Vet-Approved Home Remedies for Upset Stomachs in Dogs

Tips for Relieving Your Dog's Upset Stomach at Home

I learned about these effective, natural home remedies for canine GI problems at the veterinary hospital where I used to work. We would offer these tips as an option to owners of pups with minor stomach upset when we had a shortage of vets and no same-day appointments available.

Not surprisingly, many clients didn't reschedule because their dogs recovered nicely with these vet-approved remedies! The best part is that you can make them with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

If followed carefully, these remedies may soothe or heal your dog's upset stomach. However, in some instances, they may not be sufficient, and medical treatment will be the only option. Here are the steps in brief, with more thorough explanations to follow below.

1. Determine if Your Dog Is a Candidate for Home Remedies

You should NOT attempt home treatment if your dog is acting lethargic, vomiting continuously, having repeated squirts of diarrhea, expressing bloody stools, or getting dehydrated quickly. Consider that young puppies can dehydrate quickly and that older dogs are vulnerable to excessive vomiting or diarrhea.

2. Check Your Dog's Hydration Levels

You can check your dog's hydration levels either by examining their skin elasticity or by checking their gums for color. See your vet immediately if your dog is dehydrated. You will find directions on how to check your dog's hydration levels below.

3. Fast Your Dog

Fast your dog for 12 to 24 hours, depending on its size and age. See the vet immediately if your dog continues to vomit even after you've taken food away.

4. Make Sure Your Dog Doesn't Gulp Water

You should entice your dog to drink, but will need to keep an eye on the amount of water he or she consumes. Though it may seem counterintuitive, letting your dog gulp loads of water may further irritate their stomach and lead to more vomiting.

5. Feed Your Dog a Bland Diet

If your dog has an upset stomach, you should feed them a bland diet of rice and low-fat meat. Bonus foods could include plain canned pumpkin, a tablespoon or two of yogurt, or probiotics.

6. Monitor Your Dog Closely

After fasting and being fed a bland diet, your dog should have better-formed stools and no more vomiting episodes. Take your dog to the vet if they are acting lethargic or not like their normal selves.

7. See Your Vet

If the above steps don't work, go see a vet. It's possible there is a more serious underlying condition.

8. Reintroduce Regular Food Gradually

Do not quickly go back to the dog's old diet. That can cause stomach upset all over again.

Symptoms of Upset Stomach in Dogs

Typically, dogs with an upset stomach will show the following symptoms:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Excessive drool
• Desire to eat grass or lick carpets/floor
• Loss of appetite
• Passing gas
• Gurgling noises from stomach

Step 1: Determine if Your Dog Is a Candidate for Home Remedies

Once again, the home remedies listed in this article are not for all dogs—some should see the vet as soon as possible, as their upset stomach may have a serious underlying cause that needs to be addressed.

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Note: Please see your vet if your dog is acting sick or lethargic, running a fever, and not acting like his normal self. There could be a serious condition that needs immediate veterinary attention, such as parvovirus, an intestinal obstruction, gastroenteritis, or pancreatitis.

So who are these remedies good for? They may help those dogs who:

• Have an upset stomach from recently switching foods (new foods should always be introduced gradually!).
• Underwent a recent dietary indiscretion—think raiding the trash can. This only applies if the dog did not consume fatty foods (which can cause pancreatitis), toxic products, or bones that can cause a blockage.

Do not try home remedies for an upset stomach if your dog is:

• Acting lethargic
• Vomiting continuously
• Having continuous squirts of diarrhea
• Expressing bloody stools. Some causes of bloody stools in dogs can be serious!
• Getting quickly dehydrated

Again, these remedies are only for mild cases due to dietary indiscretions or abrupt diet changes. Seek your vet if your dog is sick and the vomiting and diarrhea are severe and not getting any better. If in doubt, it's better to err on the side of caution and see the vet than to use home remedies and delay treatment.

Once you have determined that your dog may be a good candidate, you can move on to step two to make sure your dog isn't dehydrated, and then you can try following the bland diet protocol.

Warning! If your dog's stomach appears distended or your dog is pacing nervously, drooling, and retching without producing vomit, see your vet immediately; your pet may have bloat, a life-threatening condition seen more often in deep-chested dogs.

Step 2: Check Your Dog's Hydration Levels

If your dog is vomiting or has diarrhea, you need to make sure he is not becoming dehydrated. Continuous vomiting and repeated liquid diarrhea may lead to a rapid loss of fluids. This is one of the biggest dangers for dogs suffering from vomiting and diarrhea.

Keep in mind that small dogs and puppies tend to become dehydrated more quickly than larger ones. To check your dog's hydration levels, do the following:

Check for Skin Elasticity

Among the tests we use to check for hydration levels is checking for skin elasticity; the skin quickly loses elasticity in a dehydrated dog due to lack of moisture. To check the level of skin elasticity, gently lift the skin on the back or between the shoulder blades in a tent using two fingers.

If the skin snaps back quickly into position, good. If it delays, or worse, stays lifted, then the dog needs to be rehydrated quickly. Often, this entails subcutaneous fluids from the vet (an IV).

Check the Gums

It is good practice to check the gums as well. Typically, a well-hydrated and healthy dog's gums are a nice salmon-pink color and coated with a slimy film of saliva. Run your finger over your dog's gums and check for sliminess. Dry or tacky gums are a warning sign of dehydration.

Another way to assess dehydration is by checking the dog's gum capillary refill time (CRT). When dehydration occurs, the volume of circulating blood is reduced from its normal amount. The gums are the best place to look for this.

To check for capillary refill time, do the following: Press on your dog's gums with your fingertip until the area becomes white, then remove your finger and count how long it takes for the gum's surface to return to its normal pink color. Generally, the normal refill time is less than two seconds. More than that may suggest the blood is not flowing normally.

Warning: See your vet immediately if your dog doesn't pass these hydration tests!

Step 3: Fast Your Dog

If your dog's hydration levels check out, you can proceed to fasting. To fast, pack away any food he may have out and don't feed him anything (including treats!) for at least 12 to 24 hours. The purpose of this is to allow the gastrointestinal tract to rest and recover if inflamed.

Many dogs do this naturally by losing their appetites for a few hours after being sick. However, your dog may not be sick enough to lose his appetite, so you may need to step in to prevent him from further upsetting his stomach with food.

Fasting for a few hours will do no harm, and, in this case, it is considered therapeutic. Indeed, according to veterinarian Nancy Scanlan in an article for Veterinary Practice News, "Complete or modified fasting is a natural part of a wild canine diet, and fasting or some form of reduced calories also benefits their health."