How scary would it be to discover your dog vomiting green stuff? Quite scary even though it typically doesn't involve demons or extraterrestrial lifeforms.
Now, bile/stomach juices can have a greenish tint to it. In theory anyway; I've never seen bile vomit of that color. I've seen various shades of yellow and white, but not green.
After eating enough grass, vomit can look green but that is not the color I'm trying to depict above either. What we're talking about here is a very green color. Really, really green.
Edible things don't come in technicolor. I still remember the case of my friend's dog who managed to eat about 130 paintballs. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time. This feast ended up with severe sorbitol toxicity. With aggressive treatment, the dog made it through the ordeal. If want to see what the technicolor vomit looked like, you can see it here.
Paintballs do not qualify as a healthy snack. Paintball toxicity generally ranges from moderate to severe. It's not very common but neither is green vomit. The paintballs my friend was using were supposed to be non-toxic. Supposed to be being the keyword.
Some types of rodenticides (poisons used to kill mice and rats) are dyed a bright green/turquoise color. It would look something like this or this. Pretty colors, huh?
That dye is a favor to dog parents, since then you at least clearly see there is a problem. Unfortunately, not all rodenticides come with this feature, and some of the newer types don't even come with an antidote. That is a material for its own post, though.
Vomit that has the fluorescent green color of antifreeze can indeed mean antifreeze poisoning. While dogs find antifreeze appealing for its sweet taste, it is extremely toxic.
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Now, bile/stomach juices can have a greenish tint to it. In theory anyway; I've never seen bile vomit of that color. I've seen various shades of yellow and white, but not green.
After eating enough grass, vomit can look green but that is not the color I'm trying to depict above either. What we're talking about here is a very green color. Really, really green.
Bright green vomit is an emergency.
Edible things don't come in technicolor. I still remember the case of my friend's dog who managed to eat about 130 paintballs. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time. This feast ended up with severe sorbitol toxicity. With aggressive treatment, the dog made it through the ordeal. If want to see what the technicolor vomit looked like, you can see it here.
Paintballs do not qualify as a healthy snack. Paintball toxicity generally ranges from moderate to severe. It's not very common but neither is green vomit. The paintballs my friend was using were supposed to be non-toxic. Supposed to be being the keyword.
Rat poison.
Some types of rodenticides (poisons used to kill mice and rats) are dyed a bright green/turquoise color. It would look something like this or this. Pretty colors, huh?
That dye is a favor to dog parents, since then you at least clearly see there is a problem. Unfortunately, not all rodenticides come with this feature, and some of the newer types don't even come with an antidote. That is a material for its own post, though.
Antifreeze poisoning.
Vomit that has the fluorescent green color of antifreeze can indeed mean antifreeze poisoning. While dogs find antifreeze appealing for its sweet taste, it is extremely toxic.
If your dog's vomit is a technicolor green, seek emergency help immediately.
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Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog now available in paperback and Kindle. Each chapter includes notes on when it is an emergency.
Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog is an award-winning guide to help you better understand what your dog is telling you about their health and how to best advocate for them.
Learn how to see and how to think about changes in your dog’s appearance, habits, and behavior. Some signs that might not trigger your concern can be important indicators that your dog needs to see a veterinarian right away. Other symptoms, while hard to miss, such as diarrhea, vomiting, or limping, are easy to spot but can have a laundry list of potential causes, some of them serious or even life-threatening.
Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog is a dog health advocacy guide 101. It covers a variety of common symptoms, including when each of them might be an emergency.
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- 2017 Maxwell Award from the Dog Writers Association of America for a book on health, behavior, or general care.
- 2017 Morris Animal Foundation Canine Health Award for the best science-based book about canine health issues.
- 2018 Reader's Favorite Honorable Mention in Non-Fiction - Animals category
This is such important information that I'm not sure all dog owners are aware of. I don't know that I would have thought about rat poison being the culprit.
ReplyDeleteI would hope that technicolor vomit would scare anybody. But I figured I'd highlight it anyway just in case.
DeleteI'm too familiar with the colour of bile I'm afraid, but I have never seen the colour you're describing...thankfully. Anything out of the ordinary and I'm on the phone to the vet, so thanks for listing some of the possible causes. Very helpful post as always.
ReplyDeleteThat's the way to do it. Particularly if it something as weird as bright green vomit.
DeleteI always love your posts. The idea of vomit-color for warning signs is a great topic, too (probably smell could go along with that...ew!).
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amy. Everything means something, including the color of vomit.
DeleteThanks for this advice! I vomit yellow/green when I eat grass, but it's good to know the difference b/w that and something worse~ Dear Mishu
ReplyDeleteYes, there can be grass in the vomit; ask Cookie. But green vomit absolutely can mean something much worse.
DeleteComing on to your blog is my weekly health lesson and I love it as in some ways it stops me from being the paranoid Jewish Mom and emailing my vet about something. Thanks so much
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth. I'm glad that sometimes it actually makes you less paranoid :-)
DeleteFortunately, the last time my dog barfed it was food coloured. But it did indicate possible early pancreatitis (tests were neg.) so I've reduced fatty food considerably. (post on that soon). Any barf usually means something. Good info.
ReplyDeleteYes, any barf means something. The one most likely to be the most benign is morning bile vomiting. But if it happens frequently, that too has an underlying cause.
DeleteGreat post. The paintball vomit looked a lot like blue-green algae - which also can be toxic. Don't let your dog swim in water that looks that green. I never heard of dogs eating paintballs - how weird. The rodenticide vomit reminded me of poop that had this color after one of my dogs ate a dog treat that was colored green.
ReplyDeleteYes, blue-green algae is toxic too. Well, it releases toxin.
DeleteEating paintballs is weird but they were there. And, since the restult was sorbitol toxicity, clearly sweet. So that would explain the volume.
I've seen my dog vomit up somewhat green, usually because of grass she's eaten but never like this- paintball, OMG! Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteLove & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Somewhat green, of course, due to grass is a different story altogether. That's why I included links to actual photos to see what the color would be. I liked the term "technicolor".
DeleteWow, this is great information. Definitely good to know what to look out for and when not to worry.
ReplyDeleteI never really about what it would mean if the vomit was a bright color. This is good information to know!
ReplyDeleteA crazy, unnatural appearance logically indicates something crazy and unnatural; in general :-)
DeleteNone of my dogs or cats have ever barfed much and certainly not bright green, although I think one ate some green grass and spat it out once. I would probably panic and head straight to the vet so helpful info to know.
ReplyDeleteYes, technicolor vomit is a reason to panic.
DeleteI've only ever seen green vomit once in all my years of being a vet tech; a dog that suffered from rat poisoning. Thankfully we were able to save the dog!
ReplyDeleteHopefully you won't even see it again. I'm glad the pup made it.
DeleteVery interesting. I didn’t know about the green color connected to toxicity. I rushed Brûlée to the vet last Friday because of vomiting. She stayed at the emergency vet all weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh no, so sorry to hear; I hope Brulee is ok. What was going on?
Delete