My dog ate raw dough.
Two poisons in one.

A dog's stomach is a proofing oven: the stolen dough keeps rising inside, stretching the stomach toward bloat, while the yeast ferments sugars into ethanol and the dog gets genuinely, dangerously drunk.

Expanding blockage + alcohol. Call now.

Published guidance flags rising yeast dough as a same-day emergency on two independent fronts. The mechanical front: dough can double in the stomach's warmth, and a distended stomach in a deep-chested dog risks the twisting emergency (GDV) every owner of a large breed fears. The chemical front: fermentation produces ethanol, and dogs handle alcohol poorly, staggering, dangerous drops in blood sugar, temperature and blood pressure. Amounts that look small on the counter matter after they double.

Pet Poison Helpline · 855-764-7661 ASPCA Poison Control · 888-426-4435

Signs, in order of urgency

Unproductive retching, a visibly swelling or drum-tight belly, and restlessness that cannot settle: treat as an ER trip immediately (bloat pattern). Staggering, vocalizing, disorientation, or unusual sleepiness: the alcohol front, also a call-now sign. Early on there may be nothing at all, which is why the call happens on the ingestion, not the symptoms.

Source: Pet Poison Helpline

Which doughs count

Any live-yeast dough: bread, pizza, cinnamon rolls, sourdough (including discard that still ferments). Baked goods are a different, lesser problem. Raisin bread dough adds the grape/raisin emergency on top; chocolate babka dough adds the chocolate math.

What NOT to do

Do not induce vomiting at home: an expanding, sticky mass is a choking and aspiration hazard on the way back up. Do not "wait for it to pass" in deep-chested breeds. Do not feed or water heavily to dilute it; the yeast feeds too.

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