Content
- Why is my dog vomiting black?
- Symptoms of a dog vomiting blood
- Diagnosis of black vomiting in dogs
- Treatment of black vomit in dogs
- Prognosis of Black Vomiting in Dogs
When a dog is vomiting black or dark brown, it indicates that it is vomiting blood, which is known as hematemesis. This fact greatly alarms the tutors, as it may have been caused by something very serious.
The most frequent causes for this are the erosions or ulcers in the gastrointestinal tract or the use of medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or dexamethasone. Other causes are diseases in organs such as the kidneys, liver, lungs or tumors, among others.
In this PeritoAnimal article, we'll talk about the black dog vomiting - causes and treatments. Good reading.
Why is my dog vomiting black?
The causes of hematemesis or bloody vomiting in dogs can be very diverse, although they generally indicate that there was gastrointestinal tract damage.
Specifically, if what he vomits is red blood, is more likely to be caused by some damage to the first sections of the digestive tract, such as the mouth, esophagus, or in some cases, the stomach.
On the other hand, if you see the dog vomiting black or dark brown, this indicates that the blood is older or slightly digested, looking like black coffee beans, and the causes could be:
- Gastrointestinal tract ulcer or erosion (very common).
- Foreign bodies in the digestive tract.
- Bone intake.
- Tumors: carcinoma, lymphoma, leiomyoma.
- Pythiosis: in young dogs in the southeastern United States.
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
- Medicines: NSAIDs or glucocorticoids (dexamethasone).
- Liver disease.
- Kidney disease.
- Pancreatitis.
- Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison's disease).
- Acute gastritis.
- Acute diarrheal hemorrhagic syndrome.
- Helicobacter.
- Poisonings.
- Gastric polyps.
- Thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) or dysfunction.
- Deficiency in coagulation factors.
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).
- Extra-digestive diseases: pulmonary lobe torsion or lung tumor.
Symptoms of a dog vomiting blood
In addition to the dark coloration of vomit, a dog vomiting blood may have other clinical signs at the same time as:
- Anorexia.
- Anemia.
- Lethargy.
- Dark stools.
- Abdominal pain.
- Dehydration.
Depending on the disease of origin, the clinical signs for a dog vomiting black may be accompanied by:
- Polyuria-polydipsia, uremia and weight loss in kidney disease.
- Jaundice, loss of appetite and malaise in liver disease.
- Weight loss and weakness in tumors.
- More abdominal pain in pancreatitis.
- Bloody diarrhea in acute diarrheal hemorrhagic syndrome.
- Difficulty and respiratory signs if there is lung pathology.
- Other bleeding and bleeding in cases of thrombocytopenia or coagulopathies.
Diagnosis of black vomiting in dogs
as the black vomit of dog can be caused by several intra or extra gastrointestinal pathologies, the diagnosis must be made discarding pathologies, starting with the simplest, such as the analytical ones, to the most complex, which would be the endoscopic or imaging techniques. In short, to diagnose the cause of what leads to a dog vomit dark brown or black, it is necessary to perform the following steps:
- Blood analysis and biochemistry: performing a blood and biochemical analysis to look for changes in the blood count, anemia due to bleeding, azotemia (increase in urea and creatinine) in kidney disease or liver enzyme changes if there is pathology in the liver or biliary tract.
- Urine and feces analysis: It is also recommended to carry out a urine and stool analysis.
- platelet count: Assess for coagulopathy with a platelet count and measurement of oral mucosal bleeding time.
- ultrasound: You should also look for pancreatitis, with specific tests and ultrasound.
- Looks for signs of intoxication: investigate whether intoxication may have occurred.
- Xrays: Assess the state of the respiratory system and lungs through x-rays to determine if the bleeding present in this dog's black vomit is coming from there.
- Endoscopy or gastroscopy: perform an endoscopy or gastroscopy to look for lesions and bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as an abdominal ultrasound to locate foreign bodies, masses, or organic changes indicative of disease that could lead to a dog vomiting black.
- Tracheal endoscopy: Endoscopy of the trachea and choanas (posterior nasal openings) may also be helpful to look for any evidence of occult respiratory haemorrhage.
Treatment of black vomit in dogs
If the reason why we have a dog vomiting black has already been identified, in order to carry out a correct treatment, it is necessary to determine the hematocrit (a laboratory parameter) and the concentration of total proteins to assess the danger of hypovolemic shock and if a blood transfusion.
On the one hand, a symptomatic treatment, which includes fluid therapy to rehydrate the dog, antiemetics, antacids and appetite stimulants to alleviate and, above all, eliminate black vomit.
On the other hand, if there is any specific disease, such as kidney, liver or pancreatic disease, a specific treatment for each pathology. Chemotherapy and/or surgery will be necessary in cases of tumors.
Sometimes the treatment of hematemesis will require a surgical operation to treat internal damage.
Prognosis of Black Vomiting in Dogs
As you can see, the fact that we have a dog vomiting black or if the dog vomits dark brown indicates that it is vomiting blood, and the illnesses that can cause this are very varied, from damage caused by certain medications to more serious and worrisome illnesses. , like tumors.
Because of this, the dog must be taken quickly to the veterinarian so they can examine you and catch the problem before it's too late. In that regard, the prognosis is reserved.
Now that you know the causes of black vomiting, symptoms and treatment for a dog vomiting black, you might be interested in the following video that explains why a dog eats feces:
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.
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