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Dog vomiting & diarrhea after kennel: Is it stress? What to do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | spayed | 4 years and 4 months old | 11 lbs

My dog stayed in a daycare kennel all weekend, she got home last night and threw up everything she had ate and tried to drink water and threw that back up. Her stool is runny also and every time we go outside she tries to poop and nothing comes out...can I give her any over the counter medicines or what can I do to help with her upset stomach? Could this be stress causing this??

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on June 26th, 2017

Poor Addie! Stress can certain cause an upset stomach in some dogs, so it's possible that this could be the problem given that she just returned from a boarding kennel. If she is acting normal otherwise, you can try withholding food for the next 12 hours to give her stomach a chance to settle, then feed a bland diet of plain boiled chicken and rice for the next 2-3 days until things are back to normal. I'm afraid that by law, we cannot recommend any kind of medication for any pet (even over-the-counter meds) without an exam - but I can tell you that I don't find any OTC meds particularly helpful for GI upset in dogs. Withholding food and a bland diet are usually the best things to do :) If she continues to vomit even though her stomach is empty, or if she develops any other symptoms such as acting lethargic or not wanting to eat, I would recommend taking her to the vet for treatment as these can be signs of a more serious problem.

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 25th, 2018

    Hello, sorry to hear about Lilly. Yes it does sound like she has stress diarrhea. However, other causes such as parasites and inflammation of her bowel cannot be ruled out. She will need to see her veterinarian if her diarrhea does not resolve but you can feed a bland diet in the interim. This includes plain white rice, skinless and boneless boiled chicken, and low fat cottage cheese. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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