How Do You Know if Your Dog Has a Stomach Ache

Adrienne is a certified dog trainer and one-time veterinarian banana who partners with some of the best veterinarians worldwide.

Understanding the Signs of an Upset Stomach in Dogs

It is not unusual for dogs to take an upset stomach. Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal hurting seem to touch on well-nigh puppies and dogs at some betoken in their lives.

If we look at statistics, tummy troubles in dogs are one of the main reasons why canis familiaris owners take their dogs to the vet. According to Nationwide, a prominent provider of pet health insurance in the U.S., intestinal upset and upset stomach in dogs took fifth and sixth position in the ten peak reasons dogs are taken to the vet.

Gone are the days when it was thought that dogs do not feel hurting in the same degree that humans do. A better understanding of dogs has revealed that dogs exercise feel pain only like humans—they just may exist ameliorate at hiding it.

The trend of dogs to suppress signs of hurting virtually probable stems from their evolutionary by; when in the wild, at that place was a survival advantage to hiding hurting. Weakness in the wild could take easily turned dogs into piece of cake targets.

When it comes to abdominal hurting, nausea, acid reflux, vomiting and diarrhea, most dogs will bear witness signs of hurting and discomfort, but sometimes they don't always match what we would expect. To make matter fifty-fifty more than complicated, subtle signs ofttimes magically vanish at the vet'southward office due to the novel environment of the veterinary clinic and the adrenaline rush.

Here are some signs of an upset stomach in dogs along with some less common ones. Of form, vomiting and diarrhea are some signs that weren't worthy of mentioning here because they're too obvious!

Lip smacking is a sign of upset stomach in dogs.

i. Lip Smacking

Lip smacking is one of the less recognized signs of an upset stomach in dogs considering it'due south frequently associated with other types of ailments. Why practise dogs engage in lip smacking when they have an upset tum? In order to improve understand this behavior, it takes understanding what happens exactly when a dog'south tummy is upset to the betoken of potentially vomiting.

When nausea takes place in dogs (and this applies to humans too, by the fashion!) there is frequently an increase in salivation. This can seem quite odd considering that an increase in salivation is often seen when a dog or person is craving or strongly desiring nutrient. Withal, nausea and vomiting seem to be the antithesis of food cravings. And so why does information technology happen?

The respond is: for a very good reason. The production of saliva is initiated by the salivary glands and increased saliva can be due to 2 different scenarios: either too much saliva is being produced or in that location is a decreased clearance of saliva (in other words, the saliva accumulates considering it has nowhere to go).

In the case of nausea, there is an overproduction of saliva. Because vomit is highly acidic in nature, information technology can cause potential impairment to the dog's throat, mouth and teeth. An increment in salivation, therefore, helps reduce this damaging effect. On pinnacle of that, saliva is also weakly alkaline, which can aid neutralize a flake the acid, explains Luis Villazon, a science author.

And then lip licking and lip smacking is the dog'due south fashion of dealing with backlog saliva, but sometimes, it's non enough, which leads to the second sign of an upset tummy in dogs.

Drooling is a sign of upset stomach in dogs

2. Drooling

Drooling is a consequence of excess salivation in dogs. As in hyper-salivation, it takes place when too much saliva is being produced from the salivary glands.

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In the example of a dog with an upset stomach, drooling is once more a event of the protective role saliva plays in protecting the dog's throat, mouth, and teeth from the harmful furnishings of the acidic vomit.

Now, non all dogs will drool visibly when they are nauseous. It seems to vary from canis familiaris to canis familiaris and can be based on the canis familiaris's conformation or perhaps personal preferences. For instance, my male Rottweiler will drool significantly when he is nauseous; whereas, my female who is fastidiously clean, will readily lip smack and pass her tongue on her lips then to remove any trace of saliva.

Dogs equipped with pendulous lips are notorious for drooling fifty-fifty when they are not nauseous. Examples of dogs with pendulous lips include bloodhounds, mastiffs, and great Danes. These dogs may drool buckets of saliva when they are sick to their stomachs.

If your canis familiaris is gulping, they may be feeling nauseous.

3. Gulping

Gulping is some other symptom of nausea in dogs. Simply equally with lip licking or lip smacking, gulping is some other style to tackle excess saliva production.

Gulping can also be seen in dogs suffering from gastroesophageal reflux. Affected dogs often act restless and have a panicky look on their faces. They may consume and exhibit an esophageal spasm as reflux backs upward with stomach acid.

At times, this type of gulping may exist seen as well in dogs who accept ingested a foreign item that is stuck in the esophageal surface area. A common crusade of this is a dog ingesting a foxtail.

