Your dog swallowed an object. What to do now
Call 055 620 4085 before you do anything else. The first 2 hours decide whether the object can be brought back up or has to be removed by surgery. Do not make your dog or cat vomit at home. Some objects do more damage coming up than going down.
- How urgentCall now, come within 2 hours
- DiagnosisX-ray and ultrasound
- If it is stuckSurgery on the stomach or bowel
- Stay after surgeryUsually 1 to 3 nights
01Overview
What happens to a swallowed object
Small, smooth objects often pass in 1 to 3 days. Anything wider than the exit of the stomach stays there, and anything that reaches the small bowel can wedge. A blocked bowel loses its blood supply within hours. It then leaks, and that is life-threatening.
The usual objects in dogs are socks, underwear, corn cobs, bones, fruit stones and pieces of toy. Cats swallow thread, ribbon, hair ties and tinsel. String is the worst of these. One end catches under the tongue or in the stomach. The bowel gathers along it like a curtain on a cord and is cut from the inside.
The object is found with x-ray and ultrasound. If it will not pass, it is removed by surgery. After midnight, the urgent care line tells you where to go. Cost depends on which of these routes is needed and is given to you in writing first.
02On the day
What happens at the clinic
Bring the packaging or the other half of the object if you have it. It tells the vet the size and the material.
- 1
The phone call
Before you leaveThe nurse asks what was swallowed, when, and how much your pet weighs. Batteries, magnets, sharp objects and anything caustic change the plan, so say exactly what it was.
- 2
Examination
The vet checks the mouth and under the tongue, feels the belly for pain or a firm lump, and checks hydration. In cats, a thread looped around the base of the tongue is looked for first.
- 3
X-rays
Metal, bone and stone show clearly. Cloth, plastic and rubber often do not. The vet then reads indirect signs, such as loops of bowel stretched with gas. X-rays may be repeated a few hours later to see whether anything has moved.
- 4
Ultrasound
Ultrasound can show an object that x-rays miss, and shows whether the bowel is still moving. A bunched, pleated bowel points to string.
- 5
The decision
There are three routes. If the object is blunt, recent and still in the stomach, vomiting can be induced by injection in the clinic. If it is small and moving, repeat x-rays follow it. If it is stuck, sharp or causing a blockage, it is surgery. Removal by endoscope, where suitable, may mean referral to a hospital that has one.
- 6
Surgery and the ward
You get a written quote before the anaesthetic. The stomach or bowel is opened, the object removed and the wall stitched. If a section of bowel has died, it is cut out and the ends joined. Your pet stays on a drip until eating.
03In Dubai
Things that are different in Dubai
Date stones in Ramadan
Dates are on every table for a month, and the stones end up within reach. A date stone is the right size to wedge in a small dog's bowel. Clear plates before you leave the room.
Barbecue season
From November to March there are grills in gardens, parks and desert camps. Kebab skewers, cooked bones and corn cobs are the three classic surgical finds. A wooden skewer does not show on an x-ray.
Bored dogs in flats
In summer, dogs are indoors for most of the day. Chewing fills the hours. Socks, children's toys and the stuffing of cushions are what we expect from June to September. Put laundry behind a door.
Abayas, sewing thread and hair ties
Cats play with loose thread, tassels and elastic hair ties, then swallow them. Keep sewing kits shut and count the hair ties on the bathroom shelf.
Mango and other fruit stones
Mango season fills kitchen bins with large, slippery stones that dogs swallow whole. Use a bin with a lid that locks.
04Do not wait
Come in now if you see any of these
A blockage can appear 1 to 3 days after the object was swallowed. These signs mean it has not passed.
Phone answered 24 hours
- Vomiting more than twice in a day, or vomiting water straight after drinking
- Refusing food for more than 24 hours
- A painful belly, a hunched back, or a praying position with the front end down
- No stool for 2 days, or straining with only small amounts of liquid
- Thread visible under the tongue or from the anus. Do not pull it
- Drooling, gagging or pawing at the mouth, or any battery or magnet swallowed
05Afterwards
After surgery on the stomach or bowel
The riskiest period is days 3 to 5, when a bowel wound can leak. That is why rechecks are booked in the first week. Your pet goes home on small, soft meals, 4 to 6 times a day, for about a week.
If the object passed without surgery, check every stool until you find it, and tell us when you do.
- Feed only the diet and the amounts written on the discharge sheet
- Collar on until the skin stitches are checked at about 10 days
- Lead walks only, and no rough play, for 2 weeks
- Call the same day for vomiting, a swollen belly, or a dull, quiet pet
- Remove the type of object that caused it. Dogs that swallow socks do it again
06From the clinic
From the clinic
-
A young golden retriever rests its chin in a nurse's gloved hand on the examination table
07Owners say
Google reviews that mention this
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08Questions