We no longer give our dogs rubber or Kong-type chew toys after an incident last year with one of our guys. He’s a very aggressive toy chewer and even though we’d trash chewed-up toys which no longer appeared safe, when a toy is missing, you can’t see it to throw it away!
For dogs who aren’t aggressive chewers, these types of toys are probably fine. But if you have a dog who really likes to chew, heed our sad tale (which ends well).
Over the course of approximately two years, Pascal, unknown to us, consumed enough rubber toys and bits to completely fill his tummy. In the last couple of months, he started to lose weight, throw-up excessively, and drool, A LOT. Which is unusual for this breed and for him. So a vet appointment was planned for Monday morning. The Sunday evening before, he begins making the most horrible noises and shrieking in pain. We whisked him to the emergency room. Emergency surgery was performed, saving his life, and removing a pound-and-a-half of toys and toy bits. One of the bits had lodged itself in the duodenum (stomach exit) and sent Pascal into duress.
The surgeon said he’d never seen so much come out of such a small dog in his life! (And he’s seen lots of things come out of many dogs.) You can see the photos below. Through this experience, we found out rubber toy bits expand while in the stomach. So even though the parts going in were smaller than coming out, it’s still amazing he was able to swallow some of these toys.
Pascal has recovered nicely, regained weight, and we now buy him toys which are not as easy to destroy. Here’s a list of them in case you are wondering what toys can survive such an aggressive chewer:
Durable Toys & Chews
- Nylabone – Non-edible chews such as the Durable, Big, and Dental Chews. NOT the Edible or Flexible chews!
- Bowser Balls – But they only last 2-3 weeks. So you have to keep an eye on them. Part of their success may be they are just a bit too big to fit completely in his mouth.
- Combat Extreme Battle Tested toys – (Inspect regularly. Toss if torn.)
- HardCore Firehouse Dog toys – (Inspect regularly. Toss if torn.)
- Sterilized Natural bones – (Inspect regularly. Toss if breaking apart or if getting small.)
NO rawhide! NO pig ears! Not for Frenchies. These can get caught in their throat and cause them to choke.
And the caveat to rubber toys: Holee Rollers. Either they are just that tough or there is no interest as a chew object because they are hollow.
So heed our cautionary tale. Pay close attention to those dog toys and to any signs or symptoms your dog might be displaying. You don’t want to be in the situation of surgical removal of toys from your dog’s tummy, and the surgical removal of large funds from your wallet!
