What this means
In regurgitation a dog does not brace or drool: the food simply comes out, often tube-shaped, coated in mucus, undigested and not sour. Vomiting looks different: beforehand your dog is restless and drooling and the belly muscles contract. Your vet cares about this difference because it points at different parts of the body.
Note how long after eating it happens, whether it follows every meal or only some, whether your dog eats very fast and whether it goes straight back to the bowl. Also watch for coughing, a change in voice and any choking.
Regurgitation carries one particular risk: regurgitated food can be breathed into the airways. If coughing, wet breathing or laboured breathing follows, do not wait but contact a vet.
Possible causes
These are things that can cause this sign. It is not a diagnosis, and they are not equally likely for your dog.
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Eating too fast
A dog that gulps food without chewing may bring it back soon after. This is usually seen right after a meal, and your dog then seems normal.
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A swallowing problem in the gullet or throat
When the gullet or throat works weakly, food cannot pass fully into the stomach and comes back. This usually repeats and needs to be investigated.
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Laryngeal paralysis
As the muscles of the voice box weaken, swallowing and breathing get harder and food may come back. The voice often changes and the breathing becomes noisy.
About the condition: Laryngeal paralysis -
Intestinal inflammation
Long-term inflammation of the gut can cause both vomiting and regurgitation, sometimes with changed stools and weight loss.
About the condition: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) -
Too few digestive enzymes from the pancreas
When the pancreas makes too few digestive enzymes, a dog may eat greedily yet lose weight and pass greasy, bulky stools. Regurgitation is sometimes seen as well.
About the condition: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI)
What else to watch for
These observations help your vet build the picture faster. Note down what you saw and when.
- How long after eating the food comes back
- Whether it follows every meal or only some
- Whether your dog eats very fast
- Whether the voice changed, or there is coughing or noisy breathing
- Whether your dog is losing weight despite a good appetite
- Whether the stools changed
When to book a routine visit
Book a visit if regurgitation keeps happening, if your dog is losing weight, coughing or its voice changed, or if it began suddenly in an older dog. If any of the urgent signs above appear, go straight away rather than waiting for an appointment.
Related conditions
Conditions whose entries mention this sign. The list is somewhere to read on, not a way to reach a diagnosis.
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Digestion and liver This is a long-term disorder of the digestive tract in which inflammatory cells build up in the wall of the stomach or intestine, so it becomes less able to digest food and absorb nutrients. The exact cause is not fully understood; an interplay between the immune system, gut bacteria and food is thought to play a part. Because many other digestive problems look much the same, a vet works out what is really going on with tests.
- Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) Digestion and liver This is a condition in which the pancreas doesn't produce enough digestive enzymes, so food passes through almost undigested and the body misses out on the nutrients it needs. As a result, a dog can eat for two and still lose weight. A vet confirms whether it really is EPI with tests.
- Laryngeal paralysis Breathing Laryngeal paralysis is a condition in which the cartilages of the larynx no longer open properly when the dog breathes in, because the nerves and muscles that move them weaken. Less air reaches the lungs, and the dog struggles to cool down, since dogs shed heat by panting. If a dog is struggling to breathe, its gums turn blue or it collapses, it needs a vet immediately.
Body systems: Digestion and liver Breathing