“What Are You Eating?!”and Other Spooky Tales

In honor of the creepiest month of the year, we would like to highlight a very real and very scary horror: things that dogs eat.

Volunteers and staff alike often laugh over the non-discerning tastes of program dogs. Dead things, including dried leaves, mulch, squashed worms, and animal parts all top the list of dog delicacies. What won’t they eat?? Quite honestly, the answer is nothing. There is nothing our dogs will not eat. And that is truly terrifying!

The Scary Truth about Foreign Bodies

Foreign body ingestion is the clinical term for a dog consuming something outside of their normal diet. It covers everything from edible items to the inedible. Ingesting foreign bodies very often results in GI upset. Most cases present as loose stools, vomiting, lethargy or loss of appetite. These symptoms are no fun for anyone involved as things just need to run their course, but they are certainly not a deterrent for the dog to not repeat the actions that made them feel sick. Cleaning up vomit at 3 am or taking a sick puppy out every hour for two days often IS a successful deterrent for the humans though- surviving one bought is usually enough for most of us to become diligent filters for the dogs in our care.

There are times that the foreign bodies ingested by the dogs cannot be digested and are not able to pass naturally. In these cases the foreign body causes an obstruction, which increases the severity of the symptoms. A foreign body obstruction that is not detected and removed in time can have scary consequences : obstructions can lead to tissue death or can even be fatal. The costs of obstruction removal, repair and recovery are great as well- this is a major surgery that carries inherent risks, in addition to having potential lasting health impacts.

Scared yet? We ALL should be, at least a little. The types of dogs we use in our program (primarily retrievers) are naturally inclined to pick things up and are also highly motivated by food. You can see how this combination results in dogs that are much more predisposed to ingestion and possible obstructions. It is so important that all the dog in our care are never left unattended. Prevention is key when it comes to this topic. For most of us, it means cleaning up around the house and yard more, leashing dogs outside versus letting them have free access to the yard, better educating our household members, and closing off areas of the home to the dogs. And of course, if we see them pick something up, we must do our best to get it back. If they do manage to eat something even with close monitoring, please be sure to let Puppy Program know. Most importantly NEVER assume that they won’t eat something. The small gallery below featuring plastic, metal, mineral and a few feet of fiber is proof that they can and will eat anything!