Persistent Vomiting and Pica in Dogs: Bridget’s Stomach Upsets. What Would You Do If It Was Your Dog?

What if your dog kept getting sick and try to eat everything in sight? What came first? Eating inedible things or the stomach upsets?

It can be a hard thing to figure out. Eating the wrong things can cause vomiting and diarrhea. On the other hand, an upset belly can cause your dog to try and eat things.

Potential causes of pica include:

  • intestinal parasites
  • nutritional deficiencies
  • metabolic imbalances
  • diabetes
  • Cushing’s disease
  • gastritis
  • inflammatory bowel disease

Which of these things do you think was behind Bridget’s stomach trouble?

Persistent Vomiting and Pica in Dogs: Bridget's Stomach Upsets. What Would You Do If It Was Your Dog?

Bridget’s story

Bridget was a 4-year-old Labrador Retriever. She was a great companion and service dog.

Bridget keeps getting sick

When she reached 3 1/2 years of age, Bridget started being sick frequently. Her stomach made horrible noises and she was throwing up. She was at the vet all the time to get injections for her nausea. That became a regular routine. But what was the diagnosis? There didn’t seem to be one.

Bridget was not only sick to her stomach but quite miserable. She would pace and pant, lick her lips, her paws, and the floor. And she would eat anything she could get her mouth on.

Was eating everything that was making her sick or was she eating everything because she was sick?

All she ever got was a treatment for her symptoms. But things were not improving. It went on and on with no solution.

What would you do if Bridget was your dog?

What would you make of these symptoms? How would you feel about the lack of diagnosis? What would you do if Bridget was your dog?

Read Bridget’s story to learn what her diagnosis was.

Related articles:
Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog: Pica
Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog: Vomiting

Further reading:
Chronic Vomiting in Dogs

Categories: Conditions • Gastrointestinal disease • Pica • Real-life Stories • Stomach upset

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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