People who know things about dogs! Plz to halp

[humanperson832]

Okay, so my parents told me in a totally casual, off-handed way that my dad dropped a long (but thin & cooked) chicken bone on the floor and my dog gobbled it up before they could grab it away from her. (Supposedly. My parents also don't think to reach inside my dog's mouth and pull things out once they're in there. They baby her to her own detriment.)

 

My concern is that the bone is going to splinter and puncture her insides, and Google is totally confirming my worst fears. I know that not everything on the internet is true, but the general consensus is that that's what's going to happen. (Either that or she'll be totally fine.)

 

This happened about 4 hours ago (or at least, that's when my folks told me about it), and I'm worried that it's too late to induce vomiting to try and get it out. I'm freaking out in general, but especially because I'm dropping her off at the dog sitter's tomorrow morning and will be gone until next Wednesday. So if my dog takes a turn for the worse, not only will I not have the money to help save her, but I won't even be there to say goodbye.

 

It didn't help at all that my parents told me this as I was leaving the house, and said, "This might be the last time you see Zoey if this thing kills her, byeeee have fun!"

 

WHAT. I'm freaking out. Please someone give me some advice here.

[rabies_R_us]

My guess would be that she will probably be OK. The biggest concern, I think, is choking. Then you just have to watch her going dookies for a few days to make sure everything comes out ok. Here's a quick internet source: http://saveabull.com/my-dog-ate-chicken-bones/

[direrael]

Yeah, I think that it's when a dog has actually bitten down on the bone before swallowing that there's more of a chance of splintering. Do you know if it had sharp edges? If it's a basic round bone, it will hopefully just pass right through.

[porchcricket13]

How big of a dog? Did she swallow it whole? Cooked chicken bone is worse unfortunately but if she is big enough it could pass. Watch for vomiting, diarrhea, blood in her stool and straining to defecate. Any of these signs warrant a trip to the vet. I have seen the best and worst case scenarios here, chances are she will be ok but she needs to be closely monitored for at least 24-48 hours. Fingers crossed and vibes sent that it passes smoothly.

 

Signed,

Your friendly neighborhood vet tech

[humanperson832]

How big of a dog? Did she swallow it whole? Cooked chicken bone is worse unfortunately but if she is big enough it could pass. Watch for vomiting, diarrhea, blood in her stool and straining to defecate. Any of these signs warrant a trip to the vet. I have seen the best and worst case scenarios here, chances are she will be ok but she needs to be closely monitored for at least 24-48 hours. Fingers crossed and vibes sent that it passes smoothly.

 

Signed,

Your friendly neighborhood vet tech

 

She's a mini-poodle. 13 pounds. Rapidly approaching her (estimated) 14th birthday. What sucks is that I'm leaving town tonight for almost a week, and the dog sitter doesn't know what is normal behavior for my dog. I asked her to keep an eye on Zoey's poops, but we'll see what happens.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice! Seriously woke up hourly last night from the anxiety. My dog seems to be fine, and I'm hoping that I'm worrying for nothing. (I just knocked on wood to not jinx myself.)

[CombatBoot]

If it was a whole bone, and there are no signs yet that there's something wrong, the dog should be fine - I'm speaking from experience here.

In the wild, foxes eat chickens, bone and all and they are all fine. Now, I do realize that a poodle =/= fox, but still, the concept stays the same.

[KAllen]

The chicken bone rule really only applies to puppies.  Once they get full grown, they are really hearty at eating food.  We had 2 labs that were outside dogs, and they were literally food disposals.  If it was left over and didn't get eaten, front porch and w/in minutes it was a clean plate.  If we got a box of Popeye's then the bones were put on the front porch and w/in minutes, gone. 

 

Of course that size of a dog I'm not sure of.  My Rottie pup is 13 pounds and he's only 11 weeks old. Just watch her.

[porchcricket13]

The chicken bone rule really only applies to puppies.  Once they get full grown, they are really hearty at eating food.  We had 2 labs that were outside dogs, and they were literally food disposals.  If it was left over and didn't get eaten, front porch and w/in minutes it was a clean plate.  If we got a box of Popeye's then the bones were put on the front porch and w/in minutes, gone. 

 

Of course that size of a dog I'm not sure of.  My Rottie pup is 13 pounds and he's only 11 weeks old. Just watch her.

