She ate part of a towel......

[lady Dobie]

She is 1.5 years old and really has been trust worthy as far as chewing objects or things around the house.. I have been using a king size folded sheet as her bedding.. because her elbow started to puff up from the hard surface when she crashes on to floor.. I took the sheet up to wash it and gave her a large towel to lay on.. when i found the towel it had lots of shedded areas.. so i knew right away she had chewed and eaten some of it.. shortly there after she threw up her kibble breakfast.. ..I was in panic mode now.. went to the store and bought her some rice and chopmeat which i boiled and fed her small amount in late afternoon.. almost immediately she threw this up.. i called the vet and brought her in.. i had to leave her for a few hours and they did an xray.. not sure why they did not do the xray while we were there.. next vet dr called and told us she see's a gas bubble type image.. i asked what size it was she said hard to tell.. She immediately mentioned surgery.. and that i should leave her overnight.. i asked will there be someone there with her...she said no, no one is here.. i said well then i will pick her up and bring her in the morning for another xray to see what it is showing as far as movement etc.. ( during this time of picking her up} i was shown no xray.. it seemed to me they were in full speed ahead mode for surgery.. i brought my girl home for the night.. not going to leave her there with no one to look after her"" during the evening as she slept on the couch i could tell she was not her self.. lethargic.. maybe even a little cramps going on.. she could not have any water or food.. and occasionally she would get down from couch and look for her water dish which i took up.. I woke up several times during the night to check on her.. she seemed relaxed and sleeping like her normal self.. i let her out to go to the bathroom.. i could see in the darkness she went a little.. but not enough to get my coat on and tread in the darkness through the snow.. normal morning started.. everyone up and out.. fed.. broke my heart nothing for her to eat or drink.. but to my joy she seemed herself..running and jumping and whining etc.. we took her as scheduled by 8 am and dropped her off for another xray.. i told them i would stay in the car until you did the xray.. they said oh this will take hours.. she will have a shot sedative which takes about an hour to work.. so we will call you and let you know what we find.. i am suspicious.. because our wonderful vets retired and now this vet office is owned by a corporation.... what i am asking after all this writing.. is do you think i should let nature takes its course as long as Lucy is feeling good.. thank you for any info.. i appreciate it very much

 

[Doberman Gang]

I would just monitor her if she is eating and going to the bathroom she will probably just pass it. If she starts looking lethargic or not feeling well laying around all the time. Stops eating and can’t poop you need to get her to the vet ASAP.

 

[lady Dobie]

I would just monitor her if she is eating and going to the bathroom she will probably just pass it. If she starts looking lethargic or not feeling well laying around all the time. Stops eating and can’t poop you need to get her to the vet ASAP.

Thats what i am thinking.. if they CALL and push for surgery.. i think i will just go pick her up .. and monitor..as you said.. even if they tell me xray shows blockage.. i am going by my natural instinct that she was feeling good... .. ..and so scary to put her through surgery .. especially a dobie..thank you for reply

 

[MyBuddy]

I hope others will chime in that perhaps have gone through this type of thing. I have never. But I certainly bristle at the fact that they are pushing surgery, not letting you in to take a damn x-ray and that they wanted to leave her there overnight and no one to monitor her! What good is that! These Corporation vets just drive me nuts. Everything has just gone money! I don't know. My gut feeling tells me if my dog is bouncing around like normal and eating and pooping that things are looking up. Do you know how much she ate?

 

[lady Dobie]

I hope others will chime in that perhaps have gone through this type of thing. I have never. But I certainly bristle at the fact that they are pushing surgery, not letting you in to take a damn x-ray and that they wanted to leave her there overnight and no one to monitor her! What good is that! These Corporation vets just drive me nuts. Everything has just gone money! I don't know. My gut feeling tells me if my dog is bouncing around like normal and eating and pooping that things are looking up. Do you know how much she ate?

I do not know the exact amount that she ate because she threw up right on the towel and it was quite a mess so i just heaved everything into waste basket.. but my reaction was that it was not that much where i was shocked or scared immediately.. ..later my tension rose when she threw up again.. then of course i wish i had really investigated.. but this morning she was back to her usual self.. of course we did not feed her or give her water under the vets instructions.. so do not know if that would have been okay........ thank you..yes the corporation vets are such a shock to us.. 30 years we were use to vet sharing all info.. i was only talked to this morning.. by a vet tech.....

 

[Ddski5]

So my male eats everything and had abdominal obstruction surgery twice.
Both times from swallowing daughters sock.

