What if the beagle swallowed something dangerous?
No matter how careful we are, the beagles always find something and simply eat it up. We can not always say exactly what that was, and sometimes we do not even notice it.
With smaller foreign bodies it is usually no problem - the admission and the excrement happen without symptoms.
But for example solid or threadlike things can get stuck and lead to intestinal obstruction. Edged or sharp foreign bodies can also injure the esophagus, the stomach or the intestine.
Impure objects can also cause infections by bacteria.
Possible foreign bodies - which we or our puppy families have experienced yet:
- Wood
- Bones
- Bone splinters
- Stone
- Ropes
- Socks
- Balloons
- Tennis ball pieces (especially the fibers!)
- Fly swatter
- Parts of any kind of dog toys
- Any art of fabric materials like bedding, kitchen towels and so on.
Symptoms of foreign body absorption:
- choke
- vomiting or frequent vomiting
- apathy
- unrest
- salivating
- no appetite
- abdominal pain (recognizable by hard abdominal wall, curved back)
- strongly reddened oral mucous membranes and bad breath
- bloated stomach
- fever
- missing feces excetement
- circulation problems
Attention - it can happen, that the dog vomits the object himself and eats it again!
Two questions are always important!
WHAT has the beagle swallowed?
HOW much time has passed since then?
As long as the foreign body is in the stomach, you can bring the dog to the vet an he can induce vomiting with an injection and the dog will will possibly excrete the item.
But if it is about sharp or angular objects such as bone splinters, nails, sharp plastic parts, vomiting is not very clever, as it can also lead to injuries.
It also applies to large objects because they can get stuck in the esophagus during vomiting.
NEVER TRY TO MAKE YOUR DOG VOMITING WITH ANY HOUSEHOLD PRACTICE!
Go to the vet!
Therefore it is important if owe suspect the dog has swallowed something dangerous to go to the vet - they will probably take an x-ray or an ultrasound scan and decide if an injection to get the dog vomiting makes sense or they need to remove the object by endoscopic or surgical methods. These both require anesthetic.
If too much time has passed and the foreign body is already in the intestine, it may become entangled with the intestinal loops or get caught in a constriction and cause intestinal obstruction. In such a case, an operation will be necessary.
A good measure for smaller parts or until you get to the vet to give the dog sauerkraut. The cabbage fibers can envelop the sharp edges or tips. Therefore - there is always a pack of sauerkraut in our fridge.