 

Cooked chicken bones are not recommended for any dog, puppy or not. They splinter and can perforate the stomach and intestines. I had a patient, 3 year old min pin, die from that. That said, most dogs will be fine but it depends on a few variables and at the first sign of trouble a vet visit is in order.

[miaC]

Does your dog sitter know dogs at all and feel comfortable if the dog gets sick? Does s/he know where the vet is, and/or the emergency vet? Will this person be with your dog 24/7 or will the dog be alone for much of the time? I'd recommend giving this person the various vet info along with instructions to call/go immediately if they think that anything is wrong. No matter how silly it might seem- better safe than sorry. If they can't handle this, maybe you could board your dog AT the vet's office? Some places have this service, and while it might not be as comfortable for your dog, it would ensure much more supervision and prompt help.

 

I'd also recommend not leaving your dog with your parents anymore. Seriously- who says that??

[cyndidee]

I don't have any advice, just wanted to say I understand you're concern and your frustration with your parents. I'll be saying a prayer that your little dog is just fine and that you can enjoy yourself while you're away. *hugs*

[humanperson832]

Does your dog sitter know dogs at all and feel comfortable if the dog gets sick? Does s/he know where the vet is, and/or the emergency vet? Will this person be with your dog 24/7 or will the dog be alone for much of the time? I'd recommend giving this person the various vet info along with instructions to call/go immediately if they think that anything is wrong. No matter how silly it might seem- better safe than sorry. If they can't handle this, maybe you could board your dog AT the vet's office? Some places have this service, and while it might not be as comfortable for your dog, it would ensure much more supervision and prompt help.

 

I'd also recommend not leaving your dog with your parents anymore. Seriously- who says that??

 

The dog sitter grew up with a family dog, so I trust that she knows what a sick dog looks like. I left her a sheet with everything she could possibly want to know about my dog: feeding/potty schedule, regular and emergency vet info, behavior to watch out for, likes, dislikes, etc. I hope to be getting a job out of state soon, and boarding my dog will be my only option.

 

I don't even want to get started on my parents and my dog. If this is how they treat my dog/talk about her and her possible impending doom, I'm pretty sure I'm never letting them be alone with my (future, hypothetical) kids. Lord have mercy.

[Gruff]

My mum gave my staffy a massive ham bone when she stopped by while I was at work. By the time I got home he had crunched 90% of it into bits and eaten it. After a very expensive trip to an after hours vet they charged me $100 to squirt a big syringe full of parrafin into his mouth, and sent me home with another one to give him in an hours time. It acts as a laxative and softens the bone fragments so they don't splinter apparently. 

 

They said to me just bring him back in 24hrs if he doesn't have a bowel motion and give him plenty of water but NO food. He passed it as soon as he got up the next day, the ham bone to dog shit ratio was 50/50, poor bugger looked like he was in pain.

 

Good luck, I love my pup but felt decidedly ripped off by the vet. He ate a peg recently and I did exactly the same thing, sure enough it was in his dog shit the next morning.

 

[Vian]

Other animal bones are fine for dogs, it's just poultry bones because when cooked they splinter because they are birds and have hollow/more fragile bones. I give my dog bones all the time, it's good for them. He gets rib bones from pork, beef stew bones, etc. 

[katscratch]

How big of a dog? Did she swallow it whole? Cooked chicken bone is worse unfortunately but if she is big enough it could pass. Watch for vomiting, diarrhea, blood in her stool and straining to defecate. Any of these signs warrant a trip to the vet. I have seen the best and worst case scenarios here, chances are she will be ok but she needs to be closely monitored for at least 24-48 hours. Fingers crossed and vibes sent that it passes smoothly.

 

Signed,

Your friendly neighborhood vet tech

 

 

Cooked chicken bones are not recommended for any dog, puppy or not. They splinter and can perforate the stomach and intestines. I had a patient, 3 year old min pin, die from that. That said, most dogs will be fine but it depends on a few variables and at the first sign of trouble a vet visit is in order.

 

I was going to say these exact things.  I was a tech for 14 years and, like porchcricket13, have seen both good and bad outcomes -- it's not so much eating something they shouldn't (because dogs do this all the time when we aren't looking, really), but the not going to the vet right away when they show symptoms (like porchcricket13 said).  

 

Hopefully your little man is fine  My own dog (17 pounds) is a massive chocolate thief when visiting people, so I understand the worry when you're not there!