A vet triages vomiting from its pattern, not from the mess, so the minutes you spend writing before you phone are clinical minutes, not delay. Sit down while the episode is fresh and build the note in the order the questions will come. When did it start — a clock time, not 'earlier'? How many episodes have there been, and how far apart? Those two answers alone separate a dog who was sick once after breakfast from a dog who has been sick six times since midnight. Keep adding to the same note as time passes, with times attached, so the record grows in step with the episode instead of being rebuilt at the surgery door.
Describing What Came Up
Describe the vomit the way you would describe anything else, without dressing it up. Was it recognisable food, partly broken down or almost untouched? Yellow fluid, which is bile, on an empty stomach? White foam in small amounts? Grass or plant material? Anything inedible — a piece of toy, sock fabric, bone fragments, packaging — matters enormously and should be named exactly, with the object kept or photographed. Colour should be stated as seen: brown, yellow, pink-tinged, or containing anything red. If another episode happens while you write, add its time and contents to the list rather than starting again.
What Preceded It
Work backwards through the day and the day before. What were the last two meals, and were they the usual food in the usual amount? Has anything in the diet changed recently — a new bag, a new brand, new treats, a chew given for the first time? Then the scavenging audit, which owners should conduct without embarrassment: bins reached, plates cleared, food dropped on walks, litter trays visited, garden plants chewed, compost, another animal's medicine within reach. Report what you know and mark what is only possible as possible. A vet would rather hear 'I think the bin was raided overnight' than a confident denial, because the honest version changes what they look for.
Drinking, Urination and the Wider Picture
Vomiting rarely travels alone, and the surrounding signs shape how urgent the call is. Note whether drinking is normal, increased, or refused, and whether water stays down when it is drunk. Record urination — happening as usual, or absent — and what stools look like, since vomiting paired with diarrhoea tells a different story from vomiting alone. Energy belongs in the note too: bright between episodes and interested in the room, or flat, restless, drooling, licking lips and swallowing repeatedly. Add appetite honestly, including the telling case of a dog who wants food and then cannot keep it. Round the note off with age and any known conditions or regular medicines, which the practice may not have open in front of them.
Red Flags That Skip the Writing
Phone first, or travel in while someone else phones, if there is blood in what comes up, if retching repeats again and again while nothing is produced, if the belly looks swollen or feels tight and drum-like, or if your dog collapses or cannot stand steadily. Puppies, very old dogs and dogs already unwell with another condition get a lower threshold for the same call, because they have less in reserve. And never try to make your dog sick at home to 'get it out' — that decision and its method belong to the vet, who may advise against it entirely.
Making the Call
Read the note from the top when you get through: start time, count of episodes, contents, what preceded them, drinking and stools, energy, age. The vet can judge urgency from a complete picture instead of a worried summary. If you are told to watch at home, ask what change should trigger a fresh call and write that down too, at the head of the note.
Kept in KinsLe, the Pet Passport files the finished note beside past visit records, so a second episode next month can be compared with this one line by line.