My dog ate plastic

We did several x rays to find that the nail has traveled some and is in one of two places, the small intestines or his colon. He pooped this morning like crazy because we have been feeding him every so hours small amounts as per the vet. He just pooped now and nothing he continues to get nausious every once in a while and pukes. The doc will give him till tomorrow morning for 1 more xray, if they dont see the nail then he pooped it and we must of missed it. If not then they will have to open him up. I really think that thats what going to happen. They will probably find the cause to his nausia there because it's not the nail doing it. He had this before he ate the nail.

Thanks for your concern I will check back tomorrow

b

It seems that at least he feels good enough to eat.....that has to be something kind of good!!!  At least it seems that way to me.  
So you don't think the nail is a problem, huh?   I can't believe its still there to begin with, UNLESS its stuck in a place that is causing different kind of problem.  I sure hope he doesn't need to have surgery.  I'll keep watching  this to find out!

OK,
Left him at the vet my wife will pick him up after work.
The nail is not in him anymore (must have gotten passed us) and the Vets cannot find out whats wrong with him because his attitude is good and he is eating and going to the bathroom well. Something is causing a really upset stomach and nausia promting him to puke.

The plan:

Do blood work, give him meds (anti-bios)

then possibly a sonogram

possible surgery is something else is found that the x-ray could not find

So these are the steps we are taking hopefully we won't get that far and he'll get better. I did switch his water just in case.

  daverojo; Welcome to idog ; Did you tell the vet you have been limiting the amount of water your dog has because you didn't want him to urinate as much?  It has been my understanding that a dog is supposed to always have fresh water to drink and that it is unwise to restrict how much water they have unless it's for medical reasons. If your vet doesn't know about this I would tell him in case it may help figure out what the problem is. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that your dog is better very soon; hope he doesn't need surgery.

Well, I'm glad the nail is out,,,,that is my fear.   So now, he is eating and drinking water, he is playing and otherwise acting okay, BUT he is throwing up.  Is that all of his symptoms?   No runny stools?
A thought,  could he have something in his throat making him gag?? That might be stupid, but seem to me a sick dog wouldn't want to eat. And I'm not sure how much he would want to play.   Possibly one of the things he ate that he shouldn't have scratched his throat and that is causing problems???  Okay, so if that is stupid, I'm sorry. But just trying to make sense out of the whole thing.    

I remember on another post to give pure cotton balls when the dog has eaten glass.  Wouldn't you do that now, for the nail?  Callie? 
 
I'd still be worried about the plastic bag that won't show up on x-ray.
 
I gave my dog homeopathic NUX VOMICA 1 dose when my dog ingested a piece of plastic toy.  I never did find the piece in her poops.

OK, he's been on the meds and has been good since yesterday afternoon, no vomit or nausia. I'll continue to keep an eye on him but he looks like he's back to normal. I'll find out about the blood work tomorrow but I'm figuering if they haven't call me then it's OK.


Thanks!!!!!

Dave

here is the trouble maker![]

Yes he is a little trouble maker,,,but I'm sure happy that little guy is feeling better!

He's a very cute trouble maker; glad to hear he's felling better.[]

I have to tell you that I TRULY take exception to being called a "creep". I work at an Emergency Service/Specialty Center. Yes, we are more expensive than a regular day time practice. Have you ever done a cost comparison between your family physician and the hospital ER/Urgent Care.
 
We have much higher operating costs than a 9-5 clinic, we are here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days a year. When your Vet is at home, we are the ones taking care of your pets. My Vets are not Vets who aren't good enough to be daytime practice Vets, they are Vets who SPECIALIZE in Emergency Medicine. We see things here that many times are missed by primary care Vets because it isn't something they see on a regular basis. When I worked in a regular daytime practice we would see 5 or so snakebites each year, about the same number of GDV's. In the last week, our clinic saw 9 snakebites, had 4 GDV's (only 3 choose to do the surgery for the GDV), not to mention the many, many other roblems, hit by car, dog fights, pancreatitis, kidney disease, heart disease, trouble whelping, parvo, distemper, allergic reactions and so on and so on. At any given time, we may have a dozen or more patients hospitalized. That means there must be staff to attend to them, Vets, Vet Techs, Vet assistants, Receptionists, kennel help, etc.
 