Gulping may also be seen in dogs who have sustained some sort of injury to their esophagus such as a scrape from ingesting something sharp or a burn from ingesting something too hot or something caustic.

Video of a Dog Gulping and Acting Panicky

4. Eating Grass

Do dogs eat grass to make themselves vomit, or exercise they vomit because they swallow grass? This seems similar a chicken-and-egg question, and information technology's ofttimes debated. Some dog owners report that their dogs swallow grass when they are sick, while others study that their dogs but love to consume grass and happen to vomit equally a consequence.

In my opinion, information technology'due south both. Many dogs I have seen eat grass simply for the pleasure of it. These dogs seek tender grass to nibble on and bask. If they consume too much or have a sensitive tummy, they volition sometimes, simply not always, vomit as a side-result.

On the other hand, I have seen dogs commencement the whole lip smacking, drooling and gulping behavior and ask to become out. Once out, these dogs will frantically consume grass, oft picking the roughest blades. If lucky, in the side by side few minutes they end up vomiting, simply then they are shortly dorsum to their normal, happy selves.

If your dog is the type that goes in search of greens when his tummy is upset, make sure that he's kept away from chemically treated lawns and toxic plants!

It is possible that subclinical gastric or intestinal distress occasionally evokes grass eating, which may facilitate airsickness. In fact, we found from our large study that if dogs showed signs of illness earlier eating plants, they were more likely to vomit subsequently than were dogs that did non bear witness signs of illness beforehand

— Dr. Benjamin L. Hart, board-certified veterinary behaviorist.

Dogs are prone to licking a variety of surfaces if there is not grass available.

five. Licking Floors, Carpets, Glass, and Other Surfaces

As seen in a higher place, in nature, when dogs feel sick to their breadbasket they are predisposed to seeking and ingesting grass, but what happens if they are inside a domicile and there is no grass available? Afflicted dogs may start licking surfaces such as carpets, floors, drinking glass, windows, and couches. Sometimes, afflicted dogs may besides lick their ain forepart legs and paws or even the possessor's legs, easily, or arms.

This form of licking needs to be closely monitored, considering that if likewise many hairs and fibers are ingested, this may result in life-threatening canis familiaris intestinal blockages that may necessitate surgical intervention.

Affected dogs should be screened for a variety of digestive disorders known for causing nausea or gastrointestinal discomfort such equally liver disease, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, inflammatory bowel affliction and even certain types of cancer such as intestinal lymphosarcoma, explains veterinary behaviorist Dr. Valerie Tynes.

There are several other potential causes for dogs licking carpets and other surfaces, only when a vet suspects it to be a sign of nausea, it may not exist a bad idea to do a trial of famotidine alone or in combination with metronidazole for 7 to x days stops just to see whether the licking behavior, subsides. If so, then more extensive diagnostic tests can exist carried out to decide the underlying cause of the gastrointestinal upset, further explains Dr. Tynes.

If your dog is suddenly not hungry when they ordinarily would exist, something is not correct.

half-dozen. Loss of Ambition

If your dog is turning his olfactory organ away from the food he has been eating for many years, don't just assume he is suddenly existence picky or it's just part of getting erstwhile. Dogs tend to practice what their instincts propose them to exercise when their stomach is upset.

The thought of eating food oft becomes unappealing and this is because nature suggests that it's time to give that tum some residue. Extra work digesting food at a delicate time like this may only make things worse, leading to potential vomiting and more time recovering.

At a closer insight, that loss of appetite in dogs is triggered by hormones which are responsible for stimulating and suppressing a dog'due south hunger response. Ane particular hormone is ghrelin, which has been affectionately nicknamed as the "hunger hormone. "

Produced by the dog's gastrointestinal tract, ghrelin promotes eating past activating several appetite stimulating neurons while inhibiting ambition suppressing neurons at the level of the hypothalamus, explains board-certified veterinarian Dr. Audrey Melt who has studied the dynamics behind the physiology of appetite regulation.

Did you know? A new ghrelin receptor agonist has been now recently developed for veterinarian use for the purposes of increasing appetite. It's known every bit capromorelin (Entyce) which is indicated for utilize in dogs in need of appetite stimulation.

Other products known to help stimulate ambition include mirtazapine, megestrol acetate, prednisone, and prednisolone. Of course, any long-term loss of appetite should require veterinarian investigation so to rule out underlying digestive or metabolic disorders.

vii. Stomach Noises

The medical term for stomach noises is borborygmus. Stomach sounds are often described equally gurgling sounds by dog owners. Occasional sounds may be normal because that sometimes the passage of food through the digestive rail may produce some sounds.

