Foreign Bodies

 

Walks in long grass can give your dog more than a tick to worry about. Grass seeds can easily get caught in your dog's paws, eyes or ears. After each walk in long grass, check your dog's feet for things stuck between the pads. If they have a foreign body in the eye it is likely to be watering and if it is in their ear they will probably shake their head a lot. These are delicate areas so your vet is the best person to deal with this kind of foreign body removal. 

Symptoms may include bleeding or excessive saliva in mouth, frantic pawing at muzzle or head shaking, choking or attempted vomiting, raspy breathing, not eating, object caught between teeth.

  • Sticks and bones can splinter and cause choking or vomiting, or they can perforate the mouth, throat or intestine.
  • Hard bones can easily damage teeth. Instead, use hard, non-splintering chew toys to play fetch or to allow your dog to gnaw.
  • Soft, latex toys can be shredded by a chewing dog. If the toy includes a squeaking mechanism, the squeaker can be easily swallowed or cause choking. Don't leave your dog unattended with these toys.
  • Hard rubber balls can cause intestinal obstruction if ingested. Make sure these and other types of balls, such as tennis balls, are not too small to be safe for your dog and could cause choking.
  • Some dogs like to chew on or eat stones and pebbles - bad idea! Stones can cause broken teeth and serious intestinal obstruction if swallowed.

And of course  - Never - ever - play with or throw sticks for your dogs.

What generally happens is the dog runs with the stick and because of a distraction, turns it's head and then turns back, the stick digs into the ground and is propelled down the throat or up through the soft palate and into the brain. And your dog may well die.