Canine Food Poisoning: Signs, Causes and What to Do

Your dog got into the kitchen bin overnight, and now they are pacing, drooling and bringing up something unrecognisable on the rug. Is this a bad afternoon, or a vet emergency?

Usually it is the first. Occasionally it is the second, and the difference comes down to a handful of signs worth knowing before you need them.

Canine Food Poisoning — The Short Answer

Yes, dogs get food poisoning, even with stomachs that cope with things ours never could. Vets often call the everyday version "garbage gut" or dietary indiscretion: a dog eats something spoiled, and the gut reacts with vomiting and diarrhea.

Most mild cases pass within a day or two with rest and a bland diet. But three situations need a vet quickly: tremors or seizures, signs your dog is getting dehydrated, and symptoms that are not improving after a day or two.

Food poisoning is different from eating something toxic — chocolate, grapes, xylitol, onions. Those cause harm even when perfectly fresh, and they are covered in our list of toxic foods for dogs. This article is about food that turned harmful because of bacteria or mold.

What Usually Causes It

Spoiled food and bin raids

The most common story. Leftovers past their best, meat scraps from the trash, a dead animal on a walk, another animal's vomit. As food breaks down, bacteria multiply and some produce toxins that irritate the gut.

Bacteria in raw meat and raw pet food

Raw meat commonly carries bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli. When the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine tested 196 commercial raw dog and cat food samples, 15 were positive for Salmonella and 32 for Listeria monocytogenes.

According to VCA Animal Hospitals, salmonellosis in dogs can cause vomiting, diarrhea that is often bloody, fever, loss of appetite and lethargy. VCA also points out that dogs can carry both Salmonella and Listeria without showing any symptoms — which matters for the people they live with, too.

Moldy food

This is the one to take most seriously. Mold growing on bread, cheese, nuts, leftovers and compost can produce tremorgenic mycotoxins — fungal toxins that affect the nervous system.

Pet Poison Helpline notes that signs can appear within minutes to hours and include vomiting, agitation, incoordination, tremors and seizures. A dog who got into the compost heap and starts trembling needs a vet now, not a bland diet.

Signs of Food Poisoning to Watch For

Common, usually mild:

• Vomiting, especially soon after eating
• Diarrhea
• Drooling or lip-licking
• Gurgling stomach and gas
• Skipping a meal
• Seeming quieter or more tired than usual

Signs that need a vet the same day:

• Tremors, twitching, wobbliness or seizures
• Vomiting or diarrhea that goes on past about 24 hours
• Blood in vomit or stool, or black tarry stool
• Pale gums, a swollen or painful belly, or collapse
• Repeated retching with nothing coming up
• Signs of dehydration: dry sticky gums, sunken eyes, very little urine
• Fever or marked lethargy
• Any of the above in a puppy, a senior dog or a dog with an existing health condition

Dehydration is the main risk in an otherwise mild case. VCA's guide to gastroenteritis notes that it can develop quickly once vomiting and diarrhea persist for more than 24 hours — faster in small dogs and puppies, who have less fluid in reserve.

What to Do If You Think Your Dog Has Food Poisoning

1. Remove the source. Close the bin, clear the counter, check the garden and compost. Try to work out what was eaten and roughly how much, and when.
2. Check for red flags. If you see tremors, seizures, collapse, blood, or a painful swollen belly, go straight to a vet.
3. Call for advice if you are unsure. Your vet is the first call. If you suspect something toxic rather than just spoiled, ASPCA Animal Poison Control is available 24 hours a day at (888) 426-4435; a consultation fee may apply.
4. Do not make your dog vomit unless a vet or poison control tells you to. Some substances cause more damage coming back up, and home methods can be dangerous.
5. Skip human medicines. Anti-diarrhea and anti-nausea drugs made for people can be harmful to dogs or mask a more serious problem.

Home care for a mild case

If your dog is an otherwise healthy adult, alert, and keeping water down, many vets are comfortable with careful home care:

• Offer small amounts of water often rather than letting them gulp a full bowl, which can trigger more vomiting.
• Give the stomach a short rest. VCA notes that food is often withheld for 12 to 24 hours during the early stage of treatment for gastroenteritis — check with your vet before fasting a puppy, a toy breed or a diabetic dog.
• Reintroduce food gently. Small portions of something bland, such as plain boiled chicken with plain white rice, several times a day.
• Return to normal food over a few days, mixing in more of their usual diet as stools firm up.

If things are not clearly getting better within 48 hours, or anything on the red-flag list appears, take your dog in. VCA advises calling your vet if vomiting and diarrhea do not improve significantly within 48 hours of treatment.

How to Prevent Food Poisoning

Dog-proof the bin. A lidded or locking kitchen bin solves most cases outright. Store it inside a cupboard if your dog has figured out the lid.

Fence off the compost. Compost is essentially a mold farm, which makes it one of the riskiest places a dog can dig.

Handle raw food like raw meat for people. The FDA recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after handling raw pet food, cleaning bowls and surfaces with hot soapy water followed by a disinfectant, and not leaving uneaten raw food sitting out.

Treat leftovers with the same rules you would use for yourself. If you would not eat it, your dog should not either. Moldy bread and forgotten cheese belong in a secure bin, not the dog bowl. If you do share food, stick to options on our safe human food list.

Store dog food properly. Keep kibble in its original bag inside a sealed container, somewhere cool and dry, and throw out anything that smells off or shows mold. Refrigerate opened wet dog food and use it within the time on the label.

Keep an eye on recalls. The FDA publishes pet food recalls and withdrawals, which is worth a quick check if several dogs you know on the same food fall ill at once.

Walk with a "leave it". A solid leave-it command stops a lot of roadside scavenging before it starts — our guide on how to train your dog walks through teaching it.

When to Call Your Vet

Call right away for tremors, seizures, collapse, bloody vomit or stool, a hard or painful belly, or signs of dehydration. Call the same day for any symptoms in a puppy or senior dog, or if your dog may have eaten something moldy, a lot of fatty food, bones, or something with packaging still attached.

For a healthy adult with a single bout of vomiting who is otherwise bright and drinking, it is reasonable to watch closely for a few hours. If you are ever unsure, call. A two-minute conversation with your vet is always cheaper than guessing wrong.