Increased or repetitive sounds though are often indicative of increased motility of the stomach and intestines and this is often due to indigestion. The indigestion may exist due to a variety of causes such as eating something new, a visit to the trash can or eating something non digestible. Often, a domestic dog's upset tummy sounds may be followed past a bout of diarrhea.

Too, something to consider, is that the noises produced may just be the passage of gas as it moves around the intestines. Many dogs tend to ingest lots of air when they eat fast and this air must go somewhere, which leads to the next sign of upset stomach in dogs....

viii. Burping

Burping in dogs may be just a normal part of digestion. Dogs who swallow very fast will likely ingest air and that will crusade them to eructate (belch) the gas normally. Still, excessive burping may point to a digestive problem. Affected dogs may have a tour of gastritis, where the stomach acid may cause some burping.

Increased burping accompanied past vomiting may exist suggestive of some sort of back pressure on the stomach or decreased motility which allows food to motility back up rather than normally transiting through the gastrointestinal tract.

This can happen as a result of waste matter building up every bit it may happen with organ failure, or the presence of a mass in the belly or some principal disease procedure such as inflammatory bowel illness, explains veterinary Dr. Kara.

nine. Passing Gas

Passing gas may be a normal occurrence. Certain domestic dog breeds though may exist more prone to this compared to others. The medical term for the passage of gas is flatulence and the gas emitted is referred to as flatus.Flatus is excessive formation of gases in the stomach or intestine.

Flatus is a byproduct of bacterial fermentation, it can occur as a result of diet when dogs ingest highly fermentable cobweb and indigestible carbohydrates, explains Claudia Kirk, a lath-certified veterinary specializing in internal medicine.

Additionally, as mentioned certain dogs breeds may be predisposed. Predisposed dog breeds are dogs eith smudged faces (brachycephali) such equally boxers, bulldogs, and Boston terriers.

As much equally flatulence may be natural, excess gas may be indicative of a problem. Backlog gas may take place with dietary indiscretions or too sharp diet changes. The presence of parasites or protozoans my too cause stomach noises and passage of gas. Excess flatulence may likewise betoken to some malabsorption issue which may be triggered by underlying digestive bug such as inflammatory bowel illness (IBD).

Certain medical disorders volition likewise increase the risk of flatulence. "When a patient has a GI disorder that involves malabsorption of nutrients in the intestine, those malabsorbed nutrients act as substrates for fermentation in the colon.

— Claudia Kirk

Other Signs of an Upset Stomach

There are several other signs which may pinpoint to an upset stomach in dogs. These signs may at times be suggestive of some serious disorders such as bloat which is frequently seen in deep-chested dogs. Seeing the vet is important to play information technology safe and for proper diagnosis and treatment. All these signs of an upset stomach in dogs are not pathognomonic (specifically indicative of a detail condition) of an upset tummy in dogs, and therefore may be due to other medical problems. For example, back pain/neck pain can oft exist confused with abdominal pain in dogs.

10. Restlessness

Some dogs may become restless when their tummy is upset. They may prevarication down and change positions frequently.

See your vet immediately if your dog appears to be in severe hurting, restless and also retching (like they're trying to vomit merely nothing is coming out), pacing, has abdominal distention as these can be signs of life-threatening bloat.

11. Guarding the Abdomen

Several dogs may commencement tensing up and tightening their belly muscles when touched because information technology hurts. Some dogs may too growl. Caution is needed when dogs are in hurting as they may bite. Again, whatever signs of astringent hurting along with restlessness, unproductive vomiting, and distended abdomen warrant an emergency trip to the vet.

12. Changes in Interactions

Affected dogs may change the mode they collaborate with their owners. Some dogs may get extra clingy, sticking past their owner's sides soliciting attending. Some domestic dog owners report it's equally if their dogs are "asking for help."

Other dogs, on the other paw, may become distant and reclusive. Sleeping away from their owners, possibly in another room.

13. Shaking

Shaking can be seen in dogs with abdominal hurting or nausea, merely it tin also be seen in dogs suffering from acute hurting in the back or spine area. See your vet for proper diagnosis and treatment.

14. Assuming the Praying Position

The praying position is the name given for when dogs assume a stretched out position with the bottom in the air. It's like to when dogs perform a "play bow" extending the front legs and breast downwardly.

Dogs assume this position in an attempt to salvage whatever pressure level or pain in the abdomen. This can be acquired past different medical weather condition causing painful abdominal spasms such as pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), ingestion of a foreign trunk etc. to proper noun a few causes.

fifteen. Reduced Activeness

While restlessness may be worrisome, so can reduced activity. A canis familiaris reluctant to move around, climb up stairs or jump on furniture may be suffering from abdominal discomfort or hurting. Then many a dog walking with a stiff gait. Sometimes temporary abdominal gas hurting tin exercise this, merely persistent hurting and a dog not eager to move around may exist worrisome.

