New data has revealed the most common and unusual things vets have had to remove from a dog’s digestive tract. Can you guess what everyday household items made the list?
Pretty much every dog owner knows the frustration and bewilderment at their pup’s chewing. The mind boggles as to how many shoes alone are lost to chewing every year!
But dogs swallowing foreign objects can be a medical emergency, as the object can obstruct their bowel, get caught in their windpipe or cause serious internal injuries.
'Your dog ate what?!'
Data from Pet Insurance Australia compiled insurance claims lodged in 2019 for vet treatment for dogs that had swallowed something they shouldn’t have.
It found that such claims most commonly relate to… the humble sock!
There are no surprises that socks are a popular chew-by-stealth item among dogs. But it seems that many Aussie dogs wind up swallowing them – and then need vet treatment to remove said socks before they cause even greater health problems.
The insurer said – in a shock to no one – that Labradors are the breed most likely to swallow a foreign object. In fact, Labs accounted for 16 per cent of all such insurance claims lodged last year.
Labradors also were found the be “the most common ‘sock eater’” of all the breeds.
What else have dogs chewed?
The list of Aussie claims shows that virtually nothing around the home is safe from a chewy pup.
“We’ve seen some interesting cases of ingestion over the years that have caused pet owners a huge amount of stress,” said spokesperson Nadia Crighton.
“Some are very obvious, while others have left pet owners scratching their heads!”
Among the objects that a dog ate and subsequently had to get removed last year were:
- a hearing aid eaten by a Cavoodle
- a fishhook ingested by a Kelpie
- general rubbish devoured by a Labrador that caused gastrointestinal problems
- a tampon swallowed by a nosy French bulldog
Other items retrieved from the belly of a dog were:
- balloons
- balls
- bits of plastic
- bones
- coins
- dental floss
- earrings
- handkerchiefs
- mouthguards
- needles
- pool balls
- even tea towels!
Take a look at other things that are harmful if a dog ate them with our list of 19 things you eat that are toxic to your pets and 26 common garden plants that are poisonous to dogs.
Sources:
Pet Insurance Australia
https://www.petinsuranceaustralia.com.au/the-most-unusual-claims/
VetWest Animal Hospitals
https://www.vetwest.com.au/pet-library/foreign-body-ingestion-in-dogs
