French bulldog vomiting is one of the most concerning conditions for their owners. The most common cause is found in food that irritates their digestive systems. Besides, your Frenchie can be allergic or intolerant to some of the ingredients that his diet contains.
What are the main causes of French bulldog vomiting?
Sudden change in diet
Dogs react very sensitively to sudden changes in diets. Therefore, any new ingredient should be added gradually to avoid French bulldog throwing up, allergic reactions, and flatulence. Besides, if you want to switch your Frenchie to a completely new diet and feed him only with raw ingredients, it’s highly advisable to consult with your vet before you do it. Your dog will need to have both dry kibble and raw meal for at least 14 days until you completely switch him to the new diet. Note that some French bulldogs may take even longer than this.
Food intolerance or allergy
Just like humans, our dogs can also show intolerance or allergy to certain ingredients. So, if you’ve noticed that your pooch became itchy or he got diarrhea, then the current diet probably doesn’t suit him. We can describe food intolerance as the dog’s inability to easily digest certain ingredients. It is a common issue that is found in 1 of 3 dogs. Even though food intolerance is not a severe condition, it can cause discomfort, flatulence, and vomiting.
Unlike food allergies that are followed by itchiness and skin allergic reactions, intolerance often appears as a stomach issue. These are the symptoms to spot in case of food intolerance:
- Stomach gases
- Flatulence
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
- Mucous-like jelly in the stools
- Weight loss
- Specks of fresh blood in the stools
- Abdominal pain
Gastric torsion in French bulldogs
Another reason for French bulldog vomiting can be gastric torsion. It’s an acute illness that should be treated immediately. This condition is also called stomach bloat and it happens when the dog’s stomach fills with gases, fluid, and swells severely. If you’ve noticed any of these symptoms in your pet, it’s highly advisable to take him to the vet. Stomach bloat can cause dangerous problems such as decreased blood flow, stomach lining, and difficult breathing.
Bloat happens quickly and it is also followed by a Frenchie’s anxiety, pace, drooling, pale gums, and weakness.
Regurgitation of food
Since many Frenchies tend to eat fast and literally inhale the food, regurgitation is nothing odd to spot. This condition occurs when the food has not gone into the dog’s gizzard. As the result, the food brought up by regurgitation is usually undigested. It often has a tubular shape, and it’s covered with slimy mucus.
Poisoning
French bulldog vomiting is often caused by food or plant poisoning, so have to be very careful when you take your pet outside. Dogs like to sniff and lick different items because that’s their way to investigate their environment. If your dog started to vomit suddenly, he became weak, and he started to lose body fluids, then you have to react quickly. Visit your vet immediately because he will probably want to examine a fresh sample of ‘vomit’.
How to help your Frenchie if he’s vomiting?
Besides listening to the vet’s advice, you can also help your Frenchie by following these steps:
- Restrict your dog from eating food and drinking water for at least 12 hours.
- Let your Frenchie drink rice water spoon by spoon every 10 min. To prepare rice water, you should boil 1 cup of rice in 5 cups of water. When the rice and the water cool off, feed your pooch with rice water because it helps his stomach to calm down.
- Rice water is also beneficial in case your pet has diarrhea.
- You should feed your Frenchie with small amounts of blended, low-fat food 3-6 times daily, for a few days. For example, you can blend boiled rice, carrots, and chicken breast meat (without skin).
- Water should be reintroduced in small amounts on the second day.
- For example, you can start giving your Frenchie ice cubes and then gradually increase the amount of water if vomiting has stopped.
An additional solution for French bulldog vomiting
To prevent your dog from fast eating and choking, our advice is to buy an anti-choke feeding bowl. Besides, your pet can drink water from a specially designed water bowl that will prevent him from fast drinking.
Our suggestion is to have a look at the following Frenchie World® Anti-Choke Slow Eating & Drinking Bowl. It features a rotating bone in the middle that slows down the dog’s eating. It also teaches a dog to work for his food and prevents bloating.
Another bowl that we recommend your Frenchie to use for water is the Frenchie World® Anti-wet Mouth Floating Drinking Bowl. The floating plate will slowly go down as your dog drinks water by preventing him to take a big sip.
