My dog ate a pork bone from Pet Smart

[hugabearjo]

know this isn't the place to ask this but, I really don't know where else to turn. I had great luck with the support here when I am planning my vacations and hope someone out there is also a pet lover.

I bought my dog a pet bone from petsmart. It said it was pork I never thought much about it, I assumed (there was my problem) that because it was sold in a pet store with my pet in tow that it would be safe. I guess not. I have now read that never to give pork bones because they splinter like chicken would. She vomited yesterday and there was clear shards of bone, 48 hours after she had eatten it. While she was eatting it I thought it funny she could crunch it. But, I thought it must not be real bone then just flavored. I feel so stupid I gave this too her. She appears to feel fine behaviorly but she is a droopy dog anyway and we lost her sibling, our dear friend in Dec. and she has been depressed since then. She eats today only with lots of encouragement. But, with the depression that has been the case for some times on different days other days she eats fine.

I have looked at her stools and they appear to have no bone, but are slimy and loose.... sorry about the grafficness of this....

My vet doesn't seem to concerned when I called him, he said if I was worried then bring her in for an x-ray.

Has anyone had this experience? What can I do to help her pass it? Will it hurt her? I called pet smart and they were no help.... they said I should some how have known that the bone that says vet approved and good for teeth and gums and chewing health wasn't for "heavy" chewers. THere is a warning upon closer inspection half covered by a sticker that says something about watching to make sure it doesn't splinter. The internet says, "never give pork bones to dogs" I didn't know that...

What do I do? Thanks for helping a worried pet "mom".

 

[Kermit]

I don't know what you should do, but I do feel sad for you and your dog. I got my dog a big bone (I think it was beef) for Christmas, thinking I was doing something great for him. He didn't eat the bone at all, but the meat gave him diarrhea, and he felt bad for about 3-4 days. It's sad when you try to do something nice and end up hurting them.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Monty Dog devoured one of those things once. After he ate it, he got sick like yours, and never devoured one again, now he just chews on them. Think about the kinds of things wild dogs eat. Dogs stomachs can handle a lot.

My thought is if your dog is passing stools, even messy ones, watch her for a day and see if it improves. She may just have had too much of a good thing so to speak, and may have a very upset tummy.

If her condition does not improve in a day or two, take her in for some tests. But I bet she'll be fine after a day.

Keep her hydrated and make sure she's eating. She should be fine.

ETA : I still give him pork bones too, I'm surprised the net says don't give them at all. My vet says they are fine in small doses. Monty only gets them for short periods of time, not long enough to eat it. He's a heavy chewer. Besides that first time, he's never had any problems....um, eliminating... That's one area he in fact, seems to excel in... The puppy does not get them at all, not until he's older.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I've always had German Shepherds whose jaws are incredibly strong. I don't give them any bones since there aren't many they can't splinter. With that said, though, they have occasionally gotten ahold of a bone like the other night when my 10 month old pup snuck up on the table and ate my chicken wings -bones and all -when I went to answer the phone. She was fine, though.

The problem with bones splintering is the shreds can get caught in the lining of the intestinal tract anywhere along the way, from the throat to the butt. Chances are, though, that that won't happen and after a few days they'll all pass. We have good luck with rice cooked in chicken broth with a little chicken anytime the dogs have diarrhea or loose stool. So keep an eye on things and if there are major appetite changes (different from what it's been) or blood from the rear or bloody vomitus then let your vet know.

So sorry about the loss of your other dog. We've also had a brother sister pair for 13 years and one died last year. We all still really miss her.

 

[chrissyk]

I've given my sister's Bichon lots of pork bones, and she's devoured all of them and been just fine. If she's over when we have ribs, she gets at least one rib (sauce washed off) and the bone. My sister just said to watch her and to take the bone away if it was really splintered. She ate lots of bones in their entirety whenever she was at my house last year. I even saved them for her in the freezer if we had ribs when she wasn't visiting. Her poop did turn kind of white-ish for a day when I let her eat a whole bunch once, though.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thought this might be helpful in light of the subject matter:

http://www.petplace.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=4324

 

[Crankyshank]

You poor thing, you must have been freaking out!
I'd keep a close eye on her for the next couple of days. Make sure her stool isn't bloody and she isn't throwing up. If she's eating, drinking, and pooping normally then she should be fine.

My older beagle ate an entire turkey carcass plus all of the dark meat once. I was a total basket case, but she was fine.
what I usually do for my voracious chewers is get a beef marrow bone from stop & shop deli. Broil it and give it to them. They eat the meat and lick out the marrow and then I take it away from them.

 

[hugabearjo]

Thanks for the encouragement, I am very worried. She still isn't her self but haven't seen any of the terrible signs above so things must be okay.

 

[JerseyJanice]

My dog chewed and swallowed a roofing nail, then vomitted it up several hours later. He was fine though--no puncture wounds. I'd say he's a hardy mutt.

He is definitely a "power chewer" though. I give him a cow's ear once a week for jaw exercise. He loves them, but not pig ears. Go figure.

Cranky Shank, we feed our dog marrow bones too. (And from Stop & Shop sometimes!) We boil them, let them cool, then wrap them in foil. He usually gets one a couple of hours before dinner to tide him over.

I also take a few of the eaten marrow bones, fill them with peanut butter, wrap them in foil, and freeze them. They make a nice doggie snack.

 

[chrissyk]

Why do you guys broil or boil the bones? My sister gives them to her dog raw. The dog is also on a raw diet, but I don't think that that matters. Apparently cooked bones splinter more easily than raw bones.

 

[aprilgail2]

we gave my dog rawhide once and it cut him internally and he was throwing up blood and had blood in his stool. After the vet bill for that one he is NEVER allowed to have rawhide again....the vet said that is the worst stuff you can give to a dog anyway.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I boil Max's marrow bones in water just long enough to get the red out--about 10 minutes.

 

[pamlet]

My older beagle ate an entire turkey carcass plus all of the dark meat once. I was a total basket case, but she was fine.
what I usually do for my voracious chewers is get a beef marrow bone from stop & shop deli. Broil it and give it to them. They eat the meat and lick out the marrow and then I take it away from them.

Acckkk I've had my "old lady" dog get into chicken bones.. That's when we found out she'd get spiteful if I didn't bring her into my room to sleep. She's over 10years old and had NEVER dug in the trash... It happened a couple times after that - but we learned our lesson with the bones. Wrap 'em up and take out the trash immediately! No smelly stuff in the trash can. ... Also make sure Miss Abby comes to bed when I do..

hugabearjo - hope your pup is feeling better this morning! I would have never thought about it either if it was for sale at the pet store.

 

[Crankyshank]

Acckkk I've had my "old lady" dog get into chicken bones.. That's when we found out she'd get spiteful if I didn't bring her into my room to sleep. She's over 10years old and had NEVER dug in the trash... It happened a couple times after that - but we learned our lesson with the bones. Wrap 'em up and take out the trash immediately! No smelly stuff in the trash can. ... Also make sure Miss Abby comes to bed when I do..

hugabearjo - hope your pup is feeling better this morning! I would have never thought about it either if it was for sale at the pet store.

My girl opened the fridge to help herself out to that treat!
I also broil the bones to get the red out. Mine are pretty much done once the meat and the marrow is gone. They'd rather gnaw on their other bones.