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Down the hatch: rocks and socks, cell phones and cellophane
By Kim Campbell Thornton
March 11, 2009
We were waiting in our vet’s lobby one day when we overheard him advising a new puppy owner that the variety of things a dog would put in its mouth, chew on and swallow was unlimited. He wasn’t kidding.
I wrote about things dogs eat for the February issue of Your Dog. Not foodstuffs like pizza and chow mein (the typical hound diet if you believe the Beagle and Basset owners I’ve spoken with) but the more exotic dietary items: remote controls, decorative stones, underwear, rubber duckies, corn cobs–you know, the good stuff.
When Darcy and Harper were young puppies, we were constantly amazed at the things they would find on the floor that had gone unnoticed by us, usually coins or sharp objects like tacks. Ink pens were also a favorite. We were lucky they were satisfied to carry them around until we noticed them rather than gulping them down. (If they did swallow any such objects, we never knew about it.)
That was one of my questions to the vets I interviewed: what are the signs that a dog might be obstructed, just in case you didn’t notice the dish towel going down his throat?
Here’s a brief adaptation of the article:
How can you know if your dog is obstructed, especially if you didn’t see him swallow anything? The classic signs are vomiting and regurgitation. Vomiting is active, with abdominal heaving. Regurgitation is passive. You’ll see food that the dog has tried to swallow simply roll back out when the dog opens his mouth. Whether you see vomiting or regurgitation depends on where the obstruction occurs.
Not every dog with a lower intestinal obstruction will vomit. He may have diarrhea or he may noticeably act as if he doesn’t feel well. Lack of appetite is another warning sign, especially in dogs that normally love to eat. Take your dog to the veterinarian for a look-see if he’s down in the dumps, not eating and has a history of chewing things.
If x-rays show that your dog has eaten something he shouldn’t, the next step is not necessarily a trip to the operating room. Often, a wait-and-see approach yields good results. Bones, for instance, usually dissolve fairly quickly. But sometimes objects pass 75 percent of the way down and then become lodged.
Although obstructions can be life-threatening if they go unnoticed, they’re not something that dogs die from frequently. When surgery is required, it’s usually successful.
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One of my Airedale rescues, about 10 years ago, ate an entire rag rug, apparently drug outside by one or all of the dogs without my noticing. The next morning he didn’t want to eat his food; so I knew something was wrong. I called in to work, took him to the Vet, and left him there. When the Vet called me about 2 hours later, she was laughing as she told me what they had pulled out of his back end. They saved it in a large plastic bag. I picked him up, and he was fine. No more rag rugs.
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Comment by ruth ellen — March 11, 2009 @ 6:16 pm
Two summers ago, the kids were all enjoying popsicles in the back yard. One of the neighbor kids dropped her popsicle and quick as a wink, my aussie picked it up and swallowed it, stick and all. (She wasn’t going to let it get away from her, no way, no how.) It went down, it came back up. Just that fast. We were very lucky.
Comment by C.L.H. — March 11, 2009 @ 6:44 pm
Four years ago, it cost $3,000 to remove two pairs of my underwear from Guido’s intestines. Last November, a dishtowel killed my Neapolitan Mastiff.
The difference between the two is time and the material of the blockage. The first time it happened, I rushed Guido to the emergency hospital when he started exhibiting what I thought were signs of bloat. The second time it happened, I didn’t have the money for the emergency hospital and waited a day until my regular vet could perform the surgery. The strings in the dishtowel acted like a saw and caused too much damage and sepsis set in.
A simple basket muzzle might have saved my dog. Take it seriously.
Comment by Diane C. — March 11, 2009 @ 8:16 pm
The vet I interviewed at Tufts said that wooden skewers were a big problem. One of the owners I interviewed nearly lost her Lab to something it ate in the yard and now it wears a basket muzzle any time it’s outdoors. Diane, I’m sorry about your Neo.
Comment by Kim Thornton — March 11, 2009 @ 8:53 pm
What a timely article. I have several dogs here for training that are habitual thieves and consumers of inappropriate objects, three of the four have had obstruction surgeries and a fifth dog coming soon,(after he recovers from his second surgery) almost died as it was undiagnosed for a protracted period of time.
I wrote a tongue-in-cheek article about it recently http://k9mind.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html but realistically, it is possible to teach a dog to return objects or to ignore them. It is heartbreaking to lose a dog to an obstruction and I am always pained to hear of dogs who have died as a result.
Comment by Linda Kaim — March 12, 2009 @ 5:06 am
2 weeks ago my little eski had surgery for a tumor on her back leg and also had a teeny growth removed from her front paw. Couple days later, I had to go out for an hour and bandaged the paw which had a tiny stitch or two plus put on one of those plastic collars. Came home about 45 minutes later and no bandage. Looked all over the area she had been confined in. Called the vet who said to coat her insides with psyllium powder and lots of water. Next morning at 5:30 am I’m following her around with a flashlight to see her poop. Thought it came out. 2 days later, was cleaning up the waste in yard and lo! there was the bandage all nice and white and intact. Had fallen off her paw. Could not imagine this girl of mine would eat it in the first place but who knows what’s tasty to a dog. It even had bitter apple on it and I thought maybe that appealed to her as she likes apples. Felt so bad that I had to keep forcing yucky stuff in her mouth when she didn’t need it.
Comment by VJ — March 12, 2009 @ 5:11 am