There’s nothing guaranteed to wake a dog person faster than the sounds of an urpy dog getting ready to upchuck on your sheets. You would think some clever maker would have built the sound into alarm clocks. Works every time.
It happened last night – Hope woke up to Torque making “ocean sounds” as we’ve always called it, and Hope was upright in milliseconds. Torque lost his dinner, all of it, all over the bedroom floor. Then he was fine, climbed back up into bed, and went to sleep. While Hope got the carpet cleaner and went to work.
He’s fine – urpy dog no more
This morning, he’s fine. Ate his breakfast with no hesitation. No sign of stomach upset. She washed his face and he’s his normal, cuddly self again.
So why did it happen? We’ll probably never know. Just like us, dogs occasionally get an upset stomach and after the bout is over, it’s over. It could have been (probably was) something he ate while browsing in our yard. Dogs, like toddlers, stick everything in their mouths. And, if we don’t notice in time, down it goes. Only to reappear after the lights are off and it causes maximum commotion.
What if it persists?
Fortunately, Torque’s problem was a rare occurrence. What if your dog isn’t as lucky? We’ve been hearing about more dog who suffer from frequent nausea.
We’ve had a couple pups who had more sensitive stomachs.
Roc, Hope’s Brussels Griffon and Golly’s nephew, had acid reflux. To keep his tummy on an even keel, he had to take Pepcid every day. Once we got the diagnosis and got him on the medication, he was fine. Unless he was particularly anxious about something. Back then we didn’t know about bone broth. We wish we had. Even when urpy dogs don’t particularly want to eat, they’ll still try a little.
There are lots of recipes for bone broth for both people and dogs. We make our own, then, when it’s cooled, we freeze it in ice cube trays. That way we always have a supply on hand if one of our dogs is a bit under the weather.
Stubborn case
Teddy was another of our dogs with a less-than-iron stomach. It took years before we figured out he got nauseated if he ate anything orange. And, of course, we’d been making matters worse. Because the “go-to” remedy for home treatment for dogs is canned pumpkin.
Teddy didn’t actually vomit much. He drooled. That’s such a small word to represent the volumes of liquid that poured out of his mouth when he was urpy. He soaked through multiple towels, was restless, and thoroughly miserable. Once we figured out what was going on, we felt terrible.
Hard to figure
If your dog is frequently urpy, paying attention is the best thing you can do. While it’s happening, you just want it to stop. But finding the cause may be even more important.
As mentioned, it took us forever to figure out that Teddy’s nemesis was orange – carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin. All the things you’re “supposed” to be able to give dogs.
So the next time your dog is having an urpy episode, try to remember all the things she ate before it happened. Was anything different? New? Different brand or batch? Did he go anywhere unusual? Pick anything up from the ground? Does it always happen at a particular time?
The answers may help you, or your dog’s vet, find the answer that will give your dog some relief. In the meantime, stock up on bone broth.
