Heidi ate part of a terry cloth towel

50660 Views 21 Replies 8 Participants Last post by 3K9Mom, Apr 14, 2008

Snickelfritz

Discussion Starter · Apr 12, 2008

My 2 year old, Heidi ate part of a terry cloth towel that was soaked in stew juice (pot overboiled) sometime last night. I guess DH didn't put it in the laundry basket. What should I be looking for??? I just discovered it, it's 11am my time. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, or discomfort right now. But I'm worried about blockage? Anything I can give her OTC to help digestion?

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mastercabman

· #2 · Apr 12, 2008

let just hope that she chew off bits and pieces,not one big piece.
has she gone #2 yet? i would monitor what comes out and hope she will be ok.
or it could be a trip the vet.
but i'm sorry,i don't know what i would give her.
have you try calling the vet?
i'm sure they probably will say that you need to bring her in,but it worth a try.

DHau

· #3 · Apr 12, 2008

Wait 24 hours and see if she passes it. Tosca got a hold of a pair of flannel PJ's of mine last Saturday because nobody was watching her in the kitchen. I was watching cars at the nearest drag strip and my son was supposed to be watching her and she had access to the laundry room. She chewed up the pants and left a nice big hole in them. I was worried too but Sunday morning, I found it in her stool.

BowWowMeow

· #4 · Apr 12, 2008

What you do need to watch for is vomiting. If she starts vomiting, especially right after she eats, then you need to go to the vet immediately because that indicates blockage and she will have to have surgery to remove the towel. Feed her as normal because that will help the towel pass through. If you are concerned at any point you can go to the vet and get an x-ray and they will be able to locate where the towel is.

My friend's gsd has eaten towels, balled up pairs of socks, a clock radio...you name it. It all comes out the other end. When he ate the balled up socks she took him to the vet (because he vomited) and the one vet recommended surgery while the e-vet (who deals with this stuff all of the time) recommended waiting. He did pass the socks after 4 days.

EJQ

· #5 · Apr 12, 2008

Don't wait!! Get her to your vet for an x-ray. I speak from experience. Our Mercedes ate a piece of vet wrap. We got her to the vet that same day. It was plainly visible on the x-ray but the vet said he could see no reason why it wouldn't pass - - - it didn't - - - we had to put her down the following day!! Don't take any chances. Believe the risk is too high!

onyx'girl

· #6 · Apr 12, 2008

My neighbors dobe ate a hand towel and it had to be surgically removed about a month ago. He was sick for three days before they figured it out and took him to the vet. He is now fine

)

3K9Mom

· #7 · Apr 12, 2008

2

Vomiting and/or thin skinny stools. Either of these indicate a blockage or partial blockage. Terry cloth has an additional risk because it can have long threads which can bind the intestines separately from the cloth. (Yup, expensive "Egyptian cotton" towels with long threads are more of a risk than the Walmart special.) So that's why skinny stool are a key indicator.

DON'T give anything other than her regular food. If there is blockage and if a vet has to perform surgery, you don't want anything extra to be in there (any sort of weird substance) that will make surgery that much more difficult because the vet will have to deal with that as well.

Are there bits and pieces of the terry cloth around that suggest that she was playing with it, or shredding it before she swallowed it?

All you can really do is watch carefully for several days (24-36 hours for the big pieces and then another couple days to ensure all the strings have passed safely). But the very second that you get a feeling that something isn't right, bring your pup in. Failure to eat, or just a sense that the dog isn't feeling well, for example.

Towels are particularly dangerous to dogs. A friend actually lost her dog due to just ingesting a string from one of those expensive towels. They shouldn't be used for bedding at all. I expect your dog will be fine, and that, as Ruth says, it will all come out "in the wash."

But I keep towels FAR away from my kids.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

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DHau

· #8 · Apr 12, 2008

Now I am curious. To the original poster, how big is the part that is missing?

