My dog ate a blanket, now he's vomiting and lethargic. What to do?

Mischievous Atticus! The size of the piece of blanket is not very large so hopefully none of it has become lodged anywhere in the GI tract. With any luck, he is just feeling out of sorts from the gastrointestinal upset he has caused himself to have. If you do decide to take him to the vet, regular x-rays will not say with certainly whether or not there is a partial obstruction because cloth material cannot be differentiated. Contrast material like barium is needed to do this, which is a liquid that travels through the GI tract over the course of several hours. X-rays are taken numerous times over the course of this time to see if the barium is traveling in a normal or abnormal fashion. Since he has been passing portions of it already, I am really not very worried about it. He however might really benefit from an anti-nausea and anti-diarrheal medication. While there are over the counter options, something like Cerenia which can only be obtained via prescription would be a great choice in this instance. There are also several over the counter anti diarrheals available. If the vomiting and lethargy does continue to persist for another day or so, I would say to bite the bullet and bring him in for an exam. Hope this makes sense.

If he continues to vomit than you should be worried and have him examined by a vet. Your vet can take an X-ray to look for signs of an obstruction. If the vomiting has resolved than just monitor him for additional signs.

Poor guy. I can understand how worrisome this can be, especially when you are dealing with a foreign body ingestion, not knowing if it will pass or not. Hopefully the cloth was small and will pass through easily, which can take several days to a week in some cases. If he has vomited more than 3 times, then I would highly recommend taking him in to your vet for a proper exam and radiographs to check where the cloth is and see if it is already causing a blockage. Blockages will cause excessive vomiting (even water), lethargy and scant (few) feces. I do hope that he doesn't have a complete blockage, but he needs to be seen by your vet to determine if that is the case or not. At the very least the vet can prescribe antinausea medication to help control his vomiting and subsequently prevent him from becoming dehydrated as well. Best of luck to you and your pet Lucky. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery. Take care.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Breah is vomiting so much. It is possible that she has an intestinal obstruction or blockage from eating parts of her blanket. This is usually diagnosed with x-rays of the abdomen, and an intestinal obstruction is a surgical emergency. If he absolutely cannot get her to a veterinarian until 7am, I recommend not feeding her any food in the meantime. She can have access to water, however she may vomit this up. Please have her seen as soon as possible! I hope this is helpful - best of luck!

He could have gastritis from the sock irritating the stomach, But I worry that he may have something else in his stomach or intestinal tract that is causing the vomiting. If he vomits tomorrow morning then I would highly encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian. They will likely recommend an X-ray to look for an object/ obstruction. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon.

Poor Nico! He may have a GI illness. Withhold food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.

That wasn't good that Rio ate paper towel! Typically these should pass without problem, but it sounds like the paper towel is causing him some GI upset. I would continue to watch him, and I can give you a home remedy to try to see if that helps. Withhold food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck, I hope this helps!