Being a dog’s parent is quite a lovely experience and comes with its marvelous perks. Nevertheless, with its advantages, there are also certain obligations that you must meet.
One of the most important things to take care of when it comes to parenting a dog is supervision. However, 24 hours surveillance of your dog’s activities is impossible, and inevitably, it will do something that might harm it.
For example, your dog might eat a bobby pin. What can you do in such a situation? Bobby pins are hairpins that are long and pointy. If you suspect that your dog ate a bobby pin, take it to the vet immediately.
There are ways that one can avoid such an unfortunate incident, and the following article will deal with all this and more.
Vet’s advice when something gets stuck in a dog’s throat (Video)
What to do if my dog swallows a bobby pin?
Bobby pins can be dangerous. They can cause choking, intestinal obstruction, or scratch or injure your pup’s stomach or intestine.
If you suspect your dog swallowed a bobby pin, look for any odd symptoms, such as:
- Loss of appetite
- Sings of pain
- Blood in stool
- Vomiting
- Chocking
- Diarrhea
If such signs are present, you should take your dog to the nearest vet immediately. If for whatever reason, your vet is not reachable, you should not wait and go to your nearest emergency pet clinic.
On the other hand, if your dog is not showing any signs of concern, then hopefully, the bobby pin has not caused any damage. However, you should still go to the vet to have it examined.
In such cases:
Your vet would normally call for an x-ray, and depending upon the position of the bobby pin, decide what course of action to take.
Certain times an operation is required, while other times, the best thing is to leave the bobby pin alone. But, it should be mentioned here that you should always opt for whatever your vet recommends avoiding any health risks.
Sometimes, fortunately, the bobby pin passes out with the stools. Therefore, you should keep checking your dog’s stools to see if the bobby pin has come out or not.
But, even if the bobby pin has come out and the dog is totally fine, it is best to have it checked by a vet to make sure there have not been any internal injuries.
Precautions
Being a dog parent, you already know how nosy these canines can be. They would poke and try to eat anything and everything that comes in there way.
And, as mentioned earlier, it is impossible to keep 24 hours surveillance on your dog.
So, what can you do to avoid such instances?
Here are some important precautions:
Clean the house
Having a dog at home comes with a lot of responsibilities; one of the most important is having a clean house.
By clean, it means that your house should be clean of any objects your dog might find interesting and can pose danger to it. For example:
- Knives
- Wires
- Glass objects
- Plastic items
- Wires
You should also make sure the sockets in your home are not reachable for your dog. If you have sockets that your dog can reach, place heavy objects such as a cupboard, showcase, or sofas in front of them.
Close the doors
If you plan on leaving the house with your four-legged pal behind, make sure you leave the doors closed.
Dogs, if they get a chance, have a habit of wandering off. This can lead them to some dangerous places. For example, they can run off to the road and meet an accident.
You should also close doors of rooms such as the kitchen, that contain items that can harm your dog.
The “leave it” command
Dog-proofing your house has its limitations. Your dog will inevitably find something that could pose danger or could be unhygienic to ingest.
So, it is important to teach your dog not to eat such things. And one of the most basic commands, in this category, is the “leave it” command.
There are various methods to teach your dog the leave it command. And all of them invariably require patience on your end.
One of these methods is as follows:
- Place various treats throughout the garden.
- When your dog comes near one of these treats and is about to eat them, call it back after calling out the command “Leave it.”
- Initially, your dog will eat the treat instead.
- But, sooner or later, the dog will come towards you and leave the treat, and when it does, make sure to praise it and give the treat.
You’ll have to work with perseverance on this one. But, the benefits of such a command are endless.
Other foreign objects
Dogs tend to chew and taste anything that comes in their way. And that is mainly because that is how they are programmed to explore the world.
However, doing so often leads them into trouble and us into a panic.
Below is a list of steps to follow when you find out that your dog ate something it shouldn’t have:
Non-sharp objects
Sometimes dogs swallow something that is not sharp, such as an eraser, some rubber, or socks (Veterinary pet insurance, has listed socks as the most common object surgically removed from a pet).
In such cases, if it hasn’t been more than two hours since your dog swallowed it, you should try to make your dog vomit.
To do that, give your dog a small meal. It will not only help in inducing vomit but will also help cushion the object.
If the dog doesn’t vomit, take your dog to the vet for a thorough examination.
Feed a bulky meal
If it has been more than two hours since your dog ate a non-sharp object, making it vomit will not do good. Because the object would already be in its intestine.
The best course of action in such cases is to feed your dog a bulky meal. It will initiate the secretion of your dog’s digestive juices that will help with the passing of the objects.
Normally, small objects will pass out along with the stools without any problems.
For the next two to three days, inspect your dog’s feces for the object. If the object has come out, then great, otherwise, you should get your dog examined.
You should also keep an eye on your dog for any troubling signs such as signs of pain, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. In such cases, take your dog to the vet without any delay.
Sharp objects
If your dog has swallowed something sharp, do not try to make it vomit. The sharp object will do much harm than it otherwise would have.
Metals
If you suspect your dog has eaten a metal object, a coin, or battery; do not wait.
Such objects, when inside, interact with the digestive juices in your dog’s stomach and can create toxic chemicals. Common results are lead or zinc poisoning in dogs.
Go to the vet immediately in such cases.
Choking
If you see that your dog is choking, chances are that the object still might be in your dog’s throat.
However, if it is a bone or a wire, do not try to remove it as it would cause internal injury.
However, if there is something that you can remove without hurting yourself and your dog, do the following:
- Hold the upper and lower jaws of your dog stretched.
- Keep your dog’s lips between your hands and their teeth to avoid being bit.
- Use your index finger to probe the mouth and throat to find the object and try to remove it.
- If you can’t, get someone to hold the jaws of your dog, while you can remove the object. It would make things easier.
If you can’t remove the object, get professional help.
Related Questions
How do I know my dog swallowed something it shouldn’t have?
If you suspect your dog of swallowing some foreign object, look for the following signs:
Abdominal pain: Some objects, especially bigger or sharper objects, tend to get stuck in the stomach and cause pain.
Vomiting: Another sign that your dog ate a foreign object is vomiting or gagging.
Unusual behavior: Dogs tend to behave differently if something is not right. For example, your dog might not enjoy walks anymore, may act lazy, or simply uninterested in things it usually found fun.
Diarrhea: If your dog ate some foreign object, chances are it will cause diarrhea, or sometimes, constipation.
If you witness any of the signs mentioned above, go to the vet immediately.
What to do if my dog ate plastic?
If you found out that your dog ate plastic, follow the following steps:
- Remove any plastic from the mouth and teeth of your dog. It will remove any choking hazard.
- Determine the type of plastic your dog ate as different plastics have different effects.
- Do not try to induce vomit in your dog as plastics can be sharp and may cause internal damage when coming out.
- Contact your vet immediately and tell the vet exactly what type of plastic your dog ate and how much of it.
