My puppy ate a pillow, now throwing up yellow bile. What's wrong?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question. Oh no, that's not good. I suspect the pillow has upset his stomach. My concern here is that he is having both vomiting and diarrhea, and is clearly nauseous (constant drooling). Due to this, a home remedy is never recommended and he needs to see a vet. I would take him into one immediately. Best of luck.

Stuffing can act as a gastrointestinal foreign body that results in obstruction of the bowels. If vomiting is persistent, this is a strong indication that there may be either a partial or complete obstruction preventing food and water from moving forward in the GI tract. An abdominal x-ray would be the next best step to determine if your pet has a radiographic abdominal pattern consistent with obstruction. This should be done asap (as in today), because dehydration and irritation/trauma to the GI tract will continue worsening the longer it is present. If there is an obstruction, abdominal surgery may be necessary to remove it. And that's the case, we want your pet to be as stable as possible for the surgery. The longer the delay, the more weak and dehydrated your pet will be, and thus potentially less stable for surgery. In the meantime, I would offer only a small volume of water at a time, to see if your pet can keep it down without vomiting. I wish you both the best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry to hear Helix isn’t feeling well. I would keep your doctor appointment today. They will likely test him for intestinal parasites (so bring a fresh stool sample with you if you can) and test for parvovirus. If those tests are normal, they may take radiographs of his abdomen to look for foreign objects in his GI tract. Once a diagnosis is made they can discuss treatment options. It will probably consist of some fluids to hydrate him and medications for the vomiting and diarrhea. Good luck and kisses to Helix!

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.

He could have an infection or a parasite causing the vomiting and diarrhea. He should be examined by a vet for treatment. Your vet can test a fecal sample to determine if he has a parasite and then prescribe medications to help treat the problem.

If your pet has vomited this much in the past 45 minutes I would be very suspicious of a foreign body or a very intense dietary indiscretion (eating something he shouldn't have). I would recommend you start supportive care (like Famotiidne 05-1.0mg/kg every 12 hrs and a bland diet like Purina EN Gastrointestinal canned food OR boiled plain chicken and rice or cottage cheese. However there is a big possibility that this could have been a toxicity and if any more symptoms start to arise (such as ataxia (staggering) or shaking, crying out) then I highly recommend you seek a personal veterinarian for a physical examination and further diagnostics. - Dr. H

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry to hear Shiro isn't feeling well. Regardless of eating the sock or not, he is still vomiting, so I would recommend taking him to a vet right away. He is young and a lot of vomiting can cause dehydration that puppies cannot recover from on their own. The vet may want to check for intestinal parasites and parvo virus (common causes of vomiting in puppies) and may also take an x-ray to look for a foreign object in the intestinal tract. If no cause for vomiting is found, the doctor can treat the vomiting and replace the fluids Shiro has lost so he doesn't get sicker. If a cause for the vomiting is found, the doctor will discuss the next best steps for Shiro. Good luck and kisses to Shiro!