Rocks, stick, toys, slippers and more sometimes end up in our fur-family members mouth; so when it is necessary to see a Professional for help? Is there anything we can do when we think it’s an Emergency Situation?

“Breve’ is just not acting herself since our mornings walk and we aren’t sure what to do for her” was the call I received about a month ago from Tyler Whitlock and his worried fiance Mimi.

I asked about a dozen questions and found out that four month old Breve had been her normal puppy self until right after the walk, so I immediately thought of toxins. I encouraged two capsules of charcoal and take her temperature (canines of all ages and sizes range from 101-103ºF) and to monitor her for any vomiting or defecating.They called and set an appointment with the Vet for 24 hours later, but felt she was declining so rapidly that they decided to bring her into the Emergency Vet immediately. When they did so, the x-ray showed “some large object, resembling bone” in her bowels. The Vet office felt it best to have Breve remain overnight, being monitored and keeping her on IV fluids. Worried pet parents had to wait through the night and into the next day, hoping for the call that things were okay. The Veterinarian was hopeful Breve would pass the “bone”, but wanted to ensure she didn’t have any problems doing so. Sure enough, around 5:00 pm, apx. 30 hours after their walk, Breve had a stool that showed the nemesis – a rock. Apparently Breve has been habitually mouthing “everything in sight”, including rocks of all sizes. She is leash walked, and her parents keep attempting to have Breve spit those treasures out, but, apparently this “huge bone-type substance” was suuuuper uncomfortable for baby girl.

I had Mimi put the rock next to her shiny engagement ring for me to compare the difference. As you can see…both of these “rocks” were quite an expen$e. Sooo, what do YOU do when you are faced with a similar problem?

A quick search of ingesting non-food-related items will shine the spotlight on Pica. Websters defines Pica as “Craving and chewing substances that have no nutritional value, such as ice, clay, soil, or paper.” A fairly normal condition, particularly with teething puppies who are learning his/her environment, they also crave a variety of foods and minerals, but could point, especially in older dogs, to underlying conditions. Always speak to your Vet about concerns.

When they are young, puppies can learn a new habit a day. We, their Guardians, get to help them learn GOOD habits and training toward success. My Dog Trainer, Marjorie Geiger of “Banner K-9 Training” (155 Elm, Kalama) reminded me of my need to have separate commands of my “Down” and “Off” – which sometimes has been used interchangeably. Similarly, “Leave it” and “Drop it” are essential to training for our dogs, as Kaelin Munkelwitz (of “All Things Pets”) points out in her easy to implement training video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cQNc2-nn_8 This video has helped me particularly with my rabbit and deer poop eating (and rolling in) dogs. I’m not at 100%, but working toward that goal.

Healthy, long lived, dogs come from families that make their well being their priority. Food, nutrition, rest and training need to be a daily habit for your fur baby. You’ve committed a lifetime to this dependent love bug, now you need to hone the time to be building on the training of the past. You CAN teach old dogs new tricks…with a ton of praise and consistency.

Gracie never outgrew her Puppy gnawing, mouthing, chewing. She ALWAYS had something in her mouth, or else, she would be digging (couch, bed or dirt) to find or bury her treasures. So, when her owner, Ashley Butler called me to let me know that Gracie “was fine during my lunch break, but when I walked in the door around 5 pm it looked like someone had been murdered”, we both knew SOMETHING AWFUL was happening. Blood work and barium x-ray showed that she had a bowel blockage with a sever in her bowel. They had to go in to do immediate surgery and an overnight stay. Ashley and her family believe that Gracie most likely, swallowed a few too many bark chips! Ugh, really?! I read in “Dog’s Naturally” that if not caught, a dog could lose so much blood during a bowel obstruction that the dog could quickly die. https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/bowel-obstruction-in-dogs/

Aside from a high temperature, it’s important that anytime something is “off” with our dogs, we take note. I might scribble something on a wall calendar or on my phone ie: Faithie didn’t eat breakfast and seems lethargic this morning. In conjunction with bleeding, bloating, vomiting, severe diarrhea, I will most likely get in to see the Vet asap.

