If your dog keeps trying to vomit and nothing comes up, look at the belly and the breed first. Retching that brings nothing up, together with a swollen or tight belly, drooling, restlessness or pacing, can be bloat (gastric dilatation-volvulus, or GDV). That is an emergency: call your vet or the nearest emergency hospital and go now, especially if you have a large, deep-chested dog.
Most other dry heaving comes from a coughing fit, something stuck in the throat, or nausea. Those are less urgent, but they still deserve a vet check.
Could It Be Bloat? Check These Signs First
GDV happens when the stomach fills with gas and then twists around its entrance, swinging the outflow end (the pylorus) over to the left side. The gas can't get out, and the swollen stomach squeezes the big veins that carry blood back to the heart. That is why a dog with GDV goes into shock, and why minutes count.
Call now if your dog is dry heaving and has any of these:
- Retching or trying to vomit again and again with nothing coming up
- A swollen, tight or painful belly
- Heavy drooling
- Restlessness or pacing, looking anxious or turning to look at the belly
- Panting
- Pale gums
- Standing in a "praying" position (front legs stretched forward, chest low)
- Weakness or collapse
The American College of Veterinary Surgeons lists unproductive retching, drooling, restlessness and a swelling belly among the early signs. Merck says the swelling "may be noted", so don't wait for a big, drum-like belly before you call.
Which dogs are most at risk? Large and giant dogs with a deep chest, meaning a chest that is tall from top to bottom and narrow from side to side. ACVS names Great Danes, Weimaraners and St. Bernards; Cornell adds Irish Setters, Standard Poodles, Basset Hounds and Doberman Pinschers. Risk also goes up with age, with a parent or sibling who had GDV, and with fast eating. Our guide to deep-chested dog breeds shows how to tell if your dog's build counts. ACVS notes that GDV has been reported in nearly all breeds, so a smaller dog with these signs still goes in.
Why speed matters: ACVS puts the death rate for GDV at about 15%, and higher when signs have been going on for more than 6 hours.
What to do right now:
- Call your vet or the nearest emergency hospital so they can get ready, and leave.
- Don't give food, water or medicine while your dog is retching. Leave that to your vet.
- Don't wait to see if it settles. A twisted stomach doesn't untwist on its own; it needs surgery.
What Dry Heaving Looks Like (and What It Isn't)
Dry heaving is retching: the belly and chest heave in the motions of vomiting, but nothing comes up. Vets treat retching as part of vomiting, and nausea often comes first: drooling, lip licking or smacking, and restlessness.
Three other things get mistaken for it, and telling them apart helps your vet:
What you see | What it is | Where it starts | What it often points to |
|---|---|---|---|
Belly heaves in vomiting motions, nothing comes up | Retching (dry heaving) | Stomach (the vomiting reflex) | Nausea, a stomach problem, or bloat |
Fits of harsh, dry coughing that end in a gag | A cough | Airway | Kennel cough or another airway problem |
Loud, rapid snorting breaths in through the nose, neck stretched, elbows out | Reverse sneezing | Nose and back of the throat | Usually harmless irritation |
Food or fluid slides back up with no heaving, often soon after eating | Regurgitation | Esophagus (the food pipe) | An esophagus problem or something stuck |
If it happens again, film it on your phone. A short clip helps your vet tell retching from regurgitation or a cough, which is hard to do from a description.
Common Causes of Dry Heaving in Dogs
Kennel Cough and Other Airway Infections
Kennel cough is inflammation of the upper airways, caused by several germs including the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica and respiratory viruses. It spreads where dogs are kept close together, such as boarding kennels, daycare and shelters. The classic sign is fits of harsh, dry coughing that may end in retching and gagging. Most dogs stay bright, and the illness can last 10 to 20 days.
Call your vet if your coughing dog also has a fever, thick nasal discharge, seems dull or stops eating, or is a puppy. Merck notes those signs suggest a second infection such as pneumonia or canine distemper. More in our kennel cough guide.
Something Stuck in the Throat or Food Pipe
A bone, a piece of rawhide, a stick or a fishhook can lodge in the throat or esophagus. Merck lists sudden heavy drooling, gagging, regurgitation and repeated attempts to swallow as the signs, and says the object should be removed right away because it can tear through the wall of the esophagus.
Call now. Your vet can often take the object out through the mouth with an endoscope (a camera tube); some need surgery. Gray or blue gums, or a dog struggling to breathe, means not enough oxygen is getting through: that is a full emergency.
Swallowed Objects Further Down
Socks, toys, corn cobs and other objects that get past the esophagus can block the stomach or intestines. Those dogs usually vomit, stop eating and may have belly pain or swelling. Our guide to intestinal blockage in dogs covers the signs and why you should never try to make your dog vomit at home.
Nausea and Stomach Upset
Nausea is a common reason a dog heaves without bringing much up. Eating something it shouldn't, stomach and intestinal disease, and illness elsewhere in the body, such as pancreatitis, can all cause it. Watch for drooling, lip licking and a lower appetite alongside the heaving.
Reverse Sneezing: The Harmless Look-Alike
Reverse sneezing is a reflex, not retching. The dog pulls air in hard through the nose in a series of loud, rapid breaths, for a few seconds to a few minutes. Cornell says it is more common in dogs under about 15 kg (33 lb) and in flat-faced breeds, and that excitement, pulling on the leash or eating and drinking fast can set it off. Most episodes are mild and need no treatment. If episodes become frequent, longer or more severe, see your vet: allergies, nasal mites, an object in the nose or a growth can be behind them.
