a little excitement

Today Cali decided to eat a neon rubber fish worm. It was 4 inches long
and she got it before I could grab it. I had my finger in her mouth to try
and get it back but she was too fast for me. I called the vet asap and
luckily they were still in for the day. I wasn't sure if the item would
pass or if I should try to induce vomiting somehow. Anyway, since I called
the vet right away, she said it would be better to induce vomiting than to
wait for it to pass. She ordered a dose of hydrogen perioxide (1 teaspoon)
and within 2 minutes Cali had thrown up several times, including the intact
neon worm! Anyway, just thought I share this story because I found it
interesting that hydrogen perioxide could be used in this situation. I was
amazed at how fast it worked and very glad to have Cali ok without too much
worrying.

Janet B...

We're very familiar with "Mr Brown Bottle". I keep a bottle in the
car - you never know........

Debbie the Dogged...

Ditto - I always have one on hand.

Also discovered that canned pumpkin is another good medical supply.

Janet B...

yup. some things need to be helped through. I gave the dogs some
femure bones one time last year. It was the night before a flyball
tournament, and I wanted them to chill and not exercise, figured it
would be a good stress reliever. I had given the same brand (cooked)
before and had the bones around forever. Only this time, the company
had goofed and before I knew it, the dogs had CONSUMED these things. I
picked up all of the pieces I could, immediately, but they had already
swallowed a lot. I hadn't supervised, since this had always been a
safe product.

The next day, we had severely constipated dogs, who needed to race as
well. Franklin was straining and passing blood and really
uncomfortable. I gave him a LOT of pumpkin with his meal that
evening, and by Sunday morning, all was well.

I always have some on hand and will never give ANYTHING potentially
problematic the night before a tournament, ever again!

Kathleen...

My dogs are prone to tournament-induced diarrhea. In addition to
bringing our own water supply from home, when we go racing they get
pumpkin for their evening veggies on Friday and Saturday night. It seems
to prevent the runs and promote a hearty early morning dump without
endless walking.

Another first aid remedy I've heard of for dogs that have ingested sharp
foreign objects is feeding them cotton balls dipped in heavy cream.
Supposedly the cotton fibers help to trap the fragments and shards and
carry them safely through the digestive tract.

MauiJNP...

wow, never heard of that one either but it sounds like a good idea.

As to the use of peroxide to induce vomiting, make sure what you're
using is the first aid type of peroxide and not hair bleach. You would
think this would go without saying but I was at a friend's house when
her dog snatched up and ate a pill that had dropped to the floor. I
told her we needed to give the dog some peroxide to induce vomiting and
she emerged from the bathroom carrying a bottle of 30 volume hair

Rocky...

Was your friend blonde?

Kathleen...

You betcha. By disposition, if not natural pigmentation.

I always keep 3% hydrogen peroxide on hand. There are better
vomit inducers, but they don't have the shelf life of H202.
Plus, it can be used as an antiseptic or rocket propellant.

chris jung...

And it's a key ingredient in the home-made skunk de-odorizing shampoo.
After Lucy & Pablo got sprayed this spring and I had to make a 6 am run to
the store to get a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, I will always keep a fresh
un-opened bottle of on hand for such occasions.

Chris and her smoothies,
Pablo and Lucy

bleach. Yikes!

Friday night Angel chewed off a chunk of chew hoof and swallowed it
before I could get it out of her mouth (normally she just shreds the
edges) so I called the emergency vet. They told me not to induce
vomiting,because I didn't know if the edges were sharp or not, but to
feed her canned pumpkin to "get things moving" and hopefully to coat the
shard.(Of course, they told me what symptoms to watch for if there were
complications and I needed to rush her in). Sure enough, it passed
through her without problem.

MauiJNP...

I hadn't heard of using it like that before but it is certainly on the list
to remember for the future. It was very helpful!