Dog Vomiting blood

Observing your dog bringing up his last supper may appear unpleasant enough, but finding some bood in the vomit as you clean up the mess may be a quite scary event. As a caring dog owner, you may therefore be concerned and wonder if you should rush the dog to the closest emergency center or simply monitor your dog carefully.

By understanding some common causes of blood in the vomit owners may therefore decide what the best course of action is.  However, regardless of the cause, it is always a savvy decision to at least notify a vet for the appropriate course of action.

A good place to start is to differentiate fresh blood from digested blood. Fresh new blood will appear bright red just as from a normal cut. Digested old blood will appear brownish kind of resembling coffee grounds. The action of vomiting blood is medically known as hematemesis.

Common causes of blood in a dog's vomit

Broken Blood vessel The simple motion of retching, may cause a blood vessel or two to break. In this case, there may be pretty insignificant traces (mostly streaks) of fresh red blood in the vomit. In this case, if the blood amount is a fleck or two there may be no need to worry, consulting with the vet though may be helpful for peace of mind.

Blood clotting disorder

In this case, the dog has often vomited a significant amount of blood. Often there may be other signs of bleeding from other body parts,such as skin with a purplish tint meaning blood loss under the skin or broken capillaries in the skin (petechiae).

Stomach ulcers

The ulcer may arise from taking long term aspirin NSAID's (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or corticosteroids. Bacteria such as Helicobacter may cause ulcers as well and so can stress.

Poisons

Exposure to toxins or poisons may cause a dog to vomit blood. In particular, rat poison is a cause of unexplained bleeding and can show up as a dog vomiting blood, often also accompanied by dark tarry stools and bleeding from other areas such as nosebleeds and rectal bleeding.

Foreign body obstruction

A dog vomiting blood may have a foreign body obstruction causing trouble as it tries to make its way through the digestive system. Have your dog seen promptly if he is prone to eating non food items.

Cancers

There are chances that the blood may be deriving from a bleeding cancer found in the stomach, esophagus or duodenum. Have your dog checked promptly.

Other sources

Not all blood found in vomit necessarily comes from the intestinal tract. The blood may come from the respiratory tract and be coughed up or the blood may derive from the mouth or the throat from an injury such as from chewing a sharp stick or swallowing a splintered bone. Blood may also be swallowed from a nose bleed and then vomited up. Some gum and dental diseases may cause bleeding in the mouth. Try to inspect the nose and mouth of your dog, sometimes blood loss from these areas triggers vomiting.

Because blood in the vomit may be caused by something as small as a broken blood vessel or as severe as a stomach tumor, it is always recommended to have the dog checked out to rule out the more severe causes.

Weakness, lethargy, pale gums (indicating severe blood loss), significant blood loss and signs of blood loss from other areas are signs that require emergency care. Always notify your vet in any case,either if the amount vomited is large or small, red or brown, for priceless peace of mind.

Disclaimer: The above article is not to be used as a diagnostic tool nor as a substitute for veterinary advice. Always notify your vet promptly for any presence of blood in your dog's vomit.