My dog keeps throwing up and dry heaving. Should I take him to vet?

Question

Last night I woke up to the sound of my dog vommiting and dry heaving. This happened non stop for about 15 or so minutes. I gave him water and rubbed his belly until he eventually calmed down. This has been becoming more and more frequent over the months and I was wondering if anyone has any tips? Should I take him to the vet? Or is it just common upset stomach? Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Male | neutered | 15 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

Poor Lucky! It's true that dogs do vomit occasionally, and this can certainly be due to a simple upset stomach in some cases - especially if it doesn't happen very often, and the dog is acting normal otherwise. With Lucky, though, I'm concerned because you mentioned that his vomiting has become more and more frequent over the past few months. This makes me think that there may be an underlying illness of some kind that is causing him to be sick so often. Some possibilities would include chronic pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease (this can sometimes cause vomiting without any other symptoms, in dogs), a food allergy or intolerance to something in his diet, or a systemic illness like liver or kidney disease. I would recommend taking Lucky to the vet for an exam when you are able to - he/she can do blood work and other testing if needed to help check for these things. If a problem is found, in many cases it should be treatable with medication or some type of diet change, so it's well worth trying to get an answer if you can.

My dog keeps throwing up and dry heaving. Should I take him to vet?

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