Why Does My Dog Throw Up in the Morning?

why does my dog throw up in the morning

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In today’s world, everyone is busy during the morning hours; you have to get ready for your job or get to class, or you have to help your kids get up, have breakfast, and get ready for school. Time has, more and more over the years, become a luxury.

This can make it extra frustrating when your pet is vomiting in the mornings, adding on top of the reasonable concern that this occurrence causes. It’s understandably frustrating if your dog regularly vomits after getting up in the morning, adding to the never-ceasing list of daytime damands.

What’s more, it can really be concerning when your dog throws up at all, and a lot of dog owners are left wondering if morning throw ups are a reason to make an appointment with the vet.

Luckily, it’s not a matter of serious concern if your dog throws up occasionally. Dogs have short digestive tracts that will expel things that your pet’s body doesn’t like, such as a clump of grass they were munching on outside or a treat that just didn’t sit well.

However, a habit or routine of vomiting in the morning usually means something. This is a thing I’ve had to deal with myself, as well. Fortunately, you can very easily overcome the situation by adopting some simple changes in your pet’s routine, and in turn make the morning clean and beautiful for both you and your pet.

Why Does My Dog Vomit In The Morning?

A year (or maybe more) ago, my dog Grimm had a tendency to vomit first thing in the morning. On top of being annoying to have to clean up while also dealing with other things, it happened often enough that it was clear something wasn’t sitting right with him.

So I set out to trace my steps , so to speak, and learn why this was happening to my dog.

If you have faced a similsr situation, you may have noticed that your dog might vomit a yellowish liquid when they have been fasting overnight. This is bile; the yellow pigment is totally normal, and is naturally produced in the digestive tract to help in the digestion of dietary fats.

One possible reason for throwing up in the morning, especially if you are seeing this bile, is simply an empty stomach. When the stomach is empty for several hours, bile mixes with stomach acids and can in turn induce vomiting.

Therefore, dogs vomit a yellowish frothy liquid rather than the food they ate last night.

Pregnant dogs may also develop morning sickness; however, they will stop vomiting once the pregnancy is over.

Another possible (but less common) reason is offering (too-dry) dry food to your dog. Dry food absorbs the moisture of the digestive tract, makes the stomach expand, and produces excess stomach acid. This excess acid, along with frothy bile, can induce vomiting.

This is similar to what was happening with Grimm. At the time, I had a tendency to feed my dogs their second meal of dry food at night, which hadn’t fully digested by morning, and resulted in an upset stomach for Grimm when he became active again.

I started feeding a little earlier in the day and switched my dogs to a homemade dog food with a much higher moisture content, and never had the issue of morning vomiting again.

Why Does My Dog Vomit After Drinking Water?

One thing I noticed with my dog, Grimm, and his tendency to Vomit in the morning was that he would immediately go drink a lot of water first thing after being released from his crate.

After drinking a large amount of water, that is when the vomiting would occur, a mix of bile, undigested kibble, and water.

It was very likely that the two causes — that being, eating dry food late at night and drinking water first thing in the morning — were not only related, but working together to result in his morning upset.

Grimm was so thirsty in the morning because he would eat low-moisture food at night.

Then, because he was drinking so much water very suddenly and he had been largely inactive overnight, the vomiting would come around after every morning drink.

This is actually way more common than you might think!

Generally, this happens when dogs come back from play, exercise, or a long outdoor walk and drink a lot of water too fast. When they drink too fast, it stimulates the gag reflex of the dog and produces a feeling of nausea and vomiting.

Reasons Your Dog Might Be Throwing Up In The Morning

However, these are not the only reason that this happens. There are medical causes for vomiting as well, which should not be ruled out.

Among the medical reasons for vomiting after drinking water are conditions like megaesophagus and laryngeal paralysis.

Some common medical reasons for morning vomiting without an excess of water are reflux gastritis, bilious vomiting syndrome, colitis, pancreatitis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

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When a dog has any of these issues, they will also exhibit some other signs like loss of appetite, fever, lethargy, weakness, and weight loss.

Now we know that there is no need to worry if your dog occasionally throws up in the morning, and the condition can be managed well by taking some simple steps.

However, as there could be some underlying medical issues, it’s always better to consult your vet and get your dog screened thoroughly to be on the safer side.

How Do You Stop Your Dog From Throwing Up In The Morning?

You can avoid this early morning hassle by taking some simple steps to address the cause.

Firstly, you can cut down morning vomiting by feed your dog smaller meals more frequently rather than one big daily meal. The final meal of the day could be a small snack just before going to sleep. This will ensure that the stomach is not fully empty in the morning, but also not overly full.

Experts also discourage offering table scraps to your dog, as it can make your dog more prone to medical conditions like pancreatitis and reflux gastritis.

Giving treats too much can also cause stomach upset, so stick to food rewards and treats that you know your dog does well on, and use them sparingly.

If you think feeding a dry food is your issue, like it was for me, you can try a few options:

  1. Move your dog’s meals to earlier in the day so that the dry food is not sitting while your dog is inactive.
  2. Add a liquid to the kibble, like a bone broth from Brutus Broth, to help ease the dryness of the kibble.
  3. Switch your dog to a higher-quality kibble with a higher moisture content, like Ketona or any of the choices available at K9 Cuisine.
  4. Make your dog a homemade dog food or commercial real-food brand like Just Food For Dogs or Pet Plate

Author: Kimberlee Tolentino

Kimee has worked hands-on with dogs for over ten years, and today serves the role of head trainer and owner at Lugaru K9 Training in Port Orchard, Washington. Kimee has been a shelter volunteer, a dog walker, dog behavior intern, a dog trainer, and now specializes in behavior modification for pet dogs.