# Strange things dogs ingest...



## Lacey Vessell (Nov 18, 2006)

If I placed this in the wrong topic - moderators please correct.

I thought it would be interesting to find out from fellow forum members some of the strange things their dogs have ingested and the story behind it - as ingesting strange things is usually a health concern. I will start:

After comming home from "food" shopping, I found a bag with hygiene products and moved it to one of the bathrooms, placing it on the sink, to sort through and put away after I stored the perishables. I then let the dogs out back. I guess I did not close the back door properly because I noticed Jarko and Dunya were now in the living room, Jarko can open doors that are not latched properly - first thought was where is Coda. I called her name and she came down the hallway with one of those looks - you know the look - like she had been caught in the act of doing something she was not suppose to be doing. Went to investigate, and low and behold the bag that I had placed on the sink was now on the floor, as well as its contents. One of the contents was a box of tampons, Coda had ripped apart the cardboard box and obviously opened a few as there were several plastic wrappers on the floor. A quick count revealed that there were 3 missing - I searched around the house and could not find them. Yup, Coda ate them.  All this in a matter of a few minutes. Called my friend who is knowledgeable about dogs and he told me not to worry that she would "pass them". I began wondering about this as most of us know - they expand. I told my friend Amanda, who promptly called the vet (something I should have done from the start). Vet advised us to give her a teaspoon of Hydrogen Peroxide which would cause her to "throw them up". I was worried that they might get stuck in her throat comming back up so off to the vet we went. When we got to the vet, I checked in with the receptionist. She announced to the waiting room full of clients "Oh, your dogs the one that ate the tampons".  They lead Coda to the back and after several minutes called me back to show me _what had been _the contents of her stomach that were now on the examining table - yup, three expanded tampons. The vet calmly explained that had I waited, more likely then not they would not have "passed", and instead caused an infection which would have required surgery or worse might have killed her. Definitely a lesson learned for me - Coda goes to her crate whenever I cannot have both eyes on her.

Needless to say I heard alot of jokes about this incident such as: No worries about having a reward for obedience - better then a ball on a string and you can keep it in your pocket during a trial - how can the judge disqualify you?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Yes, you were certainly right to be concerned about anything that can absorb and expand.

The contents of most purses and toiletry kits can be scary, too. Even some non-drowsy antihistamines have a sweetened coating and then often enough ephedra to kill a dog. No-Doz has the same yummy coating that tempts a dog to eat the whole package and then kill him with caffeine.

The plastic film on supermarket meat trays can be bad news.

As this blog entry points out, weirder items can be bad news, too:
http://www.chrisbohjalian.com/blog/archives/2006/08/dog_eat_dog_its.html


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## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

I had one dog with a real attraction to my chore gloves and he got the peroxide treatment more than once. He even managed to get a pair of gloves that had been rolled up together out of my pocket without my noticing - until I was scooping the dogyard and and found the gloves much worse for wear but still rolled up(bleah)

My elkhound cross ate a whole nest of rabbits and then decided that a truck ride and a stomach full of partially digested rabbits did not mix and unloaded them on the seat beside me while I was driving in heavy traffic and couldn't stop(no emoticon can describe that smell.....!)

I had a Siberian that dragged a block of frozen meat(40 lbs) out of the back of my truck and ate about 1/3 of the block. He was a white dog and resembled a Beluga whale by the time we found him but suffered no ill effects.

On a more expensive note I had a dog that I rushed to the vet when I discovered it somewhat distressed and not able to close it jaws. Even the vet was stumped until she shone her light in the back of the dogs mouth and just barely caught a glimpse of something black - it was one of those black plastic buckles(from a spare dog collar) the dog had chewed and broken in half and the one half had wedged itself in back there and embedded itself in with the sharp edges. 
Of course this was on a Sunday afternoon and ended up costing me 220 bucks what with the emergency call and all but luckily I haven't had more serious ingestions requireing surgery that some dogs end up with after eating something they shouldn't.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Lynn Cheffins said:


> ... My elkhound cross ate a whole nest of rabbits and then decided that a truck ride and a stomach full of partially digested rabbits did not mix and unloaded them on the seat beside me while I was driving in heavy traffic and couldn't stop(no emoticon can describe that smell.....!)


