Four AM Musings on Dog Regurgitation

Last week it was dead fish breath. Today, we stick with unpalatable topics concerning dogs.

For the past several weeks, Parker has been spending little time in his crate. I am home full-time for the summer, so I can be here to keep an eye on him. Thus, there is no need for him to be in the crate when I am home. He usually only spends his evening sleep time in the crate. This has been a fine success for the most part.

The recent rainy weather notwithstanding, we have spent a good amount of time outside, chewing sticks, chasing birds and squirrels and rabbits and Ripken, and finding things to stick our snout into. We have had one accident, recently, caused by an over-energetic bout of wrestling with big brother. A lot of chewing and whining seems to lead to a need to pee that can't be contained. Parker has been like clock work, generally, but with company over, I guess he wanted to show off his urinating skills.

Anyway, the outside time can sometimes lead to Parker ingesting strange things like dirt, and bugs, and bark. Once, when Ripken was a puppy, prior to the mail order arrival of his crate, he ate so much dirt that he had one night of gastric distress that had me running to the store at 2 AM for Pepto-Bismol and Karo syrup (we were having pancakes afterward....). In his own short life, Parker has had the need to get rid of his stomach contents, in the middle of the night. Last night, at 4 AM, it happened again. There is no need for alarm, and we are fortunate that he keeps doing it in and around his crate rather than on the carpet in the basement or the rugs in the main living area, but it got me to thinking about the frequency with which dogs seem to vomit.

Ripken, the veteran dog of the household, usually has some sort of stomach evacuation at least every three to four months. It's apparently nothing to worry about, but it just seems awfully frequent. I mean, hell, I usually only do it once every three to five years, and I am perfectly aware of why it is happening. So, every few months (without any hard liquor involved) seems like a lot. But, well, I am not a dog.

Parker, a far less discerning dog, when it comes to the list of "Things He Will Eat," has now had two (that we know of) episodes, which works out to about once every two months. I imagine that, once he grows up enough to lay off the dirt, his frequency will lengthen out to line up more with his mature brethren.

But, any episode of irregularity with our pups is cause for concern, and we watch them a bit more closely, for a while. After all, according to renowned home and family advice website Professor's House, "Because vomiting can be a sign of anything from simple overeating, to a major life-threatening emergency, it is up to you to be aware and well informed of the dangers to your dog."

Amen, Professor.