cause dehydration and even the well-known “heat stroke”, which is the increase in body temperature due to exposure to the sun. The result could be reflected in vomiting, dizziness and even fainting of the animal.

fast food intake

By consuming food too quickly, the dog could end up ingesting dust particles and hair, which will remain in the trachea area and cause irritation. Therefore, the adult dog or puppy vomits.

Likewise, it could be a major blockage caused by a bone or piece of food that it could not grind properly. If so, the vomiting will be persistent and the dog should be seen immediately by a specialist, since it could be experiencing a dangerous choking condition.

Gastritis and bloating

Gastritis and abdominal distension, also known as a bulging abdomen, are two dangerous diseases in dogs, causing vomiting, pain and fever.

In the first case, the canine will vomit a substance with a yellow or white hue, due to the absence of food in its body. This happens just after waking up, since a greater amount of acids are being generated in your digestive system that irritate and inflame that area.

For its part, abdominal distension arises because a significant percentage of gastric juices, food, air and foam accumulates in the animal’s stomach. All these elements combine and the dog quickly begins to vomit white foam, while the vein system is obstructed, restricting the flow of blood to the other organs.

Some treatments and recommendations against canine vomiting

We have already commented that vomiting in dogs can be caused by various health conditions in the animal, starting from simple indigestion to experiencing a more complex pathology.

The important thing is to identify the specific reason for canine vomiting, to put into practice some effective treatments and recommendations, which can help alleviate the symptoms and return the pet to good health.

If the dog suffers from gastritis

Vomiting due to gastritis can have different treatments, depending on the intensity of the disease. For example, the specialist can prescribe some type of stomach protector, which controls the action of gastric acids and a medicine for vomiting.

On the other hand, for vomiting caused by viral gastritis, the ideal is antiemetic drugs, whose specific function is against vomiting and the feeling of nausea in the pet. Additionally, you must keep the animal hydrated while it recovers.

In case of liver or kidney disease

If the dog is experiencing liver or kidney disease, he will constantly vomit white foam. In fact, if you search the web for “my dog ​​trembles and vomits” you will get immediate information about these pathologies.

If this is the case of the dog, all we can do is take it to the vet as soon as possible and follow the instructions given, since it is a couple of serious conditions that, if not treated carefully, could cause the death of the pet.

In this sense, the specialist will generate a diagnosis based on an ultrasound, blood test or biopsy, to formulate a treatment using drugs or surgery, depending on how advanced the disease is.

If tracheal collapse occurs

Tracheal collapse is usually unavoidable in some breeds, because their trachea is very narrow or there is some condition that affects the cartilage rings present in said duct, which are sometimes very sensitive.

It is a disease that, although it does not have a specific treatment with drugs, it can be avoided through certain care applied to the pet. In this sense, it would be necessary to avoid overexertion of the canine so that it does not become fatigued and lose control of its breathing.

Likewise, you will have to offer the animal a healthy diet, in order to maintain it at the recommended weight. In addition, it is convenient to eliminate the use of collars and replace them with a harness.

The different vomits of white foam are usually indicative that something is wrong with the dog’s health. However, any pathology can be prevented with a good diet and giving the pet vitamins for dogs with a load of extra nutrients. You should also take him to the vet annually for a checkup.