The Most Common Poison in Dogs.

Veterinarians call it either "garbage can poisoning" or "dietary indiscretion" depending on whom we are talking to. It is the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhea in dogs.

The specific "poison" can be as simple as a tiny piece of seasoned meat or even just a change from one brand of dog food to another. Some dogs have very sensitive stomachs. It can also be caused by a gluttonous overindulgence, perhaps in dogs perceived as a windfall culinary opportunity.

Years ago some folks brought me a puppy that had been really sick for two or three days. X-Rays showed that his stomach seemed to be packed with small bones. During emergency surgery the puppy died, at about the time I opened his stomach. The stench was overwhelming. He must have eaten an entire partially decomposed chicken, bones, feathers and all.

Buddy, a little Shi-Tzu, was brought in yesterday because he'd had vomiting and diarrhea for about three days. We found no abnormalities on his physical exam. His owners were concerned, Buddy is a little dog, and he had been sick for three days so we took some X-Rays and did some blood tests. There was no sign of old bones in his stomach or any other "red flags" on the X-Rays. There was no indication of dehydration, infection, electrolyte imbalances, kidney failure or liver disease on his blood tests.

I gave Buddy an injection to stop his vomiting, and we watched him closely through the day. He went home last night on a prescription to settle his stomach. I called this morning and Buddy has had no vomiting so they will start feeding him a small amount of prescription food this morning, then gradually, if Buddy is all right, transition back to his regular food over the next week or so.

His owner told me that they just began feeding Buddy some canned food instead of his regular diet. Buddy's brother Tanner, a young Cocker Spaniel, was also eating the new food and he just started getting sick this morning. At this point, that little change in diet appears to be what triggered the upset stomach in both Buddy and Tanner.

I suspect that a similar dietary element is the cause of most "stomach flu" in people. That most families and many other groups of people often have the same sources for their meals means that, if there is a problem with the food, many of them are likely to get sick and it can appear as though "something is going around."

The best treatment for mild cases of dietary indiscretion is time. Vomiting and diarrhea serve a physiological purpose in that they are natures way of getting rid of things we eat that are irritating, hard to digest, or downright toxic. If the dog seems healthy otherwise, simply withholding food for 24 hrs, then gradually resuming the regular diet may fix the problem. In more serious cases, hospitalization and intravenous fluids, with repeated lab tests to monitor kidney function, hydration status, and electrolyte balance may be advisable.

There are also things more serious than dietary indiscretion that can cause an upset stomach. Lab tests may reveal a life threatening adrenal gland disorder, or perhaps high or low blood sugar due to diabetes, or acute kidney failure, for example. An X-ray exam may reveal evidence of a swallowed tennis ball, long piece of string, bottle cap, sticks or stones, or even a twisted stomach.

You can prevent most of these things by just being careful about what your dog eats, and making dietary changes judiciously and gradually.