Dog Community

Did I overreact? My dog ate a pork bone.

Posted : 8/21/2006 7:30:41 PM

Hi everyone, I just joined and have read many threads and posts. This seems like such a great place! I'm looking forward to many happy hours of reading.

I did something terrible, for which I feel very stupid. I let my 3 1/2 month old German shepherd pup Fritz have a pork rib bone, and I didn't stay to monitor him I went to the bathroom and when I came back, the bone was gone. I never dreamed he would eat it, I thought he would just chew on it, since I thought it was a tough bone. How wrong I was.

We both slept through the night, but I was tormented with thoughts of sharp bone shards working their way through his system. In the morning he was fine, no vomiting, no apparent discomfort, he had his breakfast, had playtime, pooped and peed, no blood in stool. In his stool, though, I noticed some bone chips and so that's when I decided to take him to the vet. I had no idea of the size of the pieces that were still in him and I didn't want to take chances.

At the vet today, after seeing x-rays that showed pieces still in his stomach, he gave me two options. One involved giving him mineral oil, antibiotics, etc. and just monitoring him to make sure he didn't vomit or bleed or become backed up. The other option was to keep him there for 24 hours and give him barium, to help lubricate the remaining pieces, but more importantly to make the pieces show up clearly in the x-rays and to follow the course of the barium solution from one end to the other to see whether there are any obstructions.

I went with the barium option, even though it was quite expensive. I've seen the first few sets of pictures and it looks like the pieces are moving. So far, so good. I'll know tomorrow, after 24 hours, whether everything made it out of him safely.

So my question for those still reading (sorry I'm so longwinded!) is, did I overreact? Would those bone pieces have made their way out of him safely on their own? I certainly learned my lesson about giving him bones, but I don't want to be the kind of person who freaks out at even trivial problems. It's just that he's so young, and my first dog, and I was so worried about sharp pieces of bone going through him. I just felt better covering all the bases.

Thank you to anyone who has some advice or experience with this!

Kip

cakana

Posted : 8/21/2006 7:42:28 PM

Welcome and Kip is absolutely adorable. I can fully understand the feelings of worry you had. I gave my lab a raw pork bone this past spring and for the first time since we've had her, she vomited in the middle of the night and there were bone fragments in there. I didn't panic, but I didn't like it either. I think you reacted appropriately I always choose to err on the side of caution. You have to choose what you can comfortably live with. Many people feed raw bones (never feed cooked bones) and their dogs do fine. They monitor them though and know what are and are not safe bones to feed thier dogs. Other than marrow bones, I'm not confident enough to really try much with my girls.

Kip Montgomery

Posted : 8/21/2006 7:53:17 PM

Thank you, Cathy! (By the way, I'm Kip, the pup is Fritz [

])
I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.

Kip

sandra_slayton

Posted : 8/21/2006 7:53:35 PM

You didn't say if the rib was cooked or not. NEVER cooked. And I am so paranoid, I won't even give raw bones to my golden retrievers. Several years I was at my vet's and back in the work area. My one golden was getting cast off her leg following knee surgery for luxating patella. There was a chocolate lab puppy there being worked on. He was all but comatose, fever over 107. I learned a few days later that he had died. He had eaten a pork chop bone--I suspect it was probably cooked, but I do not know--and it had splintered and punctured his stomach and peritonitis had set in. I have never been able to get that beautiful puppy out of my mind.

No, I think you did the smart thing. When in doubt, check it out. If you didnt and soemthing happened, you would never forgive yourself.

Kip Montgomery

Posted : 8/21/2006 8:00:14 PM

Thanks for your post, Sandra. Yes, the rib bone I gave Fritz was cooked [

] which I now know is very bad. If only I had done a little research before giving it to him. When I was a kid, we gave our dogs bones all the time and didn't think twice about it. Different era. What a sad story about the lab pup, such a tragedy. You made me feel glad that I went with the barium treatment. Thanks for your help.

Kip

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 8/21/2006 8:17:49 PM

Maybe the bone pieces would have moved safely through on their own ... and maybe they wouldn't have ... so I have to agree with Cathy. You did the right thing. It's always better to err on the side of caution. Hope every thing comes out all right - no pun intended. []

Joyce

cakana

Posted : 8/21/2006 10:54:35 PM

Thank you, Cathy! (By the way, I'm Kip, the pup is Fritz

Oops, sorry. I can't get over how cute he is. I'm sure he's going to be just fine, and he's lucky to have someone who loves him enough to react the way you did. I hope we'll get to see more pictures of your boy [

].

jennie_c_d

Posted : 8/22/2006 4:20:21 PM

Just a couple of months ago, I went through a barium series with one of my dogs. What a mess! Fortunately, within 15 minutes of being sedated, she moved the barium.

I'm glad that all went well with your (adorable!) Fritz! I hope that you'll stick around....

Kip Montgomery

Posted : 8/23/2006 3:23:51 PM

Hi Everyone,

Fritz just came home from the hospital. He finally passed everything, although there is still a little barium-covered matter in his system. But very little, and the doctor is not concerned. He seems to have passed all the bone matter successfully. He's SO happy to be out of the hospital!

Thank you SO MUCH to Cathy, Sandra, Joyce and Jennie for your incredibly thoughtful posts, and thank you to all you anonymous readers who I'm sure were sending thoughts and prayers to me and Fritz. We love you all for them.

What a way to learn a lesson about bones. Sigh.

Thanks again everyone.

Kip

cakana

Posted : 8/23/2006 8:31:30 PM

Awwww...so glad your lil' guy's home and healthy. I think we all learn our lessons somewhat like you did (school of hard knocks [

]), but the wonderful news is that it turned out okay. This is a great site for opinions, advice and support. Stop by to visit and post more cute pics of Fritz.

M.W.Lewis

Posted : 8/24/2006 12:08:43 PM

I'm so glad everything came out, what a relief!
He sure is a cutie, welcome to the board.

mudpuppy

Posted : 8/25/2006 8:27:13 AM

I don't think you over-reacted. Cooked pork and chicken bones are potentially lethal. Raw pork bones and raw chicken bones are soft and easily digested by dogs. So in future cut off a pork rib bone for the dog before you cook the rest for yourself.

tammy kerley

Posted : 8/27/2006 1:40:25 AM

Dogs can get trichinosis from raw pork meat. It's not as common as in people but it can happen. Raw chicken can cause salmonella. Again, not as common in dogs as people but it can be serious. I usually get bones from the grocery store that are packaged for dogs.

loveukaykay

Posted : 8/27/2006 2:04:41 AM

I dont think we can really over react with something like going to the vet. Always better safe than sorry. Welcome! Hes a cutie pie!!

Roxie865

Posted : 8/27/2006 2:31:46 AM

Roxie is pretty much my world. If anything remotely similar would have happened to her, I'd have done the same thing. She's tall enough now (on her hind legs) to access the table and counter tops, which means I have to watch her closely. And it takes a split-second for them to get into something, so a bathroom trip gives them ample opportunity to be sneaky. Roxie's like my shadow, though, and prefers to follow me around. I have no complaints, of course. [

]

Fritz is adorable!! Post more pics in the photo section, please! [

]