Dogs eat the strangest things

Some dogs are fastidious and only want to eat five star food that’s been bought from M & S, others will gobble the strangest things.  A recent survey done by the P.D.S.A. has reported the dangerous eating habits of some dogs.   Topping the list are bones, swallowed whole and then an operation involved.  We generally think that bones are good for dogs to chew, but it’s the type of bone and the appetite of the dog as well.  A big knuckle bone and one with marrow inside is much liked and takes most dogs ages to chew down on.  A splintery or chicken bone is almost bound to cause trouble.

We don’t feed bones to dogs when they are hungry, they eat first then have a big bone for the evening’s entertainment.  It only works with dogs who have a good digestion.  If your dog is healthy and has been fed natural food there isn’t usually a problem.  A dog who is fed soft mush from a can or dry complete (it’s the same as the mush with the water taken out) – will often have an unnatural appetite and poor digestive system and there’s trouble  ahead.

In the survey there were 29 cases of dogs who’d ate stones and then had to have them surgically removed.  We know of owners who throw stones for their dogs to fetch.  Please don’t, apart from gulping them down, they sometimes get their teeth broken and you get a big vet bill.

A corn on the cob husk is a killer, dogs like it because it smells all buttery and delicious.  Unfortunately it’s impossible to digest and then the dog has this big blockage in his gut.  The vet and an op is the only thing that will save his life.

Plastic toys and wrappers can be lethal.  Anything that can’t be digested and gets stuck.  I once watched the vet try to save a small dog with a piece of lego stuck in his throat.  It was a sad ending.

Toys and babies’ dummies often have the scent of baby food on them, fooling the dog into thinking they are food.  Pick them up and put them out of reach.  It’s the same with rubber balls, dogs love to play with them but if they get stuck your dog is in serious trouble.

Throwing sticks is great fun until the dog jumps too high, the stick goes into that open jaw and lacerates the throat.  It happens.

Some docks like to pull at socks, they smell of ‘you’ and it’s a scent the dog likes.  If some goes down it will get tangled up in the stomach and again, the dog will die unless operated on quickly.  The symptoms are sometimes so vague that by the time the dog is on the operating table, it’s too late.

Fruit stones and kebab sticks are yet more dangers, they get stuck or spike the innards with disastrous results.   The dogs who get themselves in this sort of trouble are usually those that are always hungry and gulp their food.  Getting your dog on a natural diet is the best way to combat this food craving.  There isn’t enough good nutrition in most processed dog food – animal derivatives and fillers aren’t what your dog needs.  Raw food is much more satisfying and nutritious, extreme hunger which isn’t natural is then avoided.