Why We Ask You Not to Feed your Dog Bones (and remove any other dangerous ingestible objects from your pet’s reach)

This afternoon Dr Keri removed a corn cob that was lodged in a very sick dog’s intestines. More common objects we have to remove surgically from dog’s intestines include bones (especially ones that are small enough to swallow; such as vertebrae – skaap en beesnek- and chicken bones) as well as small toys strings, and stones.
The blocked object causes the blood supply in the affected segment of intestine to be compromised, and if not removed, these dogs will die from dehydration and sepsis due to infection and toxin release into the dog’s body from the dying gut wall. If a dog is presented to us showing the symptoms of a foreign body intestinal obstruction, we can sometimes actually feel the object in the abdomen, but often we need to take x-rays to try and visualize the object to differentiate an obstruction from more common causes of vomiting.
A pet insurance company in the US called VPI, received 2000 claims in 2010 of foreign body ingestion in dogs. Most commonly isolated were bones, stones, sticks, towels and rocks but here is a list of more unusual items that vets removed from dog’s intestines during that year. (From animalradio.com)
• jellyfish
• glue
• estrogen patch/make-up brush
• tube of denture adhesive
• dead poisoned vole
• bikini
• ink pen
• plastic nose from teddy bear
• magnetic purse clasps
• baseball
• glass Christmas ornament
• hearing aid
• bed sheet
• box of pencils
• popsicle stick
• avocado pit
• dental floss
• coffee filter/coffee grounds
• fishhook
• pain relief tablet/B.B. pellet/highlighter
• tent door
• toy squeaker
• watch
• 16 steel wool pads
• pseudoephedrine/sponge/snail poison/tampon
• 20 cherry pits
• light bulb
• barbecue brush
• Frisbee
• jumper cables
• razor blades
• uncooked rice (1 pound)
• wallpaper paste
• squirrel
• balloon ribbons
• bird (whole)
• butter/sand
• deer antler (partial)
• extension cord
• leash/3 sticks of butter
• pin cushion
• portion of wool rug
• tobacco
• TV remote control
• 10 quarters/one penny/one Canadian coin/three arcade tokens
• foot-long submarine sandwich
• fire log
• wooden toy train
• pine cone
• round chew bone (whole)
• caulk
• eye glasses
• money (paper)
• oil-soaked dirt
• sand
• rosary crucifix
• 25 to 30 soiled diapers
• bath bubble mix
• bathtub cleaner/outdoor plants
• duck bone
Recommended chewable objects for dogs include rawhide chews, Kongs© and strong large bones; such as lamb shank bones, ostrich leg bones and cow leg bones.

Figure 1 A dog called Gordon who ate 16 rocks and underwent a 2 hour surgery. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2394576/Dog-gobbled-16-rocks-weighing-nearly-2lb-emergency-hour-operation-owners-alerted-bulging-tummy.html

Figure 2 lead catch in dog’s intestines http://www.balgownievet.com.au/images/gi_fb3.jpg