The signs and symptoms were the same with mine- vomiting after eating or drinking. In theory, there is an obstruction and food/drink builds up in the stomach and has no where to go except vomit back up.

He has passed socks, panties, wash rags many times before so just because yours ate part of a towel does not mean she is blocked up. What does concern me is if she is vomiting water/food after consumption.

I have learned that when he vomits after he eats, the only way to truly know is if and when he poops next. If he poops at noon, then I will closely monitor him to see if he poops. If you take him to the vet, an X-ray is not going to detect any fabric such as a towel. They can only look to see any air/gas that may be present after the blockage.

When was the first vomit? What is the timeline from first vomit to now? When is the last time she pooped? If she is urinating and pooping then obviously there is no blockage. There is a chance of a partial blockage but parts of a towel should pass.

You have a difficult decision….as said, mine has passed many objects/rags before and when he vomited, I was on pins/needles for the next 24-48hrs. I would feed 1/2 of normal food and let him drink water as needed. The hope here is the added pressure to help push/pass the object and very important to keep him hydrated.

The two times he was truly obstructed….it got to where he could not keep anything down. He was in obvious pain during movement and would try to stretch in weird ways. He would also slink back and stay in his kennel which is odd for him. After about the 48th hour, with no poop at all and because he would not be able to hold down water…..I would take him to the vet for possible obstruction.

Vet would identify that it is most likely an obstruction and do surgery. Pulled a sock out both times. In vet that night and 2-3days afterwards to stabilize.

So….
You could wait and see if she will pass it but problem is if you wait too long then the intestines will be blocked too long and cut off blood supply. If this happens then she can become septic and die.

In my case, without him pooping, vomiting after every consumption and obvious pain- I knew it was time to take him to an emergency vet hospital.

Tough decision….

 

[Ddski5]

I know I contradicted what the vet said about no food or water.

If mine had food/water and threw that up then I would pick it up and wait 2-3hrs. Then I might try again after a walk or if his spirits and energy looked good.

During the entire time I would take him outside or walk him a lot to move him around to try and get the blockage to move.

 

[Kswoodssue]

Having been a nurse, and also working for a vet for a while, everyone above is right. My advice is, when they vomit, always look at it closely to see what came up. If you suspect them eating a foreign body, check that poop too. If something goes in, monitor to see that it comes out. That ball of towel may move on its own or may not. DO seek out an animal hospital that you trust.

 

[JanS]

i am suspicious.. because our wonderful vets retired and now this vet office is owned by a corporation...

I have a feeling I know who you're talking about (it's nationwide) and I would personally get a second opinion. I brought Phoebe to our vet a few weeks ago and he did an x-ray and ultrasound in less than 5 minutes, then brought a tablet in to show me the results so we could discuss it. Wanting to jump to surgery throws up $$$ red flags to me right away.

 

[lady Dobie]

Great news... it came out....... we are going to get her....................wowoooooooooweeeeeeeeeee so happy..thank you everyone

So my male eats everything and had abdominal obstruction surgery twice.
Both times from swallowing daughters sock.

The signs and symptoms were the same with mine- vomiting after eating or drinking. In theory, there is an obstruction and food/drink builds up in the stomach and has no where to go except vomit back up.

He has passed socks, panties, wash rags many times before so just because yours ate part of a towel does not mean she is blocked up. What does concern me is if she is vomiting water/food after consumption.

I have learned that when he vomits after he eats, the only way to truly know is if and when he poops next. If he poops at noon, then I will closely monitor him to see if he poops. If you take him to the vet, an X-ray is not going to detect any fabric such as a towel. They can only look to see any air/gas that may be present after the blockage.

When was the first vomit? What is the timeline from first vomit to now? When is the last time she pooped? If she is urinating and pooping then obviously there is no blockage. There is a chance of a partial blockage but parts of a towel should pass.

You have a difficult decision….as said, mine has passed many objects/rags before and when he vomited, I was on pins/needles for the next 24-48hrs. I would feed 1/2 of normal food and let him drink water as needed. The hope here is the added pressure to help push/pass the object and very important to keep him hydrated.

The two times he was truly obstructed….it got to where he could not keep anything down. He was in obvious pain during movement and would try to stretch in weird ways. He would also slink back and stay in his kennel which is odd for him. After about the 48th hour, with no poop at all and because he would not be able to hold down water…..I would take him to the vet for possible obstruction.

Vet would identify that it is most likely an obstruction and do surgery. Pulled a sock out both times. In vet that night and 2-3days afterwards to stabilize.

So….
You could wait and see if she will pass it but problem is if you wait too long then the intestines will be blocked too long and cut off blood supply. If this happens then she can become septic and die.

