Help... dog got chicken bones from trash

Hi everyone,
I need help. My bad doggie got in the trash and ate 2 chicken bones from hot wings. I heard her at that point and ran in and stopped her, but she had 2 I know. She also had the raw chicken container that the meat was in and she had a couple of licks of that before I could get to her.

I know dogs can't have chicken bones so please don't fucking lecure me, I didn't feed it to her, my boyfriend left the lid off the trash and the little sneak got in there in a matter of seconds.

I took her out to see if she would poop, but I think it is too soon for it to have passed (30 minutes). Now I'm just watching her and waiting, but is there anything I can do or should be aware of? I know to check her stool to see if the bones are passing and if there is blood, but what else could happen. I really can't afford to just take her to the vet if it is possible she could pass them with little harm.

Thanks.

 

Relax... it's not as bad as that! Dogs have been eating chicken bones for years and most come to no harm. It's not as if they're toxic. Keep an eye on your dog for a day or two, but the vet will certainly tell you the same thing... wait and see. Watch for blood in the stool, but if that doesn't happen, you're fine.

And you're right... 30 minutes is way too soon to tell. It will be tomorrow before you can tell anything.

 

As I smash my face into the keyboard-I could NOT disagree with this persons advice more. I worked with a non-kill animal sanctuary for seven years (until i moved), started a junior group, and worked at vet clinics constantly with shots, spay and neuter, and emergency.

Doubtful she will poop it out.
Poop is digested waste-
bone can not be digested.

Go to a VET. Simple.

I dont know why people post on forums hoping for expert advice- the only real help for a hurt animal is a vet. Common sense.

 

I was not posting here for expert advice. This is a "hippy" forum, not a vet hospital. I come here because after doing research for an hour on the internet I came up with absolutely no help at all. Pretty much no different than I got here, however hipforums is my "second family". That is why I came here, asshole. Did I say I was looking for medical advice? No, I was asking if this has happened to anyone else and what exactly they think I should do about it. A lot of people come over to Deadbear's Gym forum and I don't berate them and tell them that they need to see a doctor and that I can't give them professional advice. I try to help them like a FRIEND. Furthermore it isn't like I came here and said that my dog got hit by car what should I do, this is not that drastic.

I told you I have absolutely no money at all. We have already spent $300 at the vet the past 2 months to make sure she has all of her shots and heartworm medicine and flea medicine and everything else puppies need. I cannot take her to a vet to have a vet say that there is nothing wrong and charge me an arm and a leg.

I talked to the lady next door who works for the SPCA and she said if Ruby is acting normal (which she definitely is, all wild like a puppy should be) then there is no need to freak out just yet. She said to watch her for about a week and make sure she still eats and poops normally. If she has trouble eating or pooping then to bring her to the vet.

BTW, bone does pass, it just takes a lot longer to digest and there can very well be complications because it is sharp. I have eaten bone before myself and shell and it has most definitely come out in my stool. And I have had other dogs who have eaten things they aren't supposed to (tinsle for one) and it has passed. Hurts like hell for them, but it does pass. You probably think that chewing gum sticks to your ribs too, don't you.

 

I'm just laughing so hard from that right now.

Anywho, dogs eat bones all the time. Heck, you can buy big ole beef bones to give them. Back in the old days, the people would toss the left-over meat parts(bone included) to their dogs.

I do believe, also, that dogs eat and chew bones for dental reasons.

Like a couple of people told you before, just watch her. Chances are though, if anything is wrong...it's from food poisoning(from nosing around in the garbage) not the bones. Some dogs can get can a bad case of poisoning.

 

Like most poeple already said - dogs eat bones. Dingos eat bones, wolves eat bones... dogs are dogs, and they eat bones.
The main problem with chicken bones is that they splinter and can get stuck in doggy's throat. If she hasn't had any sort of trouble and there are no signs that there might be a piece of bone stuck in her throat, I wouldn't worry.

And for some real advice, now... we never thought of it because our pup doesn't get into the trash (he always has a full food bowl and he knows what he is and isn't allowed to do) but one of my friend's doggies was over and she got into the trash for - guess what - hot wing bones! So now, I put chicken bones in a bag (ziplock, sandwich baggie, grocery bag, whatever) and keep them in the fridge until garbage day. Before you take the trash out, just grab the bag from the fridge, throw it in the garbage bag, tie it shut and take it out. That way, there's never chicken bones out for the dog/s to get ahold of, and even if you forget the first couple times, putting them in the fridge keeps them from smelling bad and you'll certainly remember every time, after the first few times.

 

Okay, since everyone seems to have different opinions, here's a vet:

Hope this smooths things out.

