You’ve come downstairs only to find a little puddle of vomit on the kitchen tiles. Your Corgi is licking her lips and looking decidedly sorry for herself. What’s going on?
In most cases, eating something rotten, toxic, or just too rich is the cause of most vomiting. Any food or items your corgi shouldn’t have eaten will come right back up if consumed. Other reasons include a range of health and digestive issues.
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What Happens When Your Corgi Throws Up
When your Corgi vomits, the contents of their stomach are brought back up through their mouth. It is not always easy to tell if your dog has vomited, as you may not be present when it happens.
Vomit may look like digested food, bile or foam. It can sometimes be hard to differentiate it from poop, especially if it is brown or slimy.
When a dog needs to vomit, they often experience nausea. This is usually displayed as lip licking, salivating, and lethargy. Your corgi may also refuse their food and hideaway.
Once a dog begins to vomit, their stomach contracts forcibly and this is visible when we look at their abdomen. They may make a loud retching noise and may cough before and afterward.
Is Your Corgi Vomiting Or Regurgitating?
It is important that we do not confuse regurgitation with vomiting. Regurgitation is when the stomach contents are brought back up without any abdominal contractions or nausea.
A dog will usually be feeling and acting as normal before and after the regurgitation; they may even try to eat what they have just evacuated from their stomach!
As regurgitation has different causes to vomiting, it is important not to get the two confused.
12 Reasons Why Your Corgi Is Throwing Up
Vomiting is a very common symptom and can have many causes. Let’s run through some of the most common:
- A viral, bacterial, or parasitic gastroenteritis
- Liver disease
- Kidney disease
- Pancreatitis
- A gastrointestinal obstruction (e.g. a foreign body such as a sock that has lodged in the small intestine)
- Toxin ingestion
- Dietary indiscretion (eating something they shouldn’t have)
- Motion sickness
- Stomach ulcers
- Pyometra (an infection of the uterus in unspayed female Corgis)
- Diabetes
- Vestibular disease (which tends to occur in older Corgis)
As you can see, there’s a lot of potential causes as to why your Corgi is throwing up, most of which are health-related.
Check out many more interesting Corgi articles here.
Other Signs To Lookout For
Vomiting is rarely a symptom that occurs by itself. When a dog is vomiting, determining what else is going on can lead us towards our diagnosis. We should be checking for other symptoms such as a reduced appetite, diarrhea, panting, or pale gums. Anything out of the ordinary will act as a ‘clue’ as to what may be going on with our Corgi.
Monitor their food and water intake, watch them when they go to the toilet, and keep track of their daily activity. Any information you can provide the vet with will prove useful when making the diagnosis.
Is Vomiting Always Serious?
Absolutely not. Vomiting is a common symptom that many dogs will experience during their lifetime. However, it can point towards a serious issue in some cases so should always be looked into. This is especially true if it is ongoing (chronic) or accompanied by other symptoms. If your Corgi is off their food, depressed, or losing weight, we should take their vomiting seriously.
While not a pleasant task, do always take a look at the vomit your dog has produced. Bright red blood flecks or digested blood that has the appearance of coffee grounds is a red flag.
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How To Help Your Corgi After Vomiting
In many cases of vomiting, such as mild gastroenteritis, you can help your Corgi at home. It is important to ensure that they are well in themselves. They should have good energy levels, a healthy appetite, and pink and wet gums.
If you have a feeling your Corgi just isn’t okay, or gets worse, don’t hesitate in calling your vet.
There are several things we can do at home to help our dogs get over short bouts of an upset stomach such as:
● Fasting for 12 hours to let the stomach and gut settle. This is generally a good idea but may not be appropriate for all Corgis. For example, puppies and senior dogs need to eat regularly to avoid blood sugar dips.
● Feeding a bland diet. Commercial prescription diets are available, containing easy-to-digest ingredients that support gut health. Alternatively, good old-fashioned boiled chicken and rice offered little and often can be very restorative for a poorly digestive system.
● Offering plenty of water. Those that are vomiting are losing fluids and at risk of dehydration. Be sure their water bowl is regularly topped up with cool, freshwater.
● Consider a short course of probiotics. Probiotics can help restore the healthy bacteria in the gut and are particularly useful if the microbiome is unbalanced. Probiotics are available in capsule, powder, and liquid form and can usually be given alongside regular meals.
● Ensure your Corgi is up to date with good quality parasite prevention. Worms are one of the causes of vomiting and those who are raw fed or who eat other dog’s feces (coprophagia) are most at risk.
● Allow your Pooch to rest. When under the weather, your Corgi will not be up for a long hike and their body needs to rest so they can recover from their illness. A short toilet break in the yard every few hours is all the activity that is needed.
● Monitor your four-legged friend closely. If the vomiting continues or they do not seem themselves, a vet visit is for the best.
When To See a Vet
It can sometimes be tricky to know when we need to bring our dog to the vet. A single vomit after eating some grass in the yard is an unlikely cause for concern. Similarly, if your Corgi rushes their meal and brings it back up but is bouncy and wagging their tail, we probably don’t need to be bringing them to the emergency room just yet.
A vet visit is appropriate when a dog continues to vomit and/or cannot hold food down. Similarly, if they are lethargic, off their food, or generally unwell, a check-up is called for. More worrying signs would include a bloated or tense abdomen or unproductive retching.
If in doubt, the safest best is to have your Corgi seen as vomiting can be a sign of a serious underlying issue in some cases.
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What Will The Vet Do?
When a vet is presented with a vomiting Corgi they may run some tests such as a blood test, urine test or abdominal scan, depending on what they find on the physical exam.
The treatment they start will very much be prescribed on a case-by-case basis. However, some of the more common treatments will include:
- An anti-vomiting injection
- Ant-acids
- A bland, prescription diet
- Probiotics
- Antibiotics
Those dogs who are not able to hold down food or water may need to be hospitalized and put on a drip. This should prevent dehydration and also provides the opportunity to give any required medicine intravenously.
While vomiting in an otherwise healthy dog is usually not something we need to be overly concerned about, it is important to keep a close eye on your Corgi. They should improve shortly and if in doubt, have them seen by their local vet.
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