My dog has a tendency to eat things he should not, I'm afraid he might have...

M

miaugh

New member
Typically (but not always) the dog will be have no appetite or would be unable to eat- food comes back up. He won't be able to defecate or will be straining without producing anything. He'd have a hunched back posture and might be drooling more than usual. The signs would be obvious with a blockage, if you're looking for it. If you don't see any of that, chances are there is no blockage & no need for x-rays.

All you can do is keep everything as puppy proofed as you can, and keep an eye on him. Good luck.
 
Monitor your dog while he is outside using the facilities. If he seems to be straining, in any pain, or seems to be constipated, or you see any blood in his feces, I would take him to the vet.

You must be sure to keep things off of the floor to prevent him chewing things. Give him toys that are designed for power chewers (like Kongs or Nylabones) and get rid of the plush toys.
 
...gastrointestinal blockage? I have an 11-month old corgi, and over the course of several months he has chewed on (and potentially ingested some pieces of) shoes, plush dog toys, rugs, etc. I know it's not healthy for a dog to be chewing on all of these things, but it's impossible for us to be watching him 100% of the time, and we do our best to keep him crated when we are not home and to keep tempting things like shoes out of his reach, but mistakes happen. The more things he chews on, the more I'm worried he might have something blocking his digestive tract, some stuffing from a toy or a bit of synthetic material from the rugs. . . He doesn't seem to have any symptoms of gastrointestinal blockage, and I certainly don't want to take him to the vet if I don't need to, but has anyone else had this problem and worried about it? And should I take him to the vet for x-rays or anything??
 
You don't need to take him in to the vet if he's not showing any signs of distress. Watch for him to have normal bowel movements. Any vomiting, blood in the stool, diarrhea, loss of appetite, lethargy, etc., would indicate a trip to the vet.
BUT you need to tighten up on confining him. You've been lucky so far, that he's not eaten anything that's caused a blockage. You don't 'try' to keep him crated, you KEEP HIM CRATED or otherwise confined at all times when unsupervised, and out of reach of anything he can chew up. Give only indestructible toys and safe treats/chews.
Eventually he'll outgrow all the chewing and can have more freedom, but this can take 2-3 years.
Obstructions are NOT fun to go through. Having lost 2 dogs to them over the years (adults), I can tell you it's a horrible thing to go through, and surgery obviously is not always successful.
You know what they say about an ounce of prevention = pound of cure?
SO TRUE! Please confine your dog properly.
 
Monitor your dog while he is outside using the facilities. If he seems to be straining, in any pain, or seems to be constipated, or you see any blood in his feces, I would take him to the vet.

You must be sure to keep things off of the floor to prevent him chewing things. Give him toys that are designed for power chewers (like Kongs or Nylabones) and get rid of the plush toys.
 
Back
Top