In this article I tell you how it comes to a gastritis in dogs, how you diagnose it and what signs are clearly and hidden in your dog! I'll also tell you what symptoms you should see the vet about immediately and what the causes can be.

I wish your dog a speedy recovery and hope that I can help you with this article.

What exactly happens in a gastritis - also called gastritis - in the dog ?

Gastritis is an acute inflammation of the mucous membrane in the stomach - as the name suggests. Unfortunately, this can also lead to a stomach ulcer. The gastritis is actually a very common disease of the gastrointestinal tract in dogs and can be clearly separated from intestinal problems, which bring significantly different symptoms.

If acute gastritis is not treated, it can develop into chronic gastritis. The symptoms are often difficult to recognise - this is what makes this disease so treacherous. Nevertheless, your dog probably has stomach pains. And therefore it is all the more important that you help him quickly and that he gets well again.

With Pixie I didn't really notice the symptoms at the beginning. Therefore she suffered from a chronic gastritis after a short time, because she hid the symptoms from me.

From a medical point of view, in gastritis inflammatory cells penetrate the mucous membrane and can damage it in the long term. That is why their treatment is so important!

What exactly is gastritis or gastritis?

Smart Dog Lover suggests that in order to digest the dog food, the swallowed food is crushed in the stomach by stomach acid and enzymes and decomposed into smaller chunks so that the intestine can absorb them. Gastric acid and digestive enzymes (e.g. pepsin) are therefore very aggressive because they have to decompose even large bones.

The structure of the dog's stomach consists of several layers. And the innermost layer is lined with the gastric mucosa.

This gastric mucosa is very important because it ensures that the aggressive stomach acid cannot attack all the other stomach layers. Even if it sounds crazy, but if your dog (and we too!) had no gastric mucosa, the stomach acid would make sure that the stomach really digests itself!

And this vital gastric mucosa is damaged and inflamed by inflammation and gastritis.

What are the symptoms of gastritis in your dog?

Unfortunately, it often happens that our dogs hide their pain and health problems from us. They do not want to appear weak in the pack and therefore hide their disease. This is a remnant of the wolf in them. But really treacherous for us.

Therefore it can be that your dog itself successfully hides a painful and serious stomach ulcer from you. And only when it vomits blood does this serious illness come to light. Then he may have been tormented by it for weeks and suffered from pain.

Therefore it is sooo important that you observe your dog always well! Always!

Because even if he tries to hide pain and problems from you: you will still be able to see the smallest symptoms if you are attentive!

When do you have to go to the vet right away?

Clear symptoms of gastritis:

-sudden vomiting that recurs all the time

=> In advanced gastritis, the dog vomits a yellow-gallic secretion, in a stomach ulcer, the vomit can also be bloody or look like coffee grounds. This is an indication of old blood!

Important: If your dog vomits blood, you must go immediately to the veterinarian!!!

-Diarrhoea in addition to vomiting

Also important here: if your dog vomits several times and has diarrhoea at the same time, you should go to the vet immediately. Diarrhoea and vomiting together can be a sign of a more severe gastrointestinal disease.

-Dark, almost tar-like faeces

If your dog bleeds internally - whether from the stomach ulcer or elsewhere - this blood coagulates and can therefore be seen black in your dog's poop.

Of course you will go to the vet immediately if you discover this in your dog!

-Weight loss

If you have long-term pain and stomach problems, your dog will logically be reluctant to eat and not as much as usual. Therefore he decreases significantly. Sometimes the digestion is so disturbed that he loses weight. If you notice a loss of weight without changing food or your dog moves more than usual, you should check up directly with the vet.

Hidden symptoms that you should watch closely:

-Alternating appetite over a few days:

Sometimes your dog eats enthusiastically, sometimes not at all. Especially in the morning dogs with gastritis don't like to eat because they often feel sick.

-You will feel unwell after eating:

Right after he has eaten, your dog doesn't feel well and he probably feels sick again.

Pixie suddenly sat down in the back corner after eating and couldn't lie down. She sat there cramped like a pretzel and it really broke my heart. I have never seen her like this before and felt so helpless.

Then I knew immediately that she was really bad! Some dogs bend in pain. Others make a kind of cat hump. Or stretch for seconds to get rid of the pain somehow.

These are all signs of pain => you should go directly to the vet!

-Gastro-pain can also manifest itself as back pain:

If your dog stretches more than usual, he may get out of the basket more slowly or he may not like to jump on the sofa or bed as much as his stomach aches can. Or the stomach problems "radiate" onto his back and both hurt him.

-Smacking, exaggerated licking of the paws and the body

Or licking off ceilings and other materials. These are the so-called "Licky Fits" or also Schleck seizures and attacks. The dogs smack and lick much more than usual, often overstretch the neck and swallow air.

These are all clear symptoms of heartburn - the stomach produces too much stomach acid and this runs back into your dog's esophagus.

Terribly painful and unpleasant!

If your dog shows these symptoms clearly from now on you should go to the vet immediately.

Because these symptoms can also be caused by poisoning or a foreign body in the throat or stomach and therefore really threaten his life! But only heartburn is really dangerous, because stomach acid is "acid" and strongly corrosive. It is practical in the stomach, but can lead to long-term damage in the esophagus!

-Excessive eating of grass and other things such as soil - especially in the morning.

Also a sign of heartburn and nausea!

Very important: Eating a little grass is totally normal.

Therefore I repeat it again: have your dog in view so that you can assign this!

Pixie loves to eat grass and has a small grass box on our terrace (I'll tell you more about it here >).

When she got worse, she ate like crazy grass - really hectically tore and devoured stalks and it was VERY clear to see that this is not normal.

Also interesting for you:  Why it is totally normal for dogs to eat grass is explained here.

-Much greater thirst: your dog drinks a lot and much more often.

Also a sign for too much stomach acid - your dog wants to dilute it somehow.

-Mouth odor - an almost rotten or sour odor from the mouth.

First of all you should check if your teeth or gums are inflamed in any way, because they also lead to mouth odour. Otherwise: a clear sign of stomach problems!

-The coat is duller and can even smell differently.

The coat of your dog is an absolute mirror of his health! if your dog is not well, the coat changes really surprisingly fast. With Pixie it became clearly duller she has in the neck quite badly smelled.

This was one spot - about three fingers wide directly behind the base of the neck - and it really stank for two weeks. Obviously a metabolic reaction!

As she got better the coat shone again and the smell had disappeared from one day to the next!

If you notice one or more of these symptoms, please go to the vet and check if your dog has gastritis and gastritis.

IMPORTANT: If the inflammation of the gastric mucosa has already attacked the deeper tissue layers in the stomach, a stomach ulcer often develops.

This can break out so far in the stomach and "eat into the depth" that the stomach wall breaks through and stomach contents reach the abdominal cavity.