You might want to wait before wiping up your diabetic dog’s vomit

I know this sounds gross. It took me a while to wrap my head around it with our diabetic dog Parker. The first few times it happened, I was ready with a wad of paper towels and my finger on the trigger of a bottle of Nature’s Miracle, our favorite enzyme-based cleaner, when my partner would stop me and remind me to let our guy eat his puke.

Parker didn’t even need any coercion to do it. He just licked it off the floor as if it was a gourmet meal. It was a good test of my gag reflex.

‍The blood sugar balancing act

For a diabetic dog, keeping blood sugar stable is vital. When they throw up shortly after a meal, they lose some – or even all – of the food their body was counting on to help process the insulin you may have already given them.

The amount of insulin is based on how much food they ate.

If that food isn’t replaced, their blood sugar can drop too low  and lead to hyperglycemia. This can be dangerous and even life-threatening.

How eating their own vomit helps

Here’s the simple truth: if they vomit immediately or within a few minutes of eating, much of that food hasn’t been digested. In this case, it’s basically the same meal going in for a second round.

Letting them eat it again means their body still gets the carbs and nutrients needed to keep blood sugar from plummeting after insulin.

Sometimes it’s not a good idea

Of course, this isn’t always the best option. We’ve learned to skip the “second helping” if:

• The vomit contains something unusual (like grass, toys, or trash)
• They vomited because they ate something toxic or spoiled
• They’ve been vomiting repeatedly or seem lethargic, confused, or weak

In these cases – particularly the third point – you should contact your vet or an emergency clinic right away.

Yes, it's a little gross

Or even a lot gross. But for a diabetic dog who just brought up their meal, letting them re-eat it could help prevent a dangerous blood sugar crash. We think of it as a weird little safety net in the delicate balancing act of diabetes management. The good news is that if your dog is like Parker, they don’t care about table manners; they care about feeling good. And sometimes the yucky parts – like eating fresh vomit or canned tripe – can be the best medicine.