Dog Not Eating But Drinking Water And Vomiting – Possible Reasons

A dog’s stomach has particular needs and foods it has a hard time digesting.

As a dog owner, you will usually get used to whatever your dog wants and likes to eat so when the animal won’t follow the expected patterns it might confuse you. The dog has a very simple mind in this regard: improper eating will usually mean that the dog has problems that are either physical or psychological.

At one point or another, you might notice that your dog is not eating but drinking water and vomiting and you might be wondering why is that.

Most of the time, when your dog stops eating and will only drink water, it will be due to a digestive blockage, an infection, or another gastrointestinal issue. The fast increase in water intake coupled with poor eating can lead to vomiting. Vomiting should never be treated lightly. You should take your dog to a vet as soon as possible for consultation and treatment in a case like this. 

Most of the time, ignoring a gastrointestinal issue for too long can even be fatal for the animal.

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You will have to take action as soon as possible to get the dog’s health in check.

Below you will find some of the most common reasons why your dog might refuse to eat but will continue drinking water in excess and vomiting.

Reasons For A Dog not Eating But Drinking Water And Vomiting

1. A gastrointestinal Issue

If you notice that your dog has eating issues, most of the time it’s because of a gastrointestinal problem.

This is a rather general term that can mean anything from blockages, infections, and even bleeding. This issue, depending on its severity can greatly decrease the dog’s quality of life so you should figure out a way to treat it as soon as possible.

A dog suffering from a gastrointestinal issue might go through intense discomfort and even pain, making it very difficult for the animal to eat properly. Dogs try to fix this problem on their own by drinking more water and refusing to eat, to avoid causing any more damage.

Drinking too much water might cause them to vomit, which in turn will dehydrate them, making them drink even more water.

I`m sure you understand at this point how this can easily spiral into a severe medical problem. If the dog can’t fix the issue by himself and continues to drink too much water, it might start to panic and then medication or treatment might be harder.

2. An infection

Depending on the dog’s lifestyle, this too can be a possibility.

Your dog will most likely pick up an infection if it goes outside a lot to play or exercise. Dogs often chew or even eat different things they find outside, some of them full of parasites.

If certain parasites get inside your dog’s digestive system, they might infect it, leading to all kinds of medical symptoms. Different kinds of infections will come with different types of symptoms but eating disorders are very common in dogs that are suffering from internal infections.
These infections will hardly ever just go away so you will have to seek medical help for your dog as soon as possible.

A vet will be able to figure out the type of infection, which would also mean that they will be able to prescribe the best medication, so you don’t have to guess and test different types of pills on your dog. Treating an infection should be done as soon as possible because it can become severe very fast and can even be lethal.

3. Digestive Blockage

This is another very common reason for a dog vomiting.

Most of the time, a digestive blockage will be caused by something they have eaten. A blockage, depending on the severity, can really make it hard for the dog to eat, and sometimes it might even make it hard for the animal to breathe.

The first impulse of the dog will be to drink a lot of water in the hope of eliminating the blockage but sometimes this might not work.

If you can’t remove the blockage on your own, then you should really contact the veterinarian in this case as well.

Don’t force yourself in your dog’s mouth trying to find the blockage because it might be deeper than your fingers can go. If the problem isn’t fixed as soon as possible, then the dog might drink water to the point that it will start to regurgitate it and vomit.

What To Do If My Dog Won’t Eat And Is Throwing Up?

If you notice that your dog can’t eat and is throwing up continuously, then you will have to withhold any food you were planning on feeding it for at least 6 hours. YOu will also have to talk to a vet as soon as possible because, regardless of the reason, continuous vomiting will always be bad for your dog’s short-term and long-term health. As soon as the vomiting stops, you will have to reintroduce food to your dog but gradually at first and in small portions.

Conclusion

At this point, you should know why a dog might not eat but drink water and vomit instead.

Along with finding a fast way of stopping your dog from vomiting, it is also very important to get to the root of the problem and fix it. Most of the time the problem will be inside the digestive system of the animal and a vet will be able to identify the issue and figure out the fastest treatment.