Make My Dog Vomit?

Yesterday was a pretty scary day for us as dog parents and Atlas. I had to make my dog vomit. Why? Well, the day started like any other. We got up, I made coffee, breakfast. The good stuff. Until about 2pm in the afternoon. I was in the restroom when my husband called for me.

He didn’t sound alarmed, so I didn’t rush. But then he called for me again and this time, he said, “Hurry, Babe.” So, I came out to the living room and he said that Atlas had just collapsed. He then proceeded to tell me that she had puked outside.

Collapsed? Why?

A Dog Vomiting.

When a dog vomits, it’s just like a human puking. It can be devastating on their bodies. It also takes a lot of effort for a dog to vomit up whatever upset their stomach’s. First, a dog can vomit for so many reasons. You can usually tell why your dog vomited, based on the color and texture they vomited up.

Dogs will eat toys, cotton, socks, you name it. If they can get it in their mouth, they can eat it.

In order to assess what’s going on with your dog, you need to examine the vomit. What color is it? The contents inside the bile. Once you assess what’s inside the vomit, then you can move on.

My husband was alarmed when she collapsed, though. He said that she looked drunk, staggered and fell over on her side. Of course, I had never seen her do this before. I asked where the vomit was, and he pointed out a small pile of greenish colored vomit. Normal looking bile from the stomach. No contents inside it. I then asked, “What did she get into?”

What Did My Dog Get Into?

I asked what she got into. He said he wasn’t sure, but he picked up an empty pack of gum and said she had that in her mouth before running outside. Okay, gum is dangerous for your dog.

Gum almost always contains a very toxic ingredient to dogs, Xylitol. I immediately turned the pack over to look for this ingredient, and sure enough, there it was. OMG. I ran outside to look more closely at the bile and didn’t see any remnants of gum. I then asked, “Where did she get this? How long did she chew on this? Did you see her eat it?”

He said, “She came from the kids room with this in her mouth.” So, I ran into my kids room and started looking for wrappers, gum remnants, anything. I found a single piece of gum but it wasn’t eaten, it was simply open like she licked it.

What I Did Thinking She Ate Gum.

I called my kids immediately. I asked them both how much gum they had in their room. Was the empty pack full? My oldest said she had three pieces on her bed. She has a bunk bed, Atlas can’t get up there. Then I remembered my Nephew was in their room, playing on the PS4.

I asked him to jump up there and look for the pieces. There were none. I Googled, “How many pieces of gum are toxic for a dog to eat?” They can die from One Single Stick! I asked my daughter again, “Are you SURE you had three pieces up there?” Yes, she did.

I asked my Nephew to look again. Nothing. I searched under the bed, around clothes, everywhere. Nothing.

I knew now, that I needed to make Atlas vomit up anything else in her stomach before she digested the gum. Simply because there was nothing in the bile. It was just that, bile.

Hydrogen Peroxide Makes a Dog Vomit.

Okay, I’m going to throw out a disclaimer here. For one, I am NOT a licensed Vet. Nor am I an expert by any means. However, I do know that a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide will make a dog vomit if given in the right dosage. You must consult your vet before you attempt this. Some objects should never come back up, ever! Something containing Xylitol though, yes. And, be sure the peroxide is only 3%. More is toxic.

I pushed Atlas into the bathroom and proceeded to squirt just a bit in her mouth. Now, you’re supposed to measure 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds of weight. But, I was in an emergency situation, so I did not measure. This can be really bad for your dog. You must measure!

I was lucky, it wasn’t too much or too little. It only took her 5 minutes before all the contents of her stomach came up. She didn’t collapse after vomiting, she was actually fine after she puked. There was a lot of foam, I will say. I sifted through the piles, and came up with nothing. I was still worried and concerned at this point and called the ER vet.

I told them of everything that happened, they said that it was good that I induced vomiting in the event she ate the gum. However, if it had been more than two hours, she already digested Xylitol. I needed to bring her to her normal vet to get her blood work done to be sure her levels are okay.

I did this today.

End Result – Make My Dog Vomit?

Here’s the thing, dogs are very susceptible to certain chemicals that they will try to eat or lick. I knew about Xylitol from another dog that I read about that passed after eating the pack. Gum is so bad for dogs. I told my kids, no more gum in the house. None.

Atlas had actually vomited twice outside. My husband had neglected to tell me that she had a large pile in another area outside. After inducing the vomiting for her, he told me about it. I went out to inspect the pile, and there was a ton of stuff in the pile.

A huge wad of cotton. Plastic toys. Large wads of weird looking squishy things. Basically, she had eaten a bunch of stuff that her stomach rejected. By forcing up the amount of stuff she did, it caused her body to collapse. It is hard on their bodies to regurgitate items like she did. It’s exhausting to puke, just like it is for us.

Know The Full Story First.

Had I known about this large pile, I would NOT have induced vomiting since it can go sideways.

Too much can cause them to get very sick. Side effects such as Hydrogen-Induced Brain Inflammation can happen. So many reasons to NOT make them vomit. In the emergency situation such as mine, eating gum, I didn’t regret forcing it on her.

But, knowing that she had just puked up a huge pile of toys, I wouldn’t have. I would have just watched her for a few hours to see how she did. Do they drink after, eat? Atlas is fine now. She was playing just 2 hours after her ordeal. But, I warn you to call the vet instead and have them induce vomiting versus doing it at home. In some cases, they will advise that you do though.

I will say one final word, leave gum out of the house if you have dogs. Don’t bring things in the house that contain Xylitol. It’s better to be safe, rather than sorry when it comes to our furry babies. Thankfully, my story went okay, but it hasn’t for others.

Have you had to induce vomiting in your dogs? How did it go? What steps did you take?