Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to be taught extra about me and my 5 humorous canines, Poppy, Bailey, Kodah, Ned, and Fred.
I’m in all probability exhibiting my age right here, however I keep in mind if I ever got here house from faculty, crying about what some horrible individual had stated to me, my mom would all the time inform me to say the identical factor: Sticks and stones could break my bones, however names won’t ever damage me.
Honestly, it’s like she wished me to get bullied.
Of course, everyone knows now that it’s normally the name-calling that does essentially the most injury to youngsters, however it’s the sticks and stones that may actually damage your canine.
It’s All Fun and Games…
How many instances have you ever watched a canine gleefully chase a stick that has been thrown by their proprietor? Or seen a canine that, for some unknown motive, enjoys carrying and chewing stones? These quite common and seemingly harmless actions can have critical penalties in your pet.
Show me a vet who hasn’t needed to deal with a stick damage, and I’ll present you a vet who has solely been on the job a number of months. And you don’t need to look very far to discover a story a few canine that’s ended up in surgical procedure for consuming a stone…or in this case, 2.6 lbs of them! You may suppose I’m being a little bit of an alarmist, however belief me, this recommendation might prevent 1000’s of {dollars} in vet payments, and perhaps even save your canine’s life.
In my time in medical observe, I’ve personally handled round:
- 15 canines with fractured tooth from chewing stones
- 10 canines with intestinal blockages attributable to stones
- 5 canines with stone and gravel constipation
- 5 canines with mouth accidents from sticks
- 3 canines with penetrating stick accidents
- 2 canines with sticks wedged within the high of their mouth
- tons of of canines with severely worn tooth from chewing stones
of those,
- Dozens required dental surgical procedure
- 7 required belly surgical procedure
- 3 required sedation and enema
- 3 required surgical exploration
- 2 wanted a specialist referral
- 1 died
Not considered one of these canine’s house owners had been merciless, neglectful, or responsible of mistreatment. They simply underestimated, or didn’t notice, what might go fallacious.
Sticks…
Let’s face it, when a canine is racing after a stick, they’re not pondering to themselves:
“Right, now I need to catch this stick, however I want to verify I seize it on the facet so it doesn’t poke me within the mouth, and be actually cautious I don’t fumble and land on it, in case it results in my chest.”
They’re pondering:
“Stiiiiiiiiick! Get it! Get it! Faster! Get it!”
…or one thing alongside these traces!
We can’t count on our canines to anticipate and keep away from all of the methods this sport can go fallacious, notably if we aren’t, both. No one expects their canine to change into impaled throughout a easy sport of fetch, however it does occur.
…and Stones
I had one affected person, a few years in the past, that had been opened up six instances to remove stones, in addition to another inedible objects. Yes, six. She was a beautiful canine with a beautiful proprietor; she simply couldn’t be left unsupervised. In the top, she needed to put on a cage muzzle nearly 24/7 (it was both that or set up a zipper!).
Apart from being the potential reason behind a surgical emergency, stones are additionally a standard reason behind damaged and severely worn tooth.
You is perhaps stunned to be taught that the trusty tennis ball can be a significant wrongdoer relating to carrying down tooth, so that you may need to suppose once more earlier than letting your canine carry them round and chew on them for hours.
Solutions
I’m the primary to confess that stopping canines from selecting up and chewing stones could be a actually robust one – we will’t watch them each minute of day by day. For the canines which might be utterly hooked on the behavior, it might be price taking place the route of muzzle training. It’s not a perfect answer, however it beats having them put on their tooth all the way down to the gum, ending up underneath the surgeon’s knife, or worse.
Most of the time, canines chew sticks and stones (and different objects) out of boredom, so it may possibly simply be a matter of discovering the precise substitute, which can take a while. Too usually, folks provide their stone-chewers a chew toy and quit when their canine rejects it. You solely need to spend a couple of minutes within the pet retailer or on-line to comprehend that there are tons of, presumably 1000’s, of several types of chew toys on the market, so it might simply be a matter of discovering the precise one.
Kodah and Fred are obsessive about this type of flavored chew toy, however the Labradors aren’t the slightest bit (fortuitously, their days of chewing inappropriate issues are behind them). And for canines that like to chase a stick, dog toy manufacturers have gotten you lined too.
No Excuses
You may suppose I’m being dramatic, however I can inform you firsthand that we see canines day by day for accidents associated to chasing sticks and chewing stones. Your canine may not take to the primary stick or stone substitute you strive, however imagine me, it’s price persevering. I don’t need to see your canine on my working desk.
