Relieving Dog Stomach Problems at Home

For mild dog stomach problems, often all your dog needs is a little rest and a bland dog diet for a few days while he heals. However, before you begin treating stomach problems at home, make sure you know the problem isn't serious.

Determining Severity of Stomach Problems

Many problems that appear to be stomach problems can be very serious, such as canine ulcers, bloat and poisoning. For example, if your dog was licking antifreeze, which tastes sweet to dogs, he needs to see a veterinarian immediately.

In general, you should head to the emergency veterinarian if your dog is younger than 6 months, you see plastic, blood or worms in the vomit, you find evidence of poisoning in your house (ie a chewed up bottle of bleach), the stomach appears to be getting larger or the dog vomiting persists for more than four hours.

Bland Diet

Often stomach problems that cause dog vomiting or diarrhea are just a product of your dog contracting a mild virus or eating something that disagrees with him. In that case, putting him on a bland diet can clear problems right up.

In terms of bland diet, veterinarians usually recommend a chicken and rice diet. This consists of boiled, skinless chicken with the bones removed and white or brown rice, cooked. The rice helps firm up your dog's stool so add more depending on how runny his stool is.

In addition, add a spoonful of canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix, to his food. This will help settle his stomach. Cottage cheese is also a good addition to a bland diet.

Motion Sickness

Occasionally, dogs will get motion sickness. If this is causing your dog's upset stomach, consult your veterinarian about an over-the-counter remedy such as Dramamine. Ginger has also been shown to reduce motion sickness in dogs, so give a couple of ginger cookies before travel. Don't feed a heavy meal before hand.

Most dogs outgrow motion sickness as they get used to car travel, so if you are planning on a long trip, take your dog on a few short ones to help him get accustomed to the motion.

Natural Remedies

Persistent stomach problems can often be helped with herbal supplements. Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) improves the digestive system and bowels, ulmus fulva (slippery elm) is commonly used to support the digestive system and althaea officinalis (marshmallow) is known for soothing the digestive lining.

Dog stomach problems can be caused by a number of things. If the problem persists, contact your veterinarian. Mild stomach problems, however, can easily be fixed at home through a bland diet and some herbal remedies.

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