Why you should always supervise your dog with toys...

[BabyElephant]

We met up with my brother and his girlfriend yesterday and took the dogs for a walk. She was telling me about the critical condition that her friend's Doberman is in... he is only 2.5 years of age and a couple of weeks ago she noticed that he was unsteady on his feet and being sick - in the vomit she found parts of his kong toy. She took him to the vets and they operated on him there and then and removed a piece of kong from his stomach. Apparently the kong had irritated his stomach and he'd also developed colitis.

Her vets didn't have the facilities for the aftercare of such a large dog so they sent her home with him - he still had a drip in and a catheter (sp?). He wasn't getting any better so two days later she took him to another vet - they said they thought there was still some inside him and she had to get him to the Royal Vet College otherwise he wouldn't survive!

Once there he was operated on, it took them 1 hour of doing ultrasound to find more pieces of kong in his small intestine, he was in intensive care with them for 5 days - he had a 50/50 chance of survival. They said that when the other vet had operated they should have found the other pieces since they would still have been in his stomach at that time.

He is home now, but he really isn't well, he is on a special diet, limited exercise etc. The cost of the whole treatment was £5,000 (approx $9,000 US) and her insurance will only cover half of this.

I just hope for her that he is going to be fine after all of this and suffer no long lasting effects.

[Suz]

its stories like that that make me glad my dog doesnt chew toys!!! poor dog hope hes better soon!

[pung-yo]

That is the most informative story I've read for a long time. As you can guess I have Kongs for my Shepherd, and one small one for my little fox terrier. I guess you know what I'll be doing with them now. My dog doesn't really chew it, but I for one won't take a chance that he will someday. Could she not go back on the company that makes the kongs? They are advertised as safe for all dogs aren't they? That's a lot of $$$$$$.

[bernicesmama]

how sad! Bernice could tear almost any toy up in a matter of minutes and I have to closely moniter her. I generally do not allow non-digestable toys for this very reason.

I really hope her dobie recovers soon.

[SkootiesMama]

Originally Posted by pung-yo

That is the most informative story I've read for a long time. As you can guess I have Kongs for my Shepherd, and one small one for my little fox terrier. I guess you know what I'll be doing with them now. My dog doesn't really chew it, but I for one won't take a chance that he will someday. Could she not go back on the company that makes the kongs? They are advertised as safe for all dogs aren't they? That's a lot of $$$$$$.

I also give my dogs kongs, the company does state to supervise dogs whenever you give them a toy, regardless of what it is. They say that dogs shouldn't ingest any parts of the kong and if you notice your kong is getting worn or pieces are starting to come off, to throw it out. My puppy kong is starting to get small teeth marks in it, so I am going to replace it. They have pink ones now : ) I don't think it's bad that I have to replace it, I have had it for almost 2 years and 2 dogs have had at it. My dogs love them stuffed with peanut butter and treats.

I am terribly sorry to hear about the dog that has suffered through this. I hope he gets better.

[carrie79]

what is kong?

[Shelteez]

Originally Posted by carrie79

what is kong?

this is a kong
http://www.adamspetsupplies.com/imag...e/item_960.jpg

It's a rubber toy that has a big hole up top and you can fill it it treats or other yummy foods for your dogs, some people freeze their kongs with yogurt etc to keep the dog occupied when you're away for several hours.

[Shelteez]

There is a black kong for dogs who are tough chewers ( like rottie, dobies, german shepards etc). Don't they work anymore?....casey has his kong for nearly a year now, he had it since he was a small pup and had no problems.

Sorry to hear about the dog and hope she feels better, it's not fun when the dog ends up sick

[BabyElephant]

Originally Posted by SkootiesMama

I also give my dogs kongs, the company does state to supervise dogs whenever you give them a toy, regardless of what it is. They say that dogs shouldn't ingest any parts of the kong and if you notice your kong is getting worn or pieces are starting to come off, to throw it out.

That's the thing, she know he is a chewer and so she buy the black ones for him and as soon as he's broken a piece off she throws it in the bin so she was really surprised when she found he'd injested some.

I'll let you know how he progresses.