OMG!


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

all right, you asked for it (is there some sort of booby prize here?--hope so...  )

the WORST: a friend dropped off rat poison, left it on a high (4' +) shelf in the garage. i never thought the dogs would get up to it, of COURSE they did, ate it all between 2 of them. the first clue i had was noticing an empty bag in the yard when i got home. tried the hydrogen peroxide--too late. the next a.m. they were both pooping pretty green/blue poop. called the source of the poison to find out just what it was, called the vet, got Vit K, dosed the piss out of them , and they both are alive to tell about it.

there will NEVER be rat poison on this property EVER again. i'll get a JRT or something first. my dogs will eat ANYTHING--from rat poison to pomegranates (sp?)--it never ceases to amaze me.

the next worst: a Dobe at the clinic came in, did AB Sx, found 2 pieces of corn-cob connected by twisted-up grass that acted basically like a gather-stitch on his intestines: one piece of cob, 8" from the other connected to the other cob,but "gathered" the intestine to the point that the 2 cobs were 1" apart. removed the cobs,etc., but the guy succumbed to peritonitis. it was really sad, that Dobe was one of the breed that convinced me that they really ARE a sweet-tempered breed. and we all tried so hard to save him: owner, vet, staff (me)....

and lyn--i can COMPLETELY relate to animal-puke, both in the vehicle, and the house....


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## Liz Monty (Oct 22, 2006)

I almost killed a male GSD once, by accident and stupidity of course. One of the preventative actions for dogs who injest glass, which mine did (a lighbulb) is to soak some cotton batten in milk and let the dog eat it. Apparantly the cotton will surround the shards of glass and help the dog pass them. This dog ended up with a blockage and the bowel intussupsepted into itself. $1,100 Dollars later, the dog was fixed. Ex-rays, surgery.
My last female GSD found a pill my mother had dropped on the floor at our house, phoned vet and described type of medication she ate. Vet said give her hydrogen peroxide by the teaspoon and wait for her to vomit. Waited, called back and told to give more, waited, called back and told to give even more. Finally after more than two hours had passed and the dog was just fine in every way, the vet said Give Up, the dog has a gut of steel and will not vomit. Had to bring her in for charcoal to be on the safe side.


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## Amanda Layne (Aug 9, 2006)

Hehehehe - How did I miss the tampon story being told to the world? 
That was an interesting evening to say the least!


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Most of these are very funny, but it is a topical issue for me right now. For the last 3 months I have been unable to walk due to having my ankle fused, so poor puppy (Knot headed hard headed high drive brat) has been regulated to a walk every other day by my BF. Arkane turned 1 year old 11/30, so you guys can imagine how the poor pup is going out of his mind. A little over a week ago I found a chewed up electrical wire, thank god no fried puppy. I am now keeping a 30 foot lead on him so he can't get into anything else that may hurt him. The external fixature (it looks like a cross betweek a bear trap & a ronco shishkabob friar) is coming off 12/20, so I'll be able to get back to training. It can't come a day too soon as I am going insane.


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## Amanda Layne (Aug 9, 2006)

susan tuck said:


> Most of these are very funny, but it is a topical issue for me right now. For the last 3 months I have been unable to walk due to having my ankle fused, so poor puppy (Knot headed hard headed high drive brat) has been regulated to a walk every other day by my BF. Arkane turned 1 year old 11/30, so you guys can imagine how the poor pup is going out of his mind. A little over a week ago I found a chewed up electrical wire, thank god no fried puppy. I am now keeping a 30 foot lead on him so he can't get into anything else that may hurt him. The external fixature (it looks like a cross betweek a bear trap & a ronco shishkabob friar) is coming off 12/20, so I'll be able to get back to training. It can't come a day too soon as I am going insane.


Wow, I am glad the puppy is okay! I know he cant wait to have mom back again to keep him busy  (I'm sure you cant wait either!)


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Amanda, Thanks & welcome to the board!


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