In my case, without him pooping, vomiting after every consumption and obvious pain- I knew it was time to take him to an emergency vet hospital.

Tough decision….

you really explained everything so eloquently .. i am sorry you had to go through this 2xs.. Years ago my Luke ate his twisted braided beautiful leather collar from germany... tags were in his mouth when i returned home.. and he eagerly gave them to me when i held out my hand...but the thick leather collar was gone...... he had surgery and everything turned out okay.. back back then i knew that was an obstruction.. and rushed him in to vet... you could actually see some of the metal from the collar quite clearly on the x-ray.. Leave it to a dobie to take his collar off and eat it..i do hope your boy never goes through this again.. Luke has never eaten anything dangerous again.. .. this situation was a bit different.. and i was not overly panicked as with Luke.. but like you mentioned above each time i fed or watered her she threw up.. i said it must be blocking .. yet i thought maybe it needed time to move down the colon.. this morning no food or water given to test this.. but she was amazingly back to her own personality.. how i wanted to test you probably know.. but took her to vet and did as the vet asked.. thank you.. i am just so happy now she is laying on my couch... resting and will be her old self again tomorrow..This story turned out happy but i still do not trust the vets .. because they were raring to go with surgery..

 

[Ddski5]

OH HELL YEAH!!!

That’s great news right there!!

I was having a horrible day until I read your last post.

That’s great!!

 

[lady Dobie]

She is home resting now...thank you everyone.............

 

[lady Dobie]

OH HELL YEAH!!!

That’s great news right there!!

I was having a horrible day until I read your last post.

That’s great!!

I am sorry for your bad day.. hope it gets better tomorrow.. thank you

 

[JanS]

I'm so glad she passed it! They sure know how to give us grey hair.

 

[lady Dobie]

I'm so glad she passed it! They sure know how to give us grey hair.

thank you... yes they sure do..

 

[LifeofRubie]

Glad she's on the up and up! It's so scary!

My Dobe also like to gnaw holes in blankets... So we bought a cot for her crate. It's aluminum on the edge's and elevated so chew proof. It's lasted 5 years, so far. Gotta keep these monsters comfy!

 

[lady Dobie]

Glad she's on the up and up! It's so scary!

My Dobe also like to gnaw holes in blankets... So we bought a cot for her crate. It's aluminum on the edge's and elevated so chew proof. It's lasted 5 years, so far. Gotta keep these monsters comfy!

is it possible to give me a description of maker on that cot. sounds like a great idea for kennel crate.. thank you

 

[LifeofRubie]

is it possible to give me a description of maker on that cot. sounds like a great idea for kennel crate.. thank you

Of course!

K9 ballistics

 

[lady Dobie]

Of course!

K9 ballistics

thank you very much

 

[Ravenbird]

I was holding my breath reading to see how this ended up and so grateful a good ending! I only had one incident when Asha was a puppy maybe about 4 or 5 months old, can't remember... but she was never one to eat/swallow anything she got into, but I'd read all the horror stories. So one night it was time for supper and she didn't get out of her bed, and I totally freaked out. She absolutely wouldn't eat. Not puking, not drinking, not eating, just lay there. No temp, no high heart rate, nothing except not eating and pretty lethargic, and a rigid tummy. Of course it was Sunday night, I called the emergency # for my vet - they are out of town and referred to another vet in town and he said "probably not an obstruction, just see your regular vet in the morning". Like so laid back. I decided I was over-reacting and took it all in, watched her like a hawk, woke up every couple hours to check on her, took her into the vet when they opened at 8 a.m. (no appointments here, walk-in only). They took an x-ray while I waited, no sedation. Showed me the x-ray and a big ass gas bubble. Said they'd keep her for a few hours and take another picture to see if the gas was moving. I went back a few hours later to see the second x-ray and the bubble had progressed down the line, and they sent her home with me, instructions for chicken/rice/broth easy type food for a few days and "to watch". It is this kind of vet that I know is harder and harder to find. Total less than $150. No pressure, just matter of fact procedures & answers. They aren't perfect, but I'm so grateful for them on that call and not pushing me into a corner of making a surgery decision when they really didn't see a good reason. I never found out what she ate - if anything - that caused the incident and she was starving that next day and has never had anything like that again.

Goes to show how these dogs can absolutely pull at our heart strings. I'm so glad you brought up how your vet could be a little pushy. It's what made me want to share how some of the old small-town vets can still be found and be honest & thoughtful but not need to push unless it's really needed.

Keep us posted on her progress - I'm betting she's fine now!