As pet owners, we are constantly on the lookout for any worrisome signs that our animals might be showing. You may have good reason to be worried if your dog has been vomiting water after drinking. This isn’t typical behavior, especially if it keeps happening.
While not all of the possible causes of our dog’s post-drinking vomiting are alarming, some of them very certainly can be. Read on to discover nine potential causes of your dog’s watery stools as well as solutions.
The 9 Possible Reasons Why Dogs Throw Up Water After Drinking
Laryngeal Paralysis
A medical disease known as laryngeal paralysis affects a dog’s larynx and prevents it from functioning normally. The laryngeal muscles support the larynx. These muscles relax as their nerves weaken, which causes the cartilage to collapse inward.
Laryngeal paralysis has a wide range of potential causes, such as trauma to the neck or throat, tumors, and hormonal disorders. Even puppies can develop the congenital form.
The medium-to-large breed size range and older canines are more likely to be affected by this illness. Along with feeling sick after eating or drinking, you might also experience the following signs and symptoms.
- Coughing after exertion
- Noisy breathing
- Panting
- Bark sounds hoarse
- Gagging
If your dog is unable to breathe normally, this condition may become life-threatening. Thankfully, surgery can be used to address it.
Megaesophagus
Mega esophagus, which causes a dog’s esophagus to enlarge and lose its motility, is a mix of several illnesses rather than a single illness. This makes it challenging for the food to enter the stomach, which leads to an accumulation of both food and fluids in the food pipe because it has nowhere else to go.
Dogs with this illness may start passively regurgitating their water. Before regurgitation, you most likely won’t experience any heaving or gagging.
Multiple factors, such as brain damage, esophageal blockage, esophageal inflammation, toxin exposure, or hormonal disorders, might result in mega esophagus. This disorder is a birth defect in some dogs.
Among the additional signs to watch out for are:
- Bad breath
- Symptoms of pneumonia from aspiration
- Muscle weakness
- Wasting
The underlying reason will ultimately determine how this illness is treated. By preventing regurgitation, your vet may only want to treat the symptoms your dog is displaying. In order to encourage the esophagus to transfer food and liquid to the stomach, they may also recommend a high-calorie diet or diets with a certain consistency.
Blockage
Every time your dog eats or drinks, they start to vomit food or water and this is accompanied by gagging or stomach spasms, they may have a blockage. They have ingested a foreign object that prevents food and water from passing through, which will cause them to vomit.
If your dog consumes a food item that it cannot digest, blocks may develop. Similar symptoms can be brought on by polyps and partial obstructions. In addition to vomiting, watch for the following symptoms:
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
- Weakness
- Diarrhea
- Straining to poop
You should take your dog to the vet if you think they have a blockage. Blockages have serious side effects and may even be lethal. To ascertain whether surgery is required to clear the obstruction, your veterinarian will conduct a physical examination, take abdominal x-rays, and run blood work.
Drinking Too Fast
Sometimes, when your dog drinks, it’s just because he drank his water too quickly. After spending a lot of time outdoors in warm weather or after exercising, dogs tend to drink more frequently. When they consume alcohol too quickly, they become sick and start to vomit.
If your dog has a tendency to consume a lot of water quickly, give them only little amounts of water after their walks or workouts. Another option is to put a sizable, spotless rock in their water bowl, forcing them to drink around it.
Bacterial Contamination
Even though your dog’s bowl appears to be clean, it often isn’t. Your pet’s food and water bowls could become contaminated with bacteria if they are left unattended. This is particularly valid if you have outdoor water bowls.
Your dog may come into contact with bacteria like Salmonella or Leptospira in ponds and other bodies of still water that have been polluted by the faeces of other animals or even people.
Cleaning your dog’s indoor and outdoor water and food bowls every day will help to lessen the possibility of bacterial contamination.
Another approach to stop them from puking after drinking is to discourage them from consuming water from unidentified outdoor sources.
Parasites
Giardia and Cryptosporidium parasites, which can also sicken our pets, have been discovered in our drinking water. Although these protozoan pathogens typically cause diarrhoea, they can also cause vomiting when they proliferate in the gastrointestinal system.
Other typical parasite signs to watch out for include:
- Fever
- Food intolerance
- Lethargy
- Exercise intolerance
- Weakness
- Weight loss
- Poor coat appearance
Giardia and Cryptosporidium are typically treated in an outpatient setting. Your veterinarian might advise restricting food until your dog’s digestive issues go away and increasing fluid intake to avoid dehydration.
Blue-Green Algae
As you may already be aware, pools and ponds with stagnant water can harbour microbial contamination in addition to hazardous levels of blue-green algae. This tiny, resembling-a-plant organism can be found in small lakes, streams, rivers, and canals.
Sadly, blue-green algae are frequently not visible on the water’s surface. However, dense blooms have the potential to clump together or even turn the water a bluish-green colour.
Blue-green algae poisoning symptoms include:
- Weakness
- Itching
- Lethargy
- Jaundice
- Excessive salivation
- Difficulty breathing
- Muscle rigidity
- Diarrhea
- Bleeding
- Shock
Keep your dog on a leash whenever you are near any body of water, especially if it appears unclean or foamy. Even though the water appears to be safe, don’t allow them drink from it.
You must take your dog to the vet right away if they drank water that was tainted with blue-green algae. Given how quickly the algae spreads, prompt treatment is crucial. The sooner you can get the toxins out of your dog’s body, the better the outlook will be for him.
Food Sensitivity
Dogs’ vomiting may also be brought on by food sensitivities, which can upset their stomach. Your dog may be experiencing an upset stomach, which is what is causing his vomiting, if you recently changed his food and didn’t give him enough time to safely adjust to his new meal.
You never know how your dog’s body will respond to table scraps or other human food, so avoid giving it to him.
Your dog probably has food residue in his vomit if food sensitivity is the cause of his post-drinking vomiting.
Dehydration
Dehydration can rapidly become serious. Drinking water can make your dog queasy and make them throw up what they’ve consumed if they get dehydrated. Pet owners are quite frustrated because they need to hydrate their animals but how can they do so if they are throwing up the fluids they are drinking?
Additional signs of dehydration include:
- Loss of skin elasticity
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhea
- Lethargy
- Panting
- Sunken eyes
- Thick saliva
- Dry nose
Offer electrolyte-enhanced beverages like Pedialyte if you think your dog may be dehydrated and they are frequently throwing up from dehydration. But first, discuss dose suggestions with your veterinarian.
Dehydration can develop into a significant medical emergency requiring veterinarian assistance. To replenish the fluids your dog has lost and to stop any additional loss, your veterinarian can deliver IV fluids.