It’s difficult for pet parents to see their dogs in distress. An upset stomach is a serious problem for dogs, unlike humans. When you have an upset stomach, you just take a bit of Pepto-Bismol with a few saltine crackers, and it helps in settling things down. Maybe a glass of ginger ale is all it takes to calm the problem.

However, you can’t offer the same treatment to a dog. If your dog has an upset stomach, there are several things that you need to do. It’s critically important that you feed your dog the right foods to treat the problem. Understanding the problem is important, so you need to look out for the symptoms.

What Upsets Your Dog’s Stomach?

Usually, dogs that have an upset stomach are likely to exhibit several symptoms. They may start vomiting, or may suffer from diarrhea. If your dog starts pooping several times in a day, you may want to take a look at the texture of its stool. It will give you a better idea about how the animal is doing. Similarly, vomiting is a serious cause for concern.

If the vomiting is yellow, it’s a clear sign that something is quite wrong. It could be caused due to an acid reflux, when bile starts mixing in with the stomach fluids. Dogs that have an upset stomach are also likely to salivate more often than others. Flatulence and a series of gurgling noises might start emanating from their stomach as well.

Out in nature, dogs start eating grass to fix the problem. Some dogs also like to lick the floor to treat the problem. If your dog has an upset stomach, you will immediately notice them becoming lethargic. Their energy levels are likely to decrease as well.

Should You Treat at Home or Take the Animal to a Vet?

Home remedies might seem like a good idea, but they are only suitable if your dog doesn’t have a serious underlying problem that’s causing an upset in their stomachs. You might want to consider going to a vet if your dog exhibits a few major symptoms.

For instance, if your dog becomes lethargic or starts running a fever, you need to take action right away. Similarly, if the vomiting increases dramatically and the diarrhea doesn’t dissipate over time, it’s also cause for concern. It shows that there is an underlying reason for the diarrhea.

Dogs usually start drooling excessively in these situations, and in some cases, they might begin to retch as well, with nothing coming up. If the condition turns dire, blood might start appearing in their stool as well. These are not conditions that you can treat at home. Instead, you need to visit a vet to determine the problem.

Home Remedies

If you are wondering what to give a dog with an upset stomach, it might be a wise idea to start with a few home remedies. If the problem isn’t serious and you have already been to the vet, starting your dog on a few home remedies might resolve the problem. Of course, this is not an immediate fix: it will take a few days for the stomach problem to resolve itself. Here are a few that you can try.

Proper Hydration

It’s incredibly important that you provide adequate hydration to your dog all the time. This is even more important when your dog is experiencing diarrhea or vomiting. Diarrhea is going to result in severe water loss, and the animal is likely to become dehydrated within a couple of hours only. This is even more important during the summer weather, when the temperatures tend to increase rapidly.

It might be a wise idea to give your dog a few ice chips every couple of hours. See if the dog is able to keep the ice chips down before you decide to add a few teaspoons of water, or before you start giving them ice cubes. Remember, simply putting water in front of your dog is not the solution to dehydration.

Your animal will need appropriate amounts of vitamins and electrolytes to boost fluid retention. Pedialyte is an excellent solution for treating this problem. You could give your dog the same kind of Pedialyte that you give to young kids. Or, you can also buy a powder from your local animal store and give it to your pet. 

Improvements

Ideally, you should notice an improvement within a day of giving electrolytes to your dog. If this doesn’t happen, you need to rush to a vet right away. The problem is quite severe and dehydration could eventually result in organ failure in your animal, which could cause the dog to succumb to its death.

Temperature Checks

It might be a wise idea to keep a check on your dog’s temperature. Using a rectal thermometer makes sense. While you can always use an ear thermometer, you should know that they do not always provide an accurate reading. The normal temperature for dogs is around 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

If the temperature goes above 102 degrees Fahrenheit, your dog is running a fever. If the temperature goes above 102 degrees Fahrenheit or falls below 99 degrees Fahrenheit, you need to consider going to a veterinarian. Home remedies might not be enough because the problem could be exacerbated or could worsen by the time the body fixes itself.

The vet will offer emergency treatment for the problem.

Bone Broth

One of the best options available to you is to give your dog a bone broth. It’s made by adding meat on the bone in a crockpot with water and some apple cider vinegar. It’s going to take an entire day for the broth to heat up, so you might want to consider freezing some of it for use later on.

Before you put the bone broth in for freezing, it’s recommended that you remove any fat from it. Your aim is to remove any rich foods from the animal’s diet. Give the dog an absolutely bland diet because that’s what is needed to resolve the problem. The stomach will eventually heal itself over time as sometimes, the pancreas needs a bit of rest too.

These are just a few things that you should know about treating an upset stomach in your dog.