Last night sitting around the campfire with friends we had a scary moment. Our dogs were feeling left out of our fun; they were whinning in their kennel because they could see us sitting outdoors with friends and they wanted to be a part of it. So after the meal was done, all of the food was put away except for the small treat of half of a dog (broken into small pieces) for each of our two labs…we let them join us. This was fine until we encountered danger for our dogs that we never worried about before.
I know what most of you are thinking…it was the campfire. No! The dogs were fine around the campfire…they stay back far enough from that because of the heat it gives off. They were safe there. But, after they got all of the petting over with that they could stand; the puppies wanted to run around and play. My son started throwing some of the small apples that had fallen from the tree as they naturally shed excess apples that the trees cant support during the growing season. That went well until they ate the apples. That was all good.
What happened next, was that they started to wrestle over a stick. They do this all of the time. One will grab a large stick and sort of play keep away until the other dog takes it and does the same. They did this for a time and then got bored. So they picked up a large rock and my son would toss it and they would bring it back (a form of fetch), only to have it thrown again and then they would race each other to see who could get it first and bring it back.
That went on for some time until they got tired and flopped down on the ground to rest. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see one of my dogs try to chew the stone which was the size of a plum and just swallow it! Oh man…before I could get the words out to my son to take it away with the first chew the dog had swallowed it! Yikes…what to do.
Luckily one of the friends who was sitting around the campfire has a sister who works for a veternarian. She quickly called her and we got speedy advice on how to make the dog vomit up the stone. The stone was too large to pass the other way we were told. Always get the advice of a veternarian before you attempt any kind of treatments for your pets. Foreign objects in the stomachs of your pets can cause blockages or a twisted stomach; both of which can be fatal. The advice that we were given worked well by the way. I am not giving the advice here because I am not a vet and this advice might not be correct for another situation. Needless to say, this was very scary business for a family that loves their dogs.
Of course, most of us know that there are all kinds of dangers out there for our pets; but this particular danger I had never thought of because the dogs pick up these small stones all of the time and play keep away from one another. Sticks I know can be a danger too because running with them in their mouths can cause puncture wounds or choking if they trip and fall on the sticks too. So we try to make sure that the sticks are not too long and they are not pointed on the ends. But, this danger with the stone had never happened before; and, I never would have imagined that my dog would try to chew and swallow a stone. So, just take care when letting your pets play; treat them just like you would a toddler i guess…keep an eye on them all of the time! So glad to report both dogs are fine! I am grateful.
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