If the symptoms don’t seem to slow my doggie down, I might note it and then see if there is something natural I can do to assist my pooch. Here are a few of my go-to’s in my Pet First Aid Kit (I will be doing an entire blog about 1st Aid in the near future):

• Gurgling Tummy accompanied by grass/herb eating, I will give 1 capsule of Slippery Elm Bark (I usually roll in a bit of cream cheese or deli meat: https://amzn.to/31aasMH
• Diarrhea or constipation? I will add a teaspoon of Canned Pumpkin (no seasonings) in the food until the bowels have returned to normal.
• If I suspect a toxic substance has been ingested, I don’t hesitate to give 1-2 capsules of Activated Charcoal, until pup can be seen by the Doctor or the symptoms have dissipated (see story below about Lovie’s rat poison “treat”): https://amzn.to/2Vb3y5U
• Plain Pedialite – if there has been a bout of diarrhea, I might give some to re-hydrate. I also keep some organic bone broth on hand (this is a convenient, easy way to store): https://amzn.to/3duYsI0
• Hydrogen Peroxide: have a small, unopened container on hand that has not expired at all times, should you need to induce vomiting.

Moving furniture in our Guest Room proved to be a lot bigger challenge than I had pictured. Not only was the Queen Bed not fitting in the area I wanted, but the heavy Queen Anne 12-drawer dresser was a 3-man job. When we were finished in that room and ready for a cold drink, I was surprised to hear my normally quiet and calm husband shouting “Help me! She got it”! Sweet and docile, 2 year old Lovie was in and out of the room while we were reassembling our puzzle-of-furniture maze. There was a TRAIL of green particles all the way down the hall and into the great room. It happened so fast, I was unsure of what had just taken place.

At the end of the trail was Lovie chewing on the hard green mouse/rat bait that had apparently been under one of the pieces of furniture…highly toxic to anything that ingests it. It was late, we live over an hour from the Emergency Vet…so, we dove for the charcoal and hydrogen peroxide. In that first hour I gave her 5 activated charcoals. She never did vomit because we found out later that the bottle hydrogen peroxide had expired. Two hours and a few meals later (to dilute and push through) she had a GREEN AND BLACK bowel movement! We stayed up all night monitoring and walking our baby girl and by 8:00 the next morning we were at the Vet’s Office. They took a quick look and said we “did everything they would have done” except that they gave us Vitamin K-12 to assist with blood coagulation, should she have a bit of the bait still in her body. Needless to say, we have tossed all the baits and toxins out and have opted for a more natural approach (“here, kitty, kitty”).

Another UNBELIEVABLE story of swallowing is about Finn. When Finn(agin) was about 6 months old, Kari McPherson’s boy was gnawing on his nightly bully stick at her feet. These were the sticks the Breeder (me) recommends for teething as well as a quieting/calming for puppies. Kari was shocked when, 5 minutes later, her pup acted like he lost his special stick. The family frantically began to tear the area up, hoping he didn’t swallow it. Just to be certain, they took that scary drive to the Veterinarians office for the x-ray that showed he HAD indeed swallowed “something” and it was already passing down into his intestines.

Kari shares: “We stayed at the vet the entire time until the bully stick passed into the intestines. It was lodged down his throat and into the upper part of his stomach when we arrived. It took about 4 hours for that process to happen and for the x-ray progression to show it was going to pass. Most heartbreaking was his horrible painful cries as it was poking him so badly from the inside! The bully stick was still 3/4 of its size when he swallowed it whole. I will NEVER feed a bully stick again!” I understand completely. It’s those scares that change our world around.

The BOTTOM line is know your dog…yes, inside and out. You are its advocate now…be that Super Sleuth in all departments. Keep an eye on any changes…so you can make a difference in his life (sooner rather than later)!

It’s only because I LOOKED that I saw this…what I now know is a corner piece to my cell phone cover, in Libby’s poop a few weeks ago! She wasn’t lethargic and I had been walking her on a leash the night before, so I knew that she was not constipated. Below is the slide show of “Kalama Cavalier’s Lady Liberty” aka: Libby and her “treasure” as well as a few pics the same week including with her 2 moth older sister Breve’:

I don’t normally see bright red shiny things in the poop, so, being the advocate that I am, I used a stick and a leaf and brought it to the sink to scrub up (what you see is a clean metal piece). Wow! That was a CLOSE call!! Little 3 month old puppies are naturally curious, and this was hard, shiny and very pokey!

Just as this article points out, keeping our dogs neurologically stimulated helps them in the long run: https://www.k9ofmine.com/stop-dog-from-eating-rocks/ The bottom line here is: KNOW YOUR DOG’S “NORMAL”. Study the breed and do “right by the dog” as my friend Lynda S. Cantwell is heard saying. This chart is a fantastic help for those of us who want to know “what is going on with my dogs poop?”

What about you? Have you ever had your furry companion swallow something that scared both of you? How did you handle this challenge and or problem? Help others by droping a Comment below or sharing this article.