ok..... the kids being kids saw something I had that they wanted.. they waited until i wasnt looking and they took it... played with it... and then Tori chewed it..... and apparently swallowed part of it.i am only guessing because i found part of it in the floor.
the item in question is a book mark. one end is beaded, then a length of string and the other end has a horse charm - rather small, it could fit on the pad of my little finger..... i'm not worried about the string part. i know how long the book mark is and if she swallowed any of the string at all then its not much more half an inch. but the charm is metal. no i dont know what kind of metal!
now.... i do like that book mark. i'm rather upset that the kids found it and took it after being told not to... and then the dog apparently EATING ... well.... i'm more concerned about her than i am about getting that piece of metal back - i can get another book mark. thats no big deal. but i dont want her getting some kind of intestinal infection because its stuck up in there.
SO BASICALLY 
how do i make her poop? should i just wait for it to do its own thing and come out naturally oooooorrrrrrrr?
i've had puppies chew things in the past, sure.. shoe laces, zippers, paper, sticks,.. and there had been a few times when i would find the stuffing from dog toys in their poop... but for the most part i always made damn sure nothing was left in their reach for them to ingest because i had ONE bad experience with a puppy that, according to the vet, chewed on a battery and suffered heavy metal poisoning...... that was her best guess based on symptoms. and yes he did survive. but only by a miracle. he was on death's door when i found him. Lesson Learned!
Well.... my kids out foxed me. the book i was reading was beside the bed... the door was open(it's usually locked, but its laundry day) and.... well that doesnt really matter.
bottom line is.... what now? i dont know what kind of metal it was. but i do know some kinds of metal are toxic... i would prefer to save the vet Xray route as a last resort. if she will just poop it out then no one needs to invade my dog, right? but if she starts acting funny then it doesnt really matter. she's going to the vet.