My 7-month-old puppy is throwing up. How do I prevent dehydration?

Question

My 7 month old maltipoo has been throwing up all day. It’s now clear but she keeps dry heaving. What can I give her to keep her from getting dehydrated and how do I stop this? Pet's info: Dog | Maltese | Female | spayed | 7 months and 16 days old | 11 lbs

Eryn Taormina, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hi there. I'm so sorry to hear about Sadie's troubles. You can offer Sadie some pedialyte - that won't hurt anything. However, it may not help as much as something like fluids under the skin or intravenous fluids that she can get at the vet office, because she may just throw up the pedialyte. Dogs that are vomiting and/or have diarrhea can be at risk for becoming dehydrated, sometimes even if they're drinking. There is always a certain amount of fluid loss in the vomit and/or diarrhea that cannot be replaced with simply drinking water. There can be many reasons a 7 month old dog is vomiting too, so I will briefly discuss those, and then ask that you keep an eye on Sadie. If she isn't improving in the next 12 hours or so, she should see her veterinarian. Parovirus is a gastrointestinal virus that unvaccinated puppies can acquire. It can cause serious illness, and even cause them to pass away. .If Sadie is not vaccinated, I would make sure she sees her veterinarian right away, so that they can test her for this disease. If she is vaccinated, just disregard this part of the answer, and continue reading. Ingestion of toxic substances can cause vomiting, as well as foreign objects that can get stuck along the gastrointestinal tract. If Sadie is at risk for ingesting something toxic, or chews up blankets/toys into pieces, then she should see her veterinarian to have an exam, and maybe even some labwork or Xrays evaluated. Parasites can also cause vomiting in puppies, so a stool sample can be evaluated at the lab as well, to make sure there aren't any of those. More often than not, dogs will just eat something that doesn't agree with them - like debris in the yard outside for example, and this can cause the signs Sadie has. I will always let clients know this, but it is a good idea to check for anything major, especially in a young puppy, to make sure they will quickly get better. Medications can be administered via injection to help with the vomiting and stomach upset, so she can slowly start eating again, and some fluids can be given to help rehydrate her. Once she is feeling better, she can be switched to oral medications since she won't just vomit them up. Again, you can try some pedialyte, but if this continues for >24 hour period, I would have Sadie examined to make sure she isn't very sick. I hope you find this answer helpful. Best of luck!

My 7-month-old puppy is throwing up. How do I prevent dehydration?

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