Reduced action with significative pain can be indicative of serious issues such as pancreatitis or a foreign trunk obstruction.

Play It Safe and Meet Your Vet!

If your dog is showing signs of an upset stomach, it's important to see the vet for proper diagnosis and handling.

An upset stomach in dogs can exist triggered past a variety of bug such as eating something toxic, sharp dietary changes, eating something that is not digestible, an intestinal blockage, a tum ulcer, inflammation of the pancreas and even organ problems such as gallbladder or liver illness.

For mild upset tummy occurring every bit a result of eating table scraps or an precipitous diet change, you may find it helpful to use these vet-approved dwelling remedies for a dog'southward upset stomach. Notwithstanding, when in dubiousness, your best bet is to ever see the vet considering certain underlying causes tin be serious (think bloat!) and require quick veterinary attention.

This commodity is authentic and truthful to the best of the author's knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinarian medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

© 2018 Adrienne Farricelli

Adrienne Farricelli (author) on September 08, 2020:

Hi Alex, did your vet really provide a formal diagnose for the flu? Or just assuming that'south what it is? What diagnostic tests brought to this conclusion? Please update him/her with all the vomiting going on.

Alex on September 07, 2020:

How-do-you-do everyone,

My 5 year quondam edge collie has the flu? He threw upwards human size amounts of fungus and spit all day Thursday. We took him to the vet and they gave him some anti nausea meds. On Friday he threw up less and had diarrhea. We took him dorsum to the vet, they took an X-ray that showed nothing, and gave united states more anti nausea meds. Sat he wouldn't eat. Sun he wouldn't eat but had a slightly meliorate attitude. Today it'southward Mon and we are freaking out. Whatever ideas?

Mike j on July fourteen, 2020:

To cure a domestic dog permanently of indegestion, cease all hard and chewy food, stop dog treats, dental cleaners, scraps, biscuits etc. feed just soft nutrient eg ' chappie'

Thou jones on July 14, 2020:

My jack Russell suffered with indegestion, appetite loss, noisy tummy...so I stopped the dry food and treats biscuits, dental cleaners etc... I only feed her a soft food diet, I give her the recommended corporeality of ' chappie' only, in three small meals, cured her instantly

Adrienne Farricelli (author) on July 13, 2020:

Hi Kim, since he'southward eating and drinking it could be he'southward non suffering from an upset stomach merely something else. Ever best to play it safe and see the vet to see what may be going on.

Kim Stull on July 12, 2020:

My pup is nigh 4yrs old today he started acting weird he just lay effectually sometimes we go to pet he he back abroad he'due south eating & drinking not sure whats wrong with him I am worried

Adrienne Farricelli (writer) on July 04, 2020:

Hi Vrunda, beingness that your dog is a young puppy and is inactive and refuses to swallow or drink, your all-time is to accept him see a vet to play it safe. The causes of a dog's upset stomach are many and treatments may vary based on the underlying cause.

vrunda on July 04, 2020:

my wadi dog 4 months o;d male child puppy had fiddling vomiting in morning only his stouch is making gurgling sounds till afternoon. now no sounds but he refuses to eat or drinkable water and is just inactive...he passed normal stools in morning and urine by x am

. what to do ?

Adrienne Farricelli (author) on March 22, 2020:

Hi Paris, your dog sounds frightened, possibly due to beingness nauseous or maybe something else is going on and causing hurting when swallowing. Please take him see the vet to know what is going on.

Paris on March 17, 2020:

My domestic dog is boot lip smacking not moving Or eating eyes wide open up laying down hiding

Cathy on January 23, 2020:

How to tighten your small-scale dogs stomach?

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on June 14, 2018:

Cheers for sharing all of the information. It's skillful to know what to watch out for in a pet. Information technology's horrifying to retrieve that people in one case believed that dogs don't feel hurting as we do.

Linda Rogers from Minnesota on June 14, 2018:

Thanks for the great information. Information technology's actually helpful for me as a dog owner. My dog loves eating grass and I wondered the very affair you mentioned here about the chicken or the egg.

Adrienne Farricelli (writer) on June 13, 2018:

How-do-you-do Clive Williams, indeed, that'south why I emphasized in the section list some other signs that these signs are not pathognomonic of an upset stomach in dogs.

Clive Williams from Jamaica on June 13, 2018:

Pretty Interesting. Merely some of these signs can be for various other reasons too.

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Source: https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Signs-of-an-Upset-Stomach-in-Dogs