My puppy's stomach swells after eating Royal Canin. Should I worry?

If your puppy is in a lot of [pain](https://www.petcoach.co/article/7-subtle-signs-your-dog-is-in-pain) and is struggling to walk or is having breathing problems, you should take her to your vet without delay. If the belly is swollen but the puppy is not in discomfort, you may monitor her for a few hours to see how she goes. Consider smaller, more frequent [amounts of food ](https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-much-to-feed-a-dog-to-meet-his-energy-needs)for the next few days instead of larger meals.

Awww, she’s a cutie!! If she’s still acting normally... seems comfortable, is energetic and ready to play if prompted, and hasn’t seemed nauseated or like she’s trying to vomit, I would just give her some time. She may have eaten really quickly and have some gas buildup or something of that nature. If she starts retching like she wants to vomit, or if she seems very dumpy and lethargic, take her to the vet. You can check her heart rate as well. Her heart rate at rest should not be faster than 130 beats per minute. If it is faster than that when she seems calm, take her in. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

8 week old puppies, even large breed ones, have pretty tiny stomachs, and they also have poor abdominal musculature development at this stage. Those 2 factors can cause you to really be able to see their abdomen bulging when the stomach is full or water or food. So that might be one reason you're seeing this. The other reason could be that Mishka has intestinal parasites. They are very common in young puppies, so if she hasn't been dewormed, this should be done, at least twice (3 - 4 weeks apart). It's also a good idea to have your vet check a stool sample. You can buy dewormer over the counter in most pet stores; follow the directions on the package.

If she is acting normal otherwise than it might just be that her stomach is full from the feeding. She could also have a parasite causing her stomach to be enlarged. Have a vet take a look at her to determine if she needs treatment. She may need to be dewormed with a broad spectrum dewormer.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Enlarged, hard belly often results from eating too much and too quickly. In this case, the belly all of the sudden gets big, about 20-40 minutes after eating. As long as your Ziggy is comfortable, not crying and his energy level is normal you just need to monitor him at home. The mild bloat should get better in 4-6 hrs time. Chronic abdominal distention in puppies in most cases is related to gastrointestinal worms. If Ziggy has not been de-wormed yet, please do it as soon as possible. You can buy worming medications at the vets but also in pet shops and online - you can get them over-the-counter.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your puppy. Some puppies are so small that their stomachs visibly distended after eating. If this is the case, her stomach should look normal again some time later. Going forward, feed her smaller more frequent meals and use puppy formula as opposed to goat milk. I hope this information helps!

The swollen stomach will be from eating the biscuits. There will be a bunch of sugar in these, and that can cause stomach upset. Watch Willow and if you see vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, or a loss of appetite, have her seen by a vet.