However, there is no cure. Vomiting should not be confused with regurgitation, the spitting up of food shortly after a meal. Vomiting involves retching stomach contractions that forcefully expel food from the stomach. It is preceded by restlessness, salivation, and licking the lips. Unproductive retching is a danger signal the dog could have torsion, a condition in which the stomach flips and cuts off both the openings to the esophagus and the intestine and can cause death in an hour or less.
Unproductive vomiting is a cue for an immediate trip to the emergency clinic.
Most acute vomiting is not a sign of serious illness. Vomiting after meals can be caused by eating too much too fast. It can be prevented by putting rocks in the bowl so the dog has to negotiate around them to get his meal or by feeding smaller, more frequent meals. Many dogs vomit after eating grass, but it is not clearly understood why grass produces vomiting at some times and not at others or whether the urge to vomit causes or is produced by grass eating. Some dogs occasionally vomit a frothy, yellow bile a few minutes after waking in the morning, but this does not affect appetite and is not an indication of disease.