Less Common Causes
- Heartworm disease. Adult heartworms live in the heart, lungs and nearby blood vessels, and a mild, persistent cough can be a sign. More in our heartworm guide.
- Pneumonia and fungal lung infections, which cause coughing fits that can end in a gag.
- Growths in the throat or chest that press on the airway or esophagus.
Skip the Pepto-Bismol and Cough Syrup
A dog that is retching may have bloat or something stuck, and no pill or syrup treats either one. Waiting to see whether a home remedy works only delays the surgery a twisted stomach needs.
Human stomach medicines are also less harmless than they look. Pepto-Bismol's active ingredient is bismuth subsalicylate, a salicylate (the same family as aspirin). The American College of Veterinary Pharmacists warns that it can poison pets that get into it or are given more than a vet advised, and that cats should never be given it. Give your dog no human stomach, cough or cold medicine unless your vet has told you which one to use.
If your dog swallowed a human medicine, call your vet or an animal poison control line.
What Your Vet Will Do
Expect questions first: when the heaving started, whether anything comes up, what your dog ate or chewed, and whether there is coughing. This is where your video helps. Then an exam, often with X-rays and bloodwork, sometimes an ultrasound.
- Suspected bloat: X-rays confirm GDV. The team treats shock with IV fluids and releases the gas from the stomach, then operates to turn the stomach back into place. During surgery the vet usually attaches the stomach to the body wall (a gastropexy) to lower the risk of it twisting again. Our article on GDV surgery explains what that involves.
- An object in the throat or esophagus: often removed through the mouth with an endoscope; surgery if that fails.
- Kennel cough: most dogs recover at home with rest. Your vet decides whether a cough medicine or other treatment is needed.
- Nausea and other causes: the tests point to the cause, and your vet chooses the medicine and dose.
When to Call Your Vet
What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
Retching again and again with nothing coming up, especially with a swollen or tight belly, drooling, restlessness or pacing | Call now and go |
Pale, gray or blue gums, trouble breathing, weakness or collapse | Call now and go |
Sudden drooling, gagging and repeated swallowing | Call now (something may be stuck) |
You saw your dog swallow a bone, toy or other object | Call now, even if your dog seems fine |
Bouts that keep coming back over hours or days, with your dog normal in between | Call your vet today |
Coughing fits that end in a gag, plus fever, thick nasal discharge, dullness or poor appetite, or a coughing puppy | Call your vet today |
Drooling and lip licking with a lower appetite | Call your vet today |
A mild cough that won't go away, weight loss, trouble swallowing or a change in breathing sounds | Book a vet visit |
One short bout that stops, in a dog that is otherwise completely normal | Watch closely, and call your vet if it happens again |
Short reverse-sneezing episodes that stop on their own | Usually harmless. Mention it at your next visit, sooner if they get more frequent or longer |
One exception to the "watch" row: in a large, deep-chested dog, retching again and again is a call-now sign even if the dog still seems fine.
Lowering the Risk
Bloat. Cornell and Merck suggest feeding two or more smaller meals a day rather than one big one, limiting activity after meals, and avoiding raised food bowls. Slowing down a dog who gulps its food also makes sense: a large study of big and giant breeds linked raised bowls and fast eating to a higher GDV risk. For high-risk breeds, ask your vet about a preventive gastropexy, often done at the same time as a spay or neuter. Cornell says it lowers the risk of the stomach twisting, the life-threatening part of GDV, but does not prevent bloating.
Kennel cough. The Bordetella vaccine is one of the lifestyle vaccines in AAHA's guidelines, recommended for dogs that mix with other dogs at daycare, boarding, grooming or dog parks. Your vet decides which form and how often; our oral Bordetella vaccine guide explains the options. Distemper is covered by the core vaccines every dog needs.
Swallowed objects. Don't give bones, supervise chews, and keep socks, toys and trash out of reach of dogs who eat things.
Heartworm. The American Heartworm Society recommends heartworm prevention 12 months a year.
Quick Answers
Why is my dog dry heaving but acting normal?
It may be something minor that passes. But bloat can start with retching before the belly swells or the dog looks unwell. If your dog retches again and again in one bout, call now rather than wait for other signs.
Can small dogs get bloat?
Yes. Cornell says GDV can occur in any size or breed of dog, though it is far more common in large, deep-chested dogs. Any dog with the signs above needs an emergency vet.
Is dry heaving the same as vomiting?
It is the same effort without the result. Retching is part of the vomiting reflex, which is why nausea and stomach problems cause it.
Originally written by Dr. Kaylee Ferreira. Updated by the I Love Veterinary editorial team.
Sources
- American College of Veterinary Surgeons: Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Gastric Dilation and Volvulus in Small Animals
- Cornell Riney Canine Health Center: Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (GDV) or Bloat
- Glickman et al. 2000, JAVMA: Non-dietary risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in large and giant breed dogs
- Merck Veterinary Manual (Pet Owner Version): Tracheobronchitis (Bronchitis) in Dogs
- Merck Veterinary Manual (Pet Owner Version): Disorders of the Esophagus in Dogs
- Merck Veterinary Manual (Pet Owner Version): Disorders of the Stomach and Intestines in Dogs
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Clinical Signs of Respiratory Malfunction
- Cornell Riney Canine Health Center: Reverse Sneezing
- Gallagher, Clinician's Brief: Regurgitation or Vomiting?
- American College of Veterinary Pharmacists: Bismuth Subsalicylate
- AAHA: 2022 Canine Vaccination Guidelines
- American Heartworm Society: Heartworm Basics
This article is for general information and is not a substitute for advice from your veterinarian.
