I Gave My Dog Hydrogen Peroxide And He Didn’t Vomit : 7 Clear Reasons

It can be frustrating and alarming to be in a situation where your attempt at inducing vomiting in a dog through hydrogen peroxide doesn’t seem to be working. In that situation, you will want to know why the hydrogen peroxide isn’t working, and what to do next. Read on, for answers.

I gave my dog hydrogen peroxide and he didn’t vomit – what does this mean? It may mean that the dose of hydrogen peroxide you used was improper. It may also mean that the dog’s stomach has nothing to vomit. Or it may mean that the dog needs a more potent compound to induce vomiting.

The case of a dog not throwing up after hydrogen peroxide is unusual, but not totally unheard of.

Sometimes, you do encounter someone complaining that their dog didn’t throw up after hydrogen peroxide.

Thus if your dog won’t puke after hydrogen peroxide, don’t assume that it is something unique to him.

Whereas hydrogen peroxide is effective in inducing vomiting in dogs, it doesn’t work well in all cases.

Going through the various dog didn’t throw up after hydrogen peroxide Reddit threads, it is clear that the hydrogen peroxide doesn’t always work in all cases.

Nonetheless, if your dog ingested something harmful, time is of essence. You need to stop focusing on the fact that the dog didn’t vomit after peroxide, and start thinking of the best way forward.

Why Do People Give Dogs Hydrogen Peroxide?

People give dogs hydrogen peroxide in a bid to get the dogs to vomit.

Sometimes, you realize that a dog has eaten something that is toxic, or otherwise harmful. So you decide to get the dog to vomit it, before it causes harm.

And in order to get the dog to vomit, you give it hydrogen peroxide.

So it is against that sort of background that you find people giving their dogs hydrogen peroxide.

How Does Hydrogen Peroxide Induce Vomiting In Dogs?

The mechanism through which hydrogen peroxide induces vomiting in dogs is fairly simple.

When a dog ingests hydrogen peroxide, the hydrogen peroxide typically causes some sort of irritation in the dog’s gastrointestinal tract.

The irritation in question comes about as a result of the hydrogen peroxide acting on the dog’s stomach’s tissues. This results in formation of bubbles, which in turn cause the dog to throw up whatever is in the stomach.

So that is how hydrogen peroxide works, to induce vomiting in dogs. In other words, that is what happens after you give your dog hydrogen peroxide.

Nonetheless, there are cases in which you may find that the dog won’t vomit after hydrogen peroxide.

To be sure, it is rare to find that hydrogen peroxide did not make dog vomit. But it can happen.

Why Would One Try To Induce Vomiting In A Dog?

So far, we have seen that we give our dogs hydrogen peroxide in a bid to make them start vomiting.

This leads to a question on why anyone would try to induce vomiting in a dog.

Knowledge of this will be helpful, in understanding the way forward if one gave dog hydrogen peroxide didn’t vomit.

So, indeed, why would one try to induce vomiting in a dog? Usually, this is because the dog has ingested something that is toxic or harmful in another way.

So we try to have the dog vomit it out before it has time to wreak havoc in the dog’s body.

How Long Should A Dog Throw Up After Hydrogen Peroxide?

If you have a case in which hydrogen peroxide ingested by dog doesn’t cause vomiting, you will naturally find yourself checking your watch.

But firstly, you will want to know, how long will my dog throw up after hydrogen peroxide? Or, at the very least, after how long does hydrogen peroxide make you throw up?

That turns outs to be for as long as 45 minutes.

The start of hydrogen peroxide’s action (in terms of getting a dog to start vomiting) is usually quite fast.

After giving a dog hydrogen peroxide, it should have started to vomit within 10 to 15 minutes. And it may vomit for as many as 45 minutes.

If after 15 minutes the dog is still not vomiting, you certainly have a case in which you can claim you gave dog peroxide didn’t throw up.

On the other hand, if the dog starts to vomit within the expected 10 to 15 minutes, you have to deal with the question of what to do after inducing vomiting in dogs.

So that would be with regard to issues like, after how long can I feed my dog after hydrogen peroxide…

Conversely, if it is 10 to 15 minutes after hydrogen peroxide administration (without vomit), other questions come into play.

Key among them is the one on what if dog doesn’t vomit after hydrogen peroxide?

So you have to wait for 10 to 15 minutes. Only then can you start to claim that you gave dog hydrogen peroxide but won’t vomit.

I Gave My Dog Hydrogen Peroxide And He Didn’t Vomit – What Could Be The Reason?

If you gave dog hydrogen peroxide but didn’t vomit, the problem may simply be in that the dog doesn’t have anything to vomit.

Because the dog doesn’t have anything in tummy, then he doesn’t vomit.

In other cases, you may find that the hydrogen peroxide you gave to the dog was at too low a dosage.

Still in some other cases in which dog didn’t vomit hydrogen peroxide turns out not to have been a potent enough emetic. So the dog needs a more potent compound, to induce vomiting.

Thus if I gave my dog hydrogen peroxide and he didn’t vomit, I would consider these possible reasons.

We will now proceed to look at all these potential reasons for dog not vomiting after hydrogen peroxide in turn.

Empty Stomach As A Reason For Dog Not Vomiting After Hydrogen Peroxide

A dog will only vomit if, in the first place, it has something to vomit.

If a dog’s stomach is completely empty, then it has nothing that it can vomit. Consequently, even if you give such a dog an emetic like hydrogen peroxide, it won’t vomit.

In some cases, you may find that whatever harmful stuff the dog ate has been digested and absorbed. That may be the case if, for instance, it is two hours since the dog ingested the harmful stuff.