 

I don't think anyone has made clear the difference between raw and cooked bones. Of course cooked bones are a bad idea due to the fact they can splinter and are difficult to digest. Raw chicken bones however - wings and necks especially - are great for your dog (and cat) and it would be difficult to find a vet who would say otherwise. It's a good way to have let them exercise their jaws and clean their teeth.

 

I totally agree regarding the elevated consciousness of garbage keeping w/pets in the home.

I also agree regarding the distinction of cooked vs. raw bones. It's natural for the dog to want to eat bones.

Cooked bones are more dangerous. They harden from being cooked and there fore are more of a risk. But also consider the anatomy of the intestinal wall, highly self repairing. Unless the doggy is in a weakened state, or a geriatric.

I'm a former vet. tech and I also worked on a wolf sanctuary for years. Lots of bones eaten... whole even.

Don't sweat it. Watch the poop, signs for intestinal block: hardened belly, bloat, constipation, refuse to eat, refuse to drink, drooling, vocalizes pain (lets you know) or hides and sleeps (sometimes pets cope with pain by hiding) Pain, heat, swelling upon palpation. If your baby has these syptoms, take 'em to the vet.

Check out the *barf* diet. Good to eat raw things for the doggy, less cancer.

You mentioned that $$ is a concern, check out the holistic animal book that talks about treating you pet with alternatives regarding *regular/mainstream* treatments, i.e. flea medication, dewormers, etc.

However, I can't recall the exact title at the present moment. Someone help me out? MAybe it's called "natural remedies for your cat or dog" I just can't recall.

Also, I understand that you are/were stressed out regarding situation ( you love your doggy), but I have to say, I couldn't read it thoroughly as I don't like to read cuss words and I tend to scan it if it gets the responds tend to flame up.

Meaning I guess, please refrain from name calling and respect others opinion
(it's just an opinion, so why get all bend out of shape?) when looking for help and chill out.

Your pooch is lucky that you even care. And that you care enough to try to figure it out.

 

Thanks for the great idea deathrowdisco, we do that with crab shells, put them directly in the big trash can out back so we should go ahead and do the same with any other bones. From now on I am going to put all bones in an extra grocery bag (we save and reuse them) and tie it up and put it in the outside trash (which is on the outside of the fence where Ruby doesn't go, nor could she reach even if she did go there. That is great advice.

BTW, for those concerned, she had absolutely no problems today. I love my dog dearly, I have waited 5 years until I was in a position (to stay home every day and train and to have a bigger house and fenced in back yard where she can run and play) to have a dog. I don't want anything bad to happen to her which is why I freaked out. My boyfriend made a mistake, it happens and we have learned our lesson. Thanks so much for the replies, either way.

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, however this is (as far as can be) a free speech forum. Everyone including the person who criticized me is entitled to their opinion. I agree with that 100%. I also believe that I can respond any way in which I please unless it violates any hipforums rules, which I have not. So, I will not edit any of my posts from the past, present or future in order to have someone read it who is afraid of indecent language. Grow up.

 

I'm so glad your pooch is doing fine. That's the best you can ever hope for... no change.

I'm not a vet or a vet tech, so I didn't want to sound like I'm the authority here, but I'm glad to have my advice seconded by SucculentFlower. I was simply repeating the advice I'd been given by my own vet when our dogs got into chicken bones. I know that if the dog isn't choking, then the bones are too far down the digestive tract to retrieve by any other method than surgery, and no vet in the world (that I've ever heard of) will perform surgery on an animal that is not showing some clear signal of trouble... and blood in the stool is almost certainly the earliest symptom anyone is likely to find. Maybe the vet might be able to find fragments in the intestine by feel, but it's unlikely that even then they would go in after then surgically without obvious secondary symptoms.

I don't have a dog at the moment, but I share a home with a 40-pound African serval who had to have this operation performed... because he managed to somehow swallow a piece of aluminum which eventually blocked his intestine. Nothing showed on x-ray or by palpation... nothing. But when any animal stops eating and drinking, you know something's up. We actually watched the entire operation from the observation area at the vet's. It was not a minor procedure, but he recovered fully and is now five years older, if not exactly wiser. He still wants to eat things which aren't good for him. The challenge is always keeping things out of his reach. We no longer even put bones we don't want him to have (though he eats a raw chicken drumstick every day as part of his diet) in the trash at all. They stay in a baggie in the fridge until it goes outside into the trash. That goes for the "soakers" that come in the bottom of any meat package as well... and anything else that smells of meat. It's a hassle, but it protects him from problems. And fortunately, he's never figured out how to open the fridge.

Good luck, and again, I'm glad your four-footed kid is doing well.

 

"I was not posting here for expert advice. This is a "hippy" forum, not a vet hospital. I come here because after doing research for an hour on the internet I came up with absolutely no help at all."


