How do I know if the food I'm giving my dog is making them sick?

That should never happen. You should pick dog foods to begin with that you know you can trust. Anything from Purina and Hills and Royal Canin make excellent choices. And you should feed them appropriately within the guidelines that they recommend or that your veterinarian has suggested. But if you fed them something and they vomited it up, they had diarrhea, they were lethargic—all of those are good clues that that was not sitting well with them at all.

Suppose they had a bite of people food, and you've noticed maybe they're just not feeling a hundred percent. In that case, their activity levels are down a little bit, or perhaps you see things like vomiting, diarrhea, or even changes in the consistency of their stool. That might be an indication that whatever you fed them isn’t agreeing with them. You can also notice those things if you change from one dog food brand to the other too fast. So that's why we always recommend a slow transition when you're changing foods.

You're usually going to see weight loss, a dull hair coat, vomiting and diarrhea, and failure to thrive. We will investigate all aspects of the pet's health with blood work, but their food may be incriminated.

The best way is if your dog gets sick, either through vomiting or diarrhea. Granted, there could be a lot of reasons. It may not just be food. If your dog gets sick in the stomach, it could be something else. It could be an intestinal bug, like a virus or a bacterial infection causing the problem. It could be stress. It could be any number of things. But if we do see a dog that does get sick or we make a sudden change in their diet or something of that nature, and they don't seem to be able to digest it very well, then yes. So it certainly could be the case.

The obvious signs right off the bat are if you're noticing vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and/or just generally not acting themselves. Those would be the easily identifiable symptoms that you would notice if your pet isn't handling the food that you're feeding them correctly. Of course, there is quite a long list, but that's something we'll discuss during your exam if this is your primary concern.

If your dog throws up or has a loose stool after you feed them, or they have excessive gas or excessive salivation after eating, then you're probably giving them the wrong diet.

If a food is making a dog sick, you may see symptoms like increased vomiting, softer stool than usual, or allergies that manifest as licking or chewing their feet, and unusually itchy, smelly skin. If you notice these signs, the food may not be agreeing with your dog.