A healthy dog should not regularly vomit. A dog vomiting white foam one time may simply have eaten something that is upsetting to their stomach. However, if the dog is vomiting multiple times or otherwise acting abnormal, a dog throwing up white foam can indicate a medical problem.
Learn about potential causes and what you should do if you’re noticing this symptom.
White Foamy Dog Vomit: What It Looks Like
Not all white foamy dog vomit will look the same. In some cases, the vomit is slimy with saliva and/or mucus while in others it appears watery and bubbly. You might also notice a yellow tinge in areas of the vomit due to the presence of bile.
The amount of vomit produced can vary. White foamy dog vomit may be a lot of liquid with white bubbly material on top, or it may just be a small amount of stringy, foamy puke. Usually, this type of vomit doesn’t have a lot of food material in it.
One thing that can be difficult for pet parents to determine is whether the foamy white liquid is truly vomitus. Pets can also cough up or regurgitate white foamy liquid. To figure out if the dog is vomiting, pet parents should understand the difference between vomiting, regurgitating, and coughing up.
Vomiting: Vomiting takes abdominal effort. You will often see the dog heave several times before they vomit. While vomiting, they may make a gagging noise.
Regurgitating: Regurgitating takes no abdominal effort. If your dog appears normal and suddenly gags material up, this is usually regurgitating. In some cases, the dog can appear to simply open their mouth, and stuff comes out.
Coughing up: If your dog is coughing and then gags up material at the end, this is usually coughing something up as opposed to vomiting.
Is White Dog Vomit Normal?
While it’s not necessarily concerning for a dog to vomit once as long as they’re otherwise acting normal, dog vomit should never be considered normal.
Let’s review the causes of vomiting white foam and then discuss whether you should be concerned and what you should.
Why Is My Dog Throwing Up White Foam? 9 Possible Causes
White, foamy vomit usually develops when excessive gas in an irritated stomach combines with stomach acid. The following are nine examples of reasons your dog may be vomiting white foam.
1. Empty stomach
Some dogs will vomit when they haven’t eaten in a while, especially in the morning. This is called bilious vomiting syndrome. This vomit will usually have a yellow tinge to it, but you may notice white foam in the vomit.
2. Gastroenteritis
When the dog’s stomach and/or intestines are inflamed, the dog may vomit white foam. Causes can include food allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, infections, and more.
3. Pancreatitis
Dogs with an inflamed pancreas often vomit. In dogs, a common cause of pancreatitis is consumption of a high fat meal, such as turkey skin or a lot of bacon. Because a dog with pancreatitis usually has a poor appetite, this vomit is usually relatively free of food.
4. Gastrointestinal Obstruction
If the dog eats something they shouldn’t (like a toy or sock) and it becomes lodged in the stomach or intestines, the foreign object will block the ability of food to move through their intestines. The obstruction can cause the dog to vomit white foam. An obstruction can also occur due to things like severe constipation or an intestinal mass.
5. Toxin Exposure
Some toxins can directly cause vomiting due to stomach or intestinal irritation while others can cause organ damage, such as antifreeze damaging the kidneys. In either scenario, the dog may vomit white foam.
6. Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases that could cause vomiting white foam in dogs include viruses, bacteria, fungal infections, and parasites. A common and dangerous infectious cause of vomiting in puppies is parvovirus.
7. Kidney Disease
Dogs with kidney disease, especially later in the course of disease, will often have a poor appetite and vomit white foam.
8. Unmanaged Diabetes
When a dog’s diabetes isn’t managed with insulin, their body will break down fat and produce ketones for energy. The dog will enter diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Nausea and vomiting are common signs of DKA.
9. Bloat
A dog’s stomach can become bloated with gas, liquid, and/or food. When the dog is bloated, they may vomit up white, foamy liquid. In some cases, the stomach can twist on itself, blocking the entrance and exit to the stomach. This is called gastric dilatation and volvulus or GDV. With GDV, the dog may occasionally retch up some white, foamy saliva, but dogs with GDV often retch nonproductively. GDV is an emergency that requires surgery.
This list of potential causes of foamy white dog vomit is not all-inclusive. The causes of coughing up or regurgitating white foam are also different from the causes of vomiting white foam. For example, coughing up white foam could occur with kennel cough or heart disease. If your dog is coughing up or regurgitating white foam, make sure to contact your veterinarian.
Should You Worry About a Dog Throwing Up White Foam?
Vomiting is never normal, but a single episode of vomiting without other symptoms may not be a concern. Just like us, a dog can sometimes get an upset stomach because of something they ate, motion sickness, or another short-lived cause.
If your dog is vomiting white foam multiple times but otherwise acting and eating normally, you should contact your veterinarian for an appointment. Make sure to let your veterinarian know if you’re noticing any changes to drinking or urination, too.
Signs that your dog may need emergency attention include:
- Vomiting multiple times in a short period of time
- Lethargy
- Loss of appetite
- Nonproductive retching
- Abdominal pain (yelps when picked up, for example)
- Severe diarrhea
- Visibly bloated abdomen
A puppy throwing up white foam is always concerning. Contact your veterinarian, especially if you have a young dog vomiting white foam and having diarrhea. Vomiting is one of the most common symptoms of parvovirus, which is highly fatal in puppies when left untreated.
Treatment for Dogs Vomiting White Foam
If your dog occasionally vomits white foam but has no other symptoms, your dog may be vomiting on an empty stomach or experiencing bilious vomiting syndrome. You can try feeding multiple small meals per day rather than one or two large meals. If there is no change, make sure to contact your veterinarian.
To diagnose the cause of vomiting, veterinarians may recommend:
- Blood work to check the kidneys, liver, blood sugar levels, and more
- Urine testing
- Abdominal radiographs (X-rays)
- Abdominal ultrasound
- Fecal testing to rule out parasites
If no cause is found but vomiting continues, more advanced testing may be recommended, such as endoscopy (looking in the stomach with a camera), surgically looking inside the abdomen, taking biopsies of the stomach and/or intestines, and more.
The specific treatment for your dog’s vomiting will vary based on what underlying condition they have. With severe illness such as pancreatitis or parvovirus, your dog may need to be hospitalized to receive around-the-clock care, medications, and intravenous fluid therapy. Medications such as maropitant (Cerenia), ondansetron, and/or metoclopramide may be used to help reduce vomiting.
Some causes of vomiting white foam, such as an intestinal obstruction, may require surgery.
Make sure to contact your veterinarian with any concerns about your dog’s foamy white vomit. And remember — even though it’s not always a cause for concern, vomiting in dogs should never be considered ‘normal’!
