My dog ate toy stuffing and threw up. Should I fast him and how long?

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. After this much time, I would not recommend inducing vomiting at this time. More than likely it is in the process of moving through the gut, or it has already passed unnoticed in the stool. If Marsha is still eating, & there is no vomiting or diarrhea, then I would continue to watch for any difficulties. Feeding her a bland diet of 25% boiled chicken or beef and 75% plain, cooked white rice should help to move the material through. If all is well after 3 days of the diet, then I would be surprised if any further issues develop. But any concerns, please see your veterinarian as soon as possible. Thank you.

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!

Fasting for 12-24 hours is fine to give the GI tract a break, especially if the main problem was vomiting. The bland diet is fed for at least 3 days beyond the resolution of the diarrhea. I would begin with small amounts of the bland diet and gradually increase to the full amount to ensure the stomach does not become too upset and trigger vomiting. I hope this helps!

There is not a hard and fast rule for how long a pet should be without food. Some vets say as long as 24 hours. I generally recommend 6 to 12 hours. It may help also if you feed him a bland diet for the next 24 hours. Boiled white meat chicken and plain boiled white rice. If he continues to be sick, have him examined by the veterinarian.

I would suggest to withhold food for the next 8-12 hours and then start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice diarrhoea, more vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

I would just monitor him for any sign like vomiting, having diarrhoea or not passing feces at all, being inappetent or lethargic. Abdominal discomfort and frequent praying stance would be other possible signs. Just in case, I would suggest to start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days.

Poor Toffee sounds sick. I can give you a home remedy 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.