Vomit/Poop Question*****GROSS WARNING****

**MomObvious** · 3rd June 2012, 10:08 PM

This morning Fletcher vomited his food (it was not a lot maybe 2 teaspoons) it was light brown goo and his kibble, was easy to clean up. Anyway, he was acting like his normal little self so I decided whatever....he played this morning went for a nice walk, came back and napped in his crate for a bit......nothing out of the normal. He ate all his lunch rather well, sometimes he doesn't finish his bowl and is always slower about eating a lunch time (I give him 25 mins then I pick up the bowl) I took him out to potty after lunch, he peed and pooped like normal. Then after a little play time he was doing the old sniff around thing so back outside we go he pooped and it looked like there was poop hanging outta his hind.....ok weird, so I ran in to get a paper towel thinking ok why am I needing to wipe the puppy's hind? Well, turns out it was a piece of string...like 7 inches long looks kinda like a piece of thick brown (yes I hosed it off and looked) string it is fabric! What the heck??? So then I started thinking what did he eat? Yesterday, I did leave him at my parents house, they have a brown loop rug in front of their kitchen sink. I called my Mom she said yes Fletcher was dragging it around the house so she picked it up.

After a good back end bath, Fletcher's anus is a little swollen and pink, not red no blood. He is acting normal, drink water, playing he is butt scooting a little tho. His tummy is normal no bloating. Honestly, I'm really hoping he eats dinner and has a normal poop after. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO WATCH FOR?????????????????????

If his doesn't have a normal poop this evening what should I do? Worry some more???

Thanks,
Melissa

**MomObvious** · 3rd June 2012, 11:01 PM

He ate fine and poop was normal this evening!! Good news?? I hope?

Melissa

**Karlin** · 3rd June 2012, 11:37 PM

I'd call your vet in the morning just to be safe. String or pieces of fabric etc can be really dangerous -- they can obstruct the bowel or wind around the intestines. If he looks *at all* out of sorts before then, call an emergency vet as in such a case, time can be critical for survival. And he will need to be kept away from that rug or anything he can shred, unravel, etc. Some dogs get a habit of eating string, cloth and so on and it is really, really dangerous -- can require emergency surgery to remove to try to save the animal.

**Karlin** · 3rd June 2012, 11:49 PM

PS partial obstruction symptoms are diarrhea and/or vomiting so really, it would be a good idea to talk to your vet first thing in the morning to see if they feel you should come in (but watch for any sign of anything more severe as noted below in which case, call an emergency vet). Most of these things do pass through OK.

More info:

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/intestina...bodies-in-dogs

http://alexadry.hubpages.com/hub/Sym...ockage-in-dogs

**MomObvious** · 4th June 2012, 12:31 PM

Fletcher was fine all night, I checked on him often. He ate his normal breakfast and poop was normal this morning too. Now he's doing the puppy morning craziness thing. I will call the vet's office when they open this morning just to chat this over with my vet. I think/hope this is our "warning" puppy's do eat things...my house is pretty puppy proof (I don't even have carpet in the living area- gave that up when I had kids) and everything else is locked, tied up or puppy/kid proofed AND we keep him in this "area" when we aren't watching him. But at my parents he has the run of the house like all the grown dogs...

I will update after I talk to the vet, thank you for the advice, I don't know what I'd do without CT

Melissa

**MomObvious** · 4th June 2012, 05:03 PM

thanks again. I did call the vet she thinks he's alright especially since he is eating and pooping normal now and since yesterday evening. But let me tell you I feel like that was a close call.... I didn't realize how quickly eating something they shouldn't was SO deadly. Sure I know about poisonous plants and wires but a piece of a throw rug!!! No wonder all the good training books etc. say to use closed comfinement when you can't watch them fully.

I think next time Fletcher goes to my parents for puppy sitting I'm going to bring his pack and play I use at work for when they aren't 100% watching him also my parents also agree they will pick up the throw rugs when he's there. My mother feel awful about the whole thing but I told her well he's a puppy they do dumb things, at least he's alright and we have a plan for next time.

Melissa

**ashleighelizabeth** · 4th June 2012, 05:13 PM

Very scary Melissa. Glad Fletcher is alright! Sounds like you were on top of taking care of him!

**Karlin** · 4th June 2012, 05:38 PM

Glad he is OK!

Puppies can be particularly bad at eating things that they shouldn't -- my partner's alsatian had to have emergency surgery as a puppy for a blockage because he ate some gravel in the front drive.

String can be really dangerous -- and people don't realise it; you can find lots of videos on YouTube where people think it's really funny that their dog has eaten/is pooping string.

Most of the time things do fortunately go through but when there are problems they can be real emergencies where time is of the essence; the intestine can go necrotic if something winds around it.

If people cannot watch him at all times at your parents, it might be worth investing in a puppy pen (xpen) or them to use. I often use just two panel of an xpen to block a doorway for example rather than having a baby gate up all the time. My xpen gets used all the time -- two panels are permanently in the kitchen to block off an area for Tansy and Lily when I go out as tansy (puppy farm dog) will never be fully housetrainedand can't be left loose (lily goes in for company

).