You really have touched a nerve with me. I WORK MY BUTT OFF to care for your pets. I do this because I love these animals, the Vets do it because they love the animals, I can guarantee you we don't do it for the money, the pay stinks! It is much more difficult to get into Vet School than Med School and yet the average Vet makes an average of $70,000. per year.
 
I will end my rant by saying I hope when you use an Emergency Vet in the future you will at least give some thought to the idea that we are providing you with a service YOUR Vet isn't. We are here because we love your animals and by proxy, care about you.

Benita, we don't need to get off subject about emergency vets verses regular vets.  I'm sure we all appreciate that they are there. And we are all willing to pay for them when we have to go.  And of course you are right that you see more problems then the normal vet.   BUT please come to the other side of this, Dave just listed how much he paid for ex-rays at the emergency vet and regular vet. THAT is just one example.   It does not cost more at one place to produce an ex-ray then it does at another I would guess.  $90 compared to $211. Please!!!
And that is only the beginning.  
My biggest thing I HATED was when I took my dog to EV one day, I walked in and they spoke $$$  FIRST THING, RIGHT AWAY!  Sorry, I know they probably get stiffed a lot,,,,but I'm sorry for resenting that $$ is the first thing on their mind.    
I'm sure you and the vets and everyone there works very very hard, I sure wouldn't take that away from you all.  But to charge way over what the vets charge doesn't make it more right!  Maybe the vets are there for animals and not money, maybe its the owners of these places making all the money, I don't know. 
Let me say again, I am happy that the emergency vets are there. I will pay their charges if I go to them and not say a work. HOWEVER, I will do everything in my power to NOT go there, I will see what I can do to get my animals to a regular vet. Sorry if that sound unappreciative, because its not. I personally don't have the kind of money that they charge,,,I have all I can do to pay the regular vet. I don't like the unpersonal feeling that I got when I went to emergecy either.  Maybe it was just that place!
And really in the end, not sure where you live, but I would be delighted to be making $70,000 a year, would be delighted if my husband did also!

Benita, I don't read anywhere where someone called you a creep in particular. Yes, you do have a hard job and I am thankful there are people out there that provide this service since our vets in this county no longer provide emergency vet care on the weekends. Which means we have to travel to a surrounding county from 30 min travel time to an hour.
 
I also had an experience with an ER vet who lectured me about the over weight pet before he even started his exam. The fact she was not over weight but had ingested radiator fluid which caused her bloating. Long story short, she died in his care because he didn't act quick enough and was worried how I was going to pay first for the care. It may have been too late since she was bloated, but the fact remains, the vet had the bed side manner of a toad.
 
Anyway, please don't turn this thread into another debate over ER care vs vet care. The fact of the matter is this little dog is ok now as it could have been otherwise.

listen I didn't mean to "hit a nerve", with anyone. and I'm sorry that you took offence.

Fact of the matter and I will try to make this short, The cost is so high, you have to make a lot of money or get into debt to afford it, OK?
It makes a lot of people think twice and even wait to the morning or the weekend to take the pet in and it may be too late in some cases.

I did everything so I wouldn't have to take him to the Emergency Vet. I'm really thankfull we played it smart and my Vet (regular) did so much more for so much less and they are Ahaa certified makes me feel good.

As you say "the pay stinks", well Im sorry but I do know this...

With those exeptianal cost, SOMEONE IS making a good profit, don't forget that when there is no where else to take that pet you will do anything for! There they are! Those are just my opinions, also they did take good care of my dog my only complain is the cost.

It's not a clear cut case of " if you don't like it dont go there", as a dog owner it is my responsibility not to let anything happen to that dog. So in other, I, Me, have no choce but to pay whatever they tell me.


For Paws, Dyan thanks,

Dave