Fern's Guide to Pet Care

Why Is My Dog Being Sick

Grrr!! There’s that horrible “V” word again! I keep asking Master not to use it. Still, I get a biscuit after he’s finished pulling me about, so it can’t be all bad! At least I don’t get carted off there every time I have to bring something back. Hope this is useful – make sure your humans read it.

Dogs have a number of health problems that are, normally, not serious. Being sick is one of the more common ones. And I’m sure every dog owner knows, and recognises, that hacking sound which means your dog is about to be sick. What can we do about this? Well, of course, the first thing is to rapidly get the dog outside, or stick a thick wad of newspaper under his nose so the carpet doesn’t get ruined.

And what causes dogs to be sick? Well, it can be any one of a number of causes, most of which don’t mean the dog is actually ill. He (or she) may have eaten something that didn’t agree with them. And that doesn’t mean you should throw out the dog food, either. Pretty well every dog will pick up and eat things that he comes across on his travels. Most of these are harmless, but sometimes a dog will eat something he shouldn’t, and a short time later, back it comes. “But I never allow my dog to pick things up and eat them,” you protest. But do you watch your dog every moment of every day?

There are other things that may cause a dog to be sick, as well. Something may just have tickled the back of his throat. He may have picked up a loose hair that was shed from his coat. If he eats grass, and most dogs do, from time to time, then a slightly longer blade may also have tickled his throat. In fact some people believe that a dog will graze when A his tummy is not feeling so comfortable, perhaps in the hope of this very result.

Remember that, for a dog, being sick is not the distressing event it is for a human. Most of us are only sick when we are really ill.

Of course, if the sickness is more than a one-off event, then it does indicate something is really amiss with the dog. That means it’s time to take a deep breath, dig into your pockets, and call the vet.

If your dog is sick, be calm and don’t make a great deal of fuss about it. This is your dog is probably not in the slightest distressed by the event. They have a tendency to do the equivalent of shrug their shoulders, say “Bother” and get on with the day. But if the human, the Alpha member of the pack, starts making a big palaver about the fact that the dog has been sick, then the dog will be distressed, wondering what he’s done wrong.

There are, of course, lots of other minor afflictions your dog may suffer from. Here is a book which will give you advice on how to cope with them.