[adominguez]

My GSD boy who is almost five years old is a ball obsessed dog. He had a ball, very firm, the size of tennis ball, and the texture of a kong and I would play fetch with him every day. Last month, during play, he swallowed this ball, and at first I did not notice what was going on, until he was trying to throw up and struggling to breath. We rushed him to the vet, driving 80mph, running the red lights as his body starting going limp, and his tongue turning gray, he was dying. Finally at the vet, he went under anesthesia in order to remove the ball from his throat. Luckily, as the vet explained, if we had not rushed him at that speed, and if the ball did not have a hole in the center, he would have died. My baby had a second chance in life. I look at him everyday and tell him how thankful I am that he is alive. Please all that read this post, be careful with what your dog plays with. I would have never, ever guessed something like that would happen while playing fetch with a ball that size.

 

[MythicMut]

I'm very happy that your boy is all right. Thank you for sharing your story.

 

[wolfy dog]

OMG, you and he are so lucky. The only balls I use are the large planet sized one and a large Kong ball on a rope. No GSD should play with tennis ball sized one. Small pups are OK for me though.
That was a narrow escape. He didn't suffer brain damage due to lack of oxygen?

 

[gsdsar]

How absolutely terrifying for you and your boy!! I am very happy that he is ok and that you had ability to get him to the vet so fast.

For other reading this, there is a doggy "heimlich" maneuver and tutorials that you can look up. It's a very good skill to have.

 

[onyx'girl]

Very scary,so glad your dog was saved. I know many people who let their dogs play with Lacrosse balls, they bounce and dogs love them. They are just the right size to get lodged in the throat. I am very cautious on what toys I let my dogs have.
A member here lost her dog to choking on a ball a few yrs ago, that memory has stayed fresh in my mind.

 

[Nikitta]

I had an operation on Wednesday. ( I had to drive out of town.)I used to bring toys to the dog kennel when I board them. I kept noticing Jasira was ripping pieces of toys off. What I didn't realize until she threw up was she was swallowing pieces. I told them no toys. They would survive 3 days without toys. I let them have toys at home but I supervise them closely. Glad your dog is ok.

 

[Debanneball]

So glad your boy will be fine! I heard about tennis sized balls, so Fritz has the large Kong ball, and he only gets it with me watching! Give your boy a hug from me

 

[Stonevintage]

I got rid of anything smaller than a wiffle ball about 9 months ago. The football shaped ones are great because they take wild bounces and the rope balls are fun too.

 

[wolfstraum]

There have been quite a few dogs lost to swallowing a ball.....glad you were able to save yours!!!!! Most are lost at the stage where they have it in their throat.

Balls BIGGER than a tennis ball are safer.....something they cannot close their mouth around....the "everlasting green ball" seems to be the most common ball among people in the IPO world....

Lee

 

[joeinca]

Oh wow...I use the kong ball with the hole in the center which fits nicely in the chuck-it. Didn't realize it was big enough to be swallowed.
Wonder if this is the reason they redesigned their ball adding the hole a few years back (used to be solid).

Is there any issues with your dog as a result of this event?

Thanks for the story and so glad you were able to save your dog! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Stonevintage]

There was a vet tech that posted here about a year ago. She commented on "what a big gap" GSD's have. A few questioned what a "gap" was and her response was that during anesthesia, when their jaws are relaxed - they have a huge opening to their throat. That's why the strangulation on something the size of a tennis ball. It's simply larger than other dogs. "The better to eat you with gramma!"

That's when I switched to the ball tugs and football shape only. The football shape are great because they take wild 2nd hops that your dog cannot "predict".