The Perils of Ingested Foreign Objects in Dogs

Dogs are curious by nature. They love to investigate new sights, smells, and tastes. Unfortunately, this curiosity can lead them intotrouble. Dogs are notorious for swallowing paper, tissues, articles of clothing, sticks, wicker, bones, food wrappers, rocks, and other foreign objects. Some of these objects will pass through the intestinal tract without problem. It is common for dog owners to report finding all sorts of objects in their dog's stool or vomit.

However, one of the more common and potentially life-threatening conditions seen in veterinary practice is foreign body obstruction.

Most pets that have ingested a foreign body will exhibit some of these clinical signs:

• vomiting
• diarrhea
• abdominal tenderness or pain
• decreased appetite (know as anorexia)
• straining to defecate or producing small amounts of feces
• lethargy
• changes in behavior such as biting or growling when picked up or handled around the abdomen

After obtaining a thorough medical history, your veterinarian will perform a careful physical examination. If a foreign body is suspected, abdominal radiographs (X-rays) will be performed. Several views or a series of specialized X-rays using contrast material (barium or other radiographic dye) will often be necessary. In addition, your veterinarian may recommend blood and urine tests to assess whether the patient's health has been compromised by the obstruction, or to rule-out other causes of vomiting such as pancreatitis, gastroenteritis, infections, or hormonal diseases such as Addison's disease.

Our experienced vets are available to do exploratory laparatomies to localize and remove foriegn objects from your animals stomach or intestine.