Induce Vomiting in a Dog – How, When and Why?

Inducing vomiting means forcing yourself or an animal to throw up. This is very important to know, even if currently there is no reason to induce vomiting in your dog, as it may save its life later on. It’s better to know now, rather than learning when your dog’s life is in question.

In this article, we will explore why you should or should not do this, as well as what to pay attention to.

Inducing vomiting

As said before, inducing vomiting is forcing yourself or your dog to throw up – often in order for the dog to get cleaned from toxic substances in its stomach. If left untreated, toxic substances can increase toxicity in your dog and create serious health problems, that may even be fatal.

Why should you induce vomiting to a dog?

Dogs are prohibited for the sake of their health not to eat specific foods. This includes some vegetables, some fruits, and some substances as well.

View a list of toxic vegetables, substances, and fruits that are very harmful to your dog. Such substances may cause the need of inducing vomiting to your dog.

If your dog ingested some of the mentioned foods, there is a high chance you should induce vomiting to prevent further problems. Such problems may be stomach pain, coma, poisoning, and organ failure. Therefore, you should take this very seriously, because it may save your dog’s life.

When should I induce my dog to vomit?

As said before, inducing vomiting to dogs can prevent many further, more serious illnesses and can even save its life. You should most likely induce vomiting to your dog if it ingested some of the previously mentioned foods. However, each vegetable, substance, or fruit has explained symptoms and advice if you should induce vomiting to your dog or not, if ingested.

It’s best to know what your dog must not eat and what symptoms may it show if it’s getting poisoned by food that is toxic to it. Some foods, such as tomatoes, are normal for humans to eat but can be deadly for dogs to eat.

In conclusion, induce vomiting to your dog when it ingested something that may put its health at risk.

When should I not induce vomiting to my dog?

Do not induce vomiting to your dog if it is:

• already vomiting
• severely lethargic
• comatose
• decreased swallowing ability
• difficulty breathing
• seizures or hyperactivity
• recent abdominal surgery or megaesophagus (a generalized enlargement of the esophagus)
• consumed corrosive agents, sharp objects, or drugs
• dog ingested a toxic substance more than 2 hours ago

If you are unsure if you should induce vomiting to your dog or not, make sure to call a veterinarian. He or she will give you advice after you tell more information about your dog. By the way, make sure to tell any symptoms of dog poisoning you may recognize, it may also help.

However, this does not mean you should induce vomiting to your dog by yourself. The best thing you can do is transferring it to a veterinarian to do it, which is probably the safest thing to do. I just want to make sure you have knowledge of doing it even if you do not have access to a veterinarian.

What you should know

In order to induce vomiting to a dog, you should use hydrogen peroxide 3% – which is the recommended solution for inducing vomiting in dogs. Stronger solutions than this one may be toxic for the dog, so be careful. On the bright side, most of us have such a solution of hydrogen peroxide at home, commonly used as antiseptic or simply for cleaning the house interior.

How does it work?

Hydrogen peroxide acts as an irritant to a dog’s intestinal tract. Therefore, it will make the dog feel nausea and the need to throw up. The amount of ingested contents dog will throw up will be around 50% from its stomach. In most cases, this is enough and further treatment can help decrease the remaining toxicity in the dog’s stomach.

How long does it take?

The dog should start vomiting from hydrogen peroxide 3% solution intake after 10 to 15 minutes. However, this may take up to 45 minutes, or may not even work at all if your dog needed a bigger amount of the compound to react. Small dogs and big dogs will need different dosages.

Where should the dog be?

Ideally, your dog should be somewhere where it feels comfortable vomiting and where vomiting is not a problem. For instance, such an area can be grass, dirt, or stone surface. It should stay there for at least 45 minutes, to make sure it will not vomit anymore.

How to increase the chances of vomiting?

If your dog did not eat anything within the last 2-3 hours, except the toxic food you want to get out of its stomach, then you should give the dog a small meal. I suggest you give him some kind of wet food instead of dry because it will make vomiting easier.

Should the veterinarian do it?

Definitively yes. Most veterinarians have experience in such cases and they will know exactly what to do in order for your dog to stay safe and healthy. However, if you cannot transport your dog to a veterinarian, nor can the veterinarian come to your home, you should at least have one on the phone while you are doing it.

The dog should not inhale hydrogen peroxide

This can lead to pulmonary aspiration, making your dog cough and have trouble breathing. Therefore, you should do it quick

Preparations

Before inducing vomiting to your dog, you should get hydrogen peroxide ready and prepare the recommended dosage for your dog. Doing these things incorrectly can harm your dog’s health, therefore I highly suggest you do this correctly.

Correct hydrogen peroxide

First thing’s first, make sure that you have exactly hydrogen peroxide 3% solution. As stated before, any stronger solutions can be very toxic for your dog and do more harm than good. Hydrogen peroxide 3% solution usually costs around $2 per 150 milliliters and it can be found in almost all pharmacies worldwide.

Recommended dosage

The proper amount of hydrogen peroxide for your dog is 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds (2.25 kg) of the dog’s body weight. However, the maximum dosage you can give to your dog is 3 teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide, even if it weighs more than 20 pounds.

If you are still unsure about this, calling your veterinarian for advice is always a good idea.

How to induce vomiting to a dog

Insert the previously prepared amount of hydrogen peroxide 3% into a syringe, pipette, or turkey baster. Now widen your dog’s lips on the side and pour hydrogen peroxide 3% into its mouth. By doing this, your dog will immediately swallow the substance.

Now you can make your dog walk a bit in order for hydrogen peroxide to react faster in its stomach. Your dog should vomit within 15 minutes of ingestion, but if it doesn’t, you can give him a second dose. It’s highly recommended that you get advice from your veterinarian before doing so.

Dog vomited, what now?

It’s good to collect vomit sample from your dog and give it to your veterinarian to analyze it. This can help your veterinarian give you more information about the toxic substances your dog swallowed.

You can expect your dog to vomit up to 45 minutes long after hydrogen peroxide 3% ingestion. However, if this lasts more than 45 minutes, you should get in contact with your veterinarian as it may cause some side effects.

Bad reactions, such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, bloat, gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), or gastric ulcers should be considered serious. If your dog shows these symptoms, you should take it to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Make sure to tell the veterinarian that you induced vomiting to your dog and explain as many details as you can.

Conclusion

It’s good to know how to induce vomiting in your dog, even if you don’t have to do it at the moment. Keeping hydrogen peroxide 3% in your backpack or bag while traveling is a good idea, especially if you travel with your dog. If you are on the road and your dog ingested something toxic, you should know how to help him.

The best thing you can do is letting the veterinarian help your dog, as the majority of veterinarians have years of experience and good knowledge of such issues. However, if you are doing it on your own, make sure to do it properly and recognize bad side effects your dog may show afterward.

Inducing vomiting in your dog can save its life and you should always be prepared to do it.