Snickelfritz

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 12, 2008

It's one of those smaller shop towels. It looks like she shredded and gnawed on the binding part. She didn't eat the whole thing, not even half of it - but there's definitely part of it missing. I haven't seen any threads laying around. Right now she's acting as normal as ever - it's hard to tell what stools are hers and what is my other dogs, I will have to go and pick them apart I guess. Yuck LOL. I am keeping my eye on her - haven't fed her anything yet - feeding time is in about an hour so I'll be watching her very carefully. Of COURSE this has to be a weekend, and if a trip to the Vet is in order it's emergency. I'm crossing my fingers she won't need to go.

onyx'girl

· #10 · Apr 12, 2008

what about a vaseline sandwich?

DHau

· #11 · Apr 12, 2008

Take the dog in question outside for pottying on a leash so you KNOW what is coming out.

3K9Mom

· #12 · Apr 12, 2008

onyx, that's exactly what you don't want to do. Imagine opening up the bowel, and there's all that slimy gooey vaseline to contend with, in addition to the towel and usual stool and such. What a mess that would be. And it would make it even harder for the surgeon vet to figure out what's going on in the intestines. Is this pus from infection (foreign objects can cause toxic reactions in that environment)? or just the slimy vaseline? or a weird reaction to the vaseline, which is *petroleum* jelly?

Nope. No vaseline. No extra oils. Nothing to "lube" the intestines. If, God forbid, the pup needs surgery, don't do anything that would make the surgeon's job harder. Just watch carefully. And, as DHau wisely points out, be sure you know exactly what's coming out, so put the pup on a leash.

Snickelfritz

Discussion Starter · #13 · Apr 12, 2008

Originally Posted By: onyx'girlwhat about a vaseline sandwich?

That's not a bad idea.

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Snickelfritz

Discussion Starter · #14 · Apr 12, 2008

Originally Posted By: Snickelfritz

Originally Posted By: onyx'girlwhat about a vaseline sandwich?

Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea.

OK, I posted before I saw the other responses saying don't to that - so I won't. She just had her dinner, so I will wait a while and put her on a leash when she asks to go out. So far she's acting quite normal. Let's hope it stays that way! I love my puppy.

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scannergirl

· #15 · Apr 12, 2008

Originally Posted By: BowWowMeowWhat you do need to watch for is vomiting. If she starts vomiting, especially right after she eats, then you need to go to the vet immediately because that indicates blockage and she will have to have surgery to remove the towel. Feed her as normal because that will help the towel pass through. If you are concerned at any point you can go to the vet and get an x-ray and they will be able to locate where the towel is.

My friend's gsd has eaten towels, balled up pairs of socks, a clock radio...you name it. It all comes out the other end. When he ate the balled up socks she took him to the vet (because he vomited) and the one vet recommended surgery while the e-vet (who deals with this stuff all of the time) recommended waiting. He did pass the socks after 4 days.

This is how I knew Lucy was in trouble after eating a sock. About seven hours later she immediately vomited everything she tried to eat. The sock was lodged in the pyloric sphincter, which is why she had symptoms so early- it got stuck before it even made it out of the stomach. This was a nylon sock, which was I guess a more difficult situation, and she was not even 11 weeks. I had her four days when this happened and did not mind paying the rather large vet bill, because she was OK!
Please keep up updated and I'm hoping for a smooth passage!

scannergirl

· #16 · Apr 13, 2008

How's she doing?

DHau

· #17 · Apr 13, 2008

I am curious too! Find anything yet?

Snickelfritz

Discussion Starter · #18 · Apr 13, 2008

No, I haven't seen her poop yet. Dh had let her outside after she ate while I had gone to the store. So if she pooped then, I couldn't tell. I did walk the yard and all stools looked normal. She's outside right now acting normal - so far so good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thank you guys for your concern, it's helped me allot.

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scannergirl

· #19 · Apr 13, 2008

So it's been 36 hours or so with no problems? That's very hopeful! Go Heidi!!!!!!!!!!

DHau

· #20 · Apr 14, 2008

Hmm. It should have passed by now. At least with my dog, everything is cycled through within 24 hours.

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