Help ASAP please! (Cita) Possible emergency?

How is he this morning ?

oh no rascal! hope you are feeling okay now!

 I know that bully sticks are supposed to be digestible but, in my experience, they are not. Both my husky and my aussie have swallowed bully sticks when they were down to about 3-4" long. Later they pooped the entire thing out, undigested (this happened several times). Because of that, I don't give them bully sticks anymore. Having something that's 3-4" long come out like that can't be good on their system.

Oh man, Cita, BEEN THERE EXACTLY THAT WAY.  Sheesh -- whatta  night!!

Back when we had Polly (that little dog who had the broken back who couldn't walk???) -- she was NUTS about food.  Literally she would 'panic' over any kind of food-stuff.  But she hadn't shed ANY of her puppy teeth when she came to us (at almost 6 months -- she still had MILK teeth) and so the vet wanted me to encourage her to 'chew' to teethe.

Darn me anyway, I let her KEEP a Bully stick that had gotten down to about 4".  I saw she had the whole thing slippery/slimey so I reached for it, and she paniced and SWALLOWED the entire 4".

She was about 25 pounds at the time and I thot she was going to choke on it when she did it.  but the vet said it SHOULD pass.

Well, just try waiting for a 4" piece of "something" to pass on a dog that can't walk to exercise enough to make the bowels work.  She didn't poop for two.  but it was moving thru her (I have the series of x-rays to prove it *sigh*) and she wasn't sick to her stomach.

EVENTUALLY (with a little baby enema) it came out.  Lordy, what a week THAT was. 

Cita -- *passing you a cup of coffee* I sooooo understand, but he will pass it.  And YOU will understand when I say I never gave a bully stick EVER again!! *sigh*

I hope Rascal is doing much better now.  And sending good digestion vibes to his tummy.

I'm confused though.  How was Amanda's advice bad?  Its what I would have done to begin with. 

huskymom

I hope Rascal is doing much better now.  And sending good digestion vibes to his tummy.

I'm confused though.  How was Amanda's advice bad?  Its what I would have done to begin with. 

I think the point that people were trying to make is that if the object (in this case, bully stick) was large enough to cause a problem going down, it might cause a worse problem coming up with any vomiting.   

Hope Rascal's feeling better today.  You might not want to give him anymore bully sticks for a while!!

spiritdogs

huskymom

I hope Rascal is doing much better now.  And sending good digestion vibes to his tummy.

I'm confused though.  How was Amanda's advice bad?  Its what I would have done to begin with. 

 

 

I think the point that people were trying to make is that if the object (in this case, bully stick) was large enough to cause a problem going down, it might cause a worse problem coming up with any vomiting.   

Yes, that was my thought.  Vomiting is never a good thing with an obstruction.

Very difficult to decide what to do in the heat of the moment, though.  It's not a "textbook" emergency when it is your own dog. 

Oh gosh, if I give him a bully stick again it's going to be a huuuuuuge one! He only swallowed like a 1/2" by 3/4" block. Poor little guy. He was sitting at my feet going chew chew chew chew chew and then suddenly it got quiet, so I looked over, and it was gone. Then he started licking his lips and looking up at me going, "Mom, I don't feel so good...."

He looks fine today - if I didn't know better I'd say he was 100%. He did mini zoomies when I walked over to the dog food container, did mini zoomies before I put his bowl down, scarfed down his breakfast, and then dug in his crate just in case he'd missed some kibbles. Then he ran up the stairs and pounced on a squeaky toy.

Thanks so much for all your advice and support, everyone! I'm fortunate that a very good E-vet is only about 10 minutes away from my house, so inducing vomiting last night was definitely a viable option - too bad it didn't work, and the vet had to try too, for $80! Ick.

I, on the other hand, am still feeling icky. It might have something to do with eating cookies and milk for both lunch and dinner last night, hmmm. I think both Rascal and I need to work a bit on our eating habits!

spiritdogs

huskymom

I hope Rascal is doing much better now.  And sending good digestion vibes to his tummy.

I'm confused though.  How was Amanda's advice bad?  Its what I would have done to begin with. 

 

 

I think the point that people were trying to make is that if the object (in this case, bully stick) was large enough to cause a problem going down, it might cause a worse problem coming up with any vomiting.   

Hope the little guy is ok now!  Cita come in come in, update!?

But I don't get what else Cita could have done?  That's what the vet did.... and I'm wiling vto bet the vet where i worlked would have done the same provided it was swallowed recently...

Well, I think the idea is that if the vet induces vomiting and there's a problem the vet will be standing right there to take care of whatever complications may arise. I live close enough to the vet that I felt comfortable doing it myself, and figured that if something did go wrong I could get him in fast enough we'd probably be okay. It was a gamble, sure, but I was hoping to avoid the stress (for both of us) and expense of the animal ER. Oh well! He's worth it. 

SO glad he is better! 

Rascal!  Your name fits you.  Now listen to me, little boy.  Look @ me when I talk to you.  Do NOT scare us like that again.  I'd hate the idea that you're sick, kiddo.

I'm so glad Rascal is OK!

The explanation I got after a rock episode,  for those that are wondering is that the esophagus is larger than the small intestine, so things that can go down can't come through. If they make it to the colon, you are home free!