My female dog is in heat and vomiting. Is this normal or concerning?

Dogs can feel lethargic and not want to eat during their heat cycle especially their first one. However, this shouldn't last long. Vomiting is a bit unusual for a heat cycle. She should get a physical examination by a veterinarian to make sure she doesn't have gastroenteritis or pancreatitis.

Vomiting is not normal for a dog that has recently been in heat. It may indicate an infection in her uterus which can be life threatening. Or she may have a primary GI cause for the vomiting. If she continues to vomit or otherwise act sick I recommend a vet visit

Vomiting is not usually a symptom of being in heat. It sounds as if she might have eaten something that either disagreed with her or something that has gotten stuck somewhere in her gastrointestinal tract. She could have been exposed to some sort of toxin or irritant in her environment or this could be early signs of another condition or disease process. She could also have a uterine infection causing these symptoms. I recommend getting her seen by your veterinarian as soon as possible. Your vet will do an exam, blood work and possibly x-rays to determine the cause of the illness and suggest an effective treatment plan. Additionally, unless she is a purebred that will improve the breed by producing offspring, I highly recommend getting her spayed once she is over her illness. This will eliminate the chance of her getting a life-threatening uterine infection and greatly reduce her chances of developing breast cancer in the future.

These are not normal symptoms associated with being in heat, so I would be concerned about some other illness. If she hasn't eaten in several days and is still vomiting, I would recommend taking her to the emergency vet. She is likely very dehydrated at this point, and we need to figure out what is causing the nausea.

Hello, no this does not sound like a normal response to being in her period. If she continues to do this, develops yellow think discharge, abdominal pain that lasts more than 1 day, she should be evaluated by a veterinarian immediately. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what is going on without examining her myself. Based on your description, you say she may be in heat, yet the Pet's info section it states that she is unspayed. If she is not spayed, she could be dealing with something called a pyometra, which is when the uterus fills with pus. This can be a life threatening condition. I would strongly recommend having her examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Please refrain from giving any antibiotics until you have spoken with a veterinarian that has examined her. I hope this helps!

This episode may be dietary related and completely incidental. As a first line approach, 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.