Hilarious. You are a pet owner- with responsibilities. When you get a pet- if something bad happends to it- and you know nothing about it- you dont go to the hippy forum for advice, you dont "google search pet emergencies".. . You werent looking for medical advice? Then what, were you hoping for? Mary-jane's divine answers?

Whatever. When and if your dog chokes, or gets the bone lodged within itself- then you will be the one with a dog bleeding to death. Im speaking of personal experience. I had a dog years ago, who got into the trash, into the kfc bucket. It was lodged, causing his throat to bleed, coughing, and near suffocation. But anyway, you enjoy being a flake

 

So you weren't paying enough attention to your dog to notice that it had gotten into the trash and ate KFC (which I could go on forever about, because even humans shouldn't be eating that slop) so you are pissed at yourself because your dog choked and you were irresponsible so you take it out on others? Hmmm. Sounds completely logical to me. I mean I come here and complain that I have overdosed on drugs so many times I can't even count... (that was sarcasm, Idiot.) But to answer your question, no I was not looking for Mary-Jane's divine answers you asshole. These people here are my FRIENDS. Something that you apparently lack due to your poor people skills. Perhaps you are better off with animals, because you certainly can't relate to people from what I hear in this forum.

Obviously you still do not understand nor will you ever because as it turns out, you are a troll on these forums from what I hear. See, as someone who has been coming to hipforums for a long time, you will soon realize that we are a family here. We are friends. We don't (generally speaking, since rencently there have been more and more asshole trolls such as yourself) come here expecting expert advice. We come here expecting our friends as I have already pointed out to give us some advice on what they have experienced. Do you understand? Something inside of me tells me no, you don't understand. I know of no other way to explain it to your feeble mind. So I give up. I really don't give a flying fuck what you think about my pet ownership skills. My dog is happy and healthy. Your dog appears to be dead. So who is the better pet owner here?

It also appears that you have difficultly reading. Since that is quite apparent I will reinterate: the dog was not choking you dumb bitch (though if you were, I would laugh). She had already chewed the damn bones up. It was too late. They were in her system. The problem with chicken bones (and all others in case anyone is wondering) is that they are dangerous only when the dog is first digesting them (this info, I got from our vet). Our VET told us that once they are chewed up, and in her digestive tract, there is nothing one can do, but most harm has already passed. If a dog is going to have a problem with a bone it is most likely to happen when they first get to it. For example, like your dog and your irresponsibility, it got lodged in its throat. That did not happen in my case. She ate the bone completely. In 2 days the bone passed in her poop, like you said it would not, because god knows you are an "expert".

Here is just a friendly tip, grow the fuck up and get off your high horse. You don't know jack shit and you are not an authority, nor do you have any right pretending to be better than anyone else.

 

Hey, CuddleBear, your pup doing OK?

I am sitting here with my dd, who is a Vet Tech also. I asked her (although, with 22 years of dog life behind me, I knew) what they do at the Animal Hospital when dogs eat cooked chicken bones. She (a veggie and certified animal lover) goes. "MMMM, not a big deal. Dogs eat bones. We send them home, unless the people get freaked out for no reason. Then we board them over night, and they are always fine."

Pups have an amazing sense of smell, they WILL find food of any type. DO NOT blame yourself. So, what, you ate chicken and your pup got a bone. I know, the first few times our first dog ate a chicken bone, I FREAKED (being a vegetarian at the time, I also grossed out. LOL!) but, I have actually NEVER, in 22 years of having dogs, and ALL of them getting into the garbage and eating bones, on occasion, have seen the bone fragments in the poop. Dogs are Opportunivores, their digestive systems really are MADE to eat just about anything (well chocolate is horrible for htem, worse then bones. They don't have the enzyme to break down the Theophylin in the chocolate and it can cause a heart attack, otherwise very rare in dogs.)

The main problem is choking when they swallow them. The Vet at my dd's hospital says, as long as they get them down with no problem. the issue of damage farther down in the digestive tract, although possible, is not huge. Dogs have a mucous lining on the inside of the digestive tract and that should protect them. There is a small risk of problems in the gut, but not enough to worry about.

Take care. I think your doggie will be fine.

 

eveningmaddness

Please refrain from making personal attacks or insults against other forum members. Please consider this a kind warning. No reason to insult people. You can state your opinion without doing so.

 

My dog is doing quite well everyone. Thanks again for the words of wisdom. I knew the bones wouldn't really hurt her too badly, but it has been 5 years since I've had a dog (we had to wait until we had a yard). I just got the new mommy jitters is all.

We had chicken again the other night, and we put the bones in a bag outside in the trash so she couldn't get to them.

 

I'm glad everything is OK.

Give that pup a big hug for me.

 

Wow, I think you need some of Mary-jane's divine answers!!! Chill Out!

 

troll, yes.
however, i think it would be smart to see a vet.