It may also be that whatever you are trying to get the dog to vomit is not something it can bring back up. Suppose, for instance, the dog ingested some foreign object like a toy.

Trying to get it to vomit may be futile. The best you can hope for is for it to go through the dog’s digestive system, and come out as stool. Otherwise consider other options, like surgical removal.

So you need to ask yourself whether what you are trying to get the dog to throw up is something that the dog can actually vomit.

You also need to ask yourself whether the dog’s stomach has content that it can vomit.

If the dog’s stomach is completely empty, don’t expect the dog to be able to vomit.

Improper Dosage As A Reason For Dog Not Vomiting After Hydrogen Peroxide

For hydrogen peroxide to actually function as an emetic, it needs to be administered at a certain dose.

If you give hydrogen peroxide at an improper dose, it may not have the desired emetic effect.

For instance, if you give a dog too little hydrogen peroxide, it may not be enough to bring about vomiting.

Many people are very afraid of administering a dog hydrogen peroxide overdose. Nobody wants to find that they gave dog too much hydrogen peroxide.

This fear of the side effects of giving dog hydrogen peroxide in excess is understandable.

After all, what happens if you give a dog too much hydrogen peroxide is often scary stuff. The symptoms of hydrogen peroxide poisoning in dogs can be very troubling.

Indeed, if you research on the ‘can hydrogen peroxide kill a dog’ question, you find the answer is ‘yes’. That may happen if you give a dog a hydrogen peroxide overdose.

Further research on the ‘can you give a dog too much hydrogen peroxide’ question reveals that it is a possibility…

Nobody wants to find themselves trembling before a vet, trying to explain how their dog drank hydrogen peroxide in excess. The very words ‘my dog drank peroxide in excess’ in an attempt to induce vomiting are embarrassing.

So you find people being unduly cautious when dosing hydrogen peroxide for their dogs. So they give hydrogen peroxide in less than optimum doses.

And that then leads to a situation in which the dogs won’t vomit, even after getting the hydrogen peroxide.

So improper dosage is a common reason for hydrogen peroxide not working as it should.

And if you find that a dog won’t throw up hydrogen peroxide may have been administered at a sub-optimum dose.

Lack Of Potency As A Reason For Dog Not Vomiting After Hydrogen Peroxide

For some dogs, hydrogen peroxide proves to be impotent at inducing vomiting.

So you find that such dogs will only vomit if they get a stronger emetic compound.

The dog’s stomach may have content that can be vomited. You may be dosing the hydrogen peroxide correctly. But if hydrogen peroxide isn’t potent enough for this particular dog, then it won’t successfully induce emesis.

I Gave My Dog Hydrogen Peroxide And He Didn’t Vomit – What To Do?

After realizing that your dog isn’t vomiting even after getting hydrogen peroxide, you have to chart a way forward.

So, what if my dog doesn’t vomit after hydrogen peroxide? What is the best way forward?

The focus here should be on how to make a dog throw up, in spite of the hydrogen peroxide not working the first time.

You need to resist the temptation of taking too drastic measures. Those are things like trying to work out how to make a dog vomit with fingers. Through them, you can end up doing more harm than good.

A better approach may be that of trying to re-dose the hydrogen peroxide one more time.

Another good approach may be that of simply taking the dog to a vet. That is if the second dose of hydrogen peroxide doesn’t work.

Let’s look at each of those possible ways forward in turn.

Redosing As A Solution For Dog Not Vomiting After Hydrogen Peroxide

If you give a dog hydrogen peroxide at the right dose, and the dog doesn’t vomit within 10-15 minutes, re-dosing is a viable solution. You can only do it once more though.

So you give the dog one more dose of hydrogen peroxide, to see if it will work.

Sometimes, it works for dogs that had been unable to vomit on the first dose of hydrogen peroxide. So you find such dogs actually vomiting once they receive a second dose of hydrogen peroxide.

But remember, you can only re-dose once. If the dog is still unable to vomit after the second hydrogen peroxide dose, it is time to move on.

Taking The Dog To A Vet As A Solution For Dog Not Vomiting After Hydrogen Peroxide

What if you have given the dog hydrogen peroxide (proper dose) two times, and the dog is still not vomiting? The way forward may be to simply rush the dog to the vet.

The vet may then prepare a more powerful emetic, to get the dog to vomit.

Or the vet may work out another way of getting out the harmful thing the dog ingested.

If you absolutely can’t see a vet, and what the dog ingested was a poison, call the pet poison hotline.

Final Verdict – I Gave My Dog Hydrogen Peroxide And He Didn’t Vomit

There are several things that can make a dog fail to vomit, in spite of you giving him hydrogen peroxide.

In some cases, it may be due to the dog’s stomach being empty. If there is nothing the dog can vomit, then obviously he won’t.

In some other cases, it may be due to you giving the dog an improper hydrogen peroxide dose. Like if you give the dog exceedingly little hydrogen peroxide, then the dog may not actually vomit.

And in some cases, it may be due to the dog requiring a vomit inducing compound that is more potent.

The way forward may be to give the dog one more (adequate) measure of the hydrogen peroxide: considering his weight. But if the dog doesn’t vomit even after this, don’t give a third one. Stop at the second attempt.

If even after the second dose of hydrogen peroxide the dog is still not vomiting, simply rush it to the vet.

You can also call the pet poison hotline, in case what you are trying to get the dog to vomit is a poison it had ingested. Then, inasmuch as you can, just follow the guidance from the pet poison hotline.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet dog a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️