what can I do if my dog has a bone lodged in her throat?

Question

My dog ate a beef rib bone and now has pain in her sternum area. How can i tell if it's due to the bone without an expensive vet bill?

Answer 1

Here is a good first aid discussion about that problem> http://www.petplace.com/dogs/choking-in-dogs/page1.aspx
Hereis a pictoral case history of how the vet treats the problem> http://www.bobmckee.com/Cases/Rebel.html
and another first aid about dealing with that> http://www.ncemi.org/cse/cse0313.htm
Hope this helps!

Answer 2

So I take it you are saying that your dog is having a chest pain.. First, how to you know your dog is having a chest pain? What exactly is he doing? Second, I always was taught that although bones are bad for dogs, chicken and pork bones are most likely to splinter and that beef bones are harder and safer. If the dog is not crying and the bone isn't stuck in the dog's throat, there is a good chance the bone will go through the dog without any problem. It is Sunday night, so, if it is a emergency you need a vet. If the dog is coughing, he may have something stuck in his throat unrelated to the bone, or he may cough the bone bothering him up. It's a judgement call you have to make.

Answer 3

My first question would be whether or not the dog has the bone lodged in his throat now and if he is having trouble breathing. If not, then you don't have to panic. If he had a bone stuck and expended a lot of effort hacking it up, he could be sore from that. You know what your muscles feel like after you've coughed a lot. How is he behaving? Does he seem to be in distress? Can he eat and drink? You can always call the vet's office and ask them. That won't cost anything. I hope you get it worked out and that doggie doesn't get any more bones.

Answer 4

yeah, if it's too far down the throat, the dog has to go to the vet. a lot of times my dogs will swallow the last bit of rawhide bone when it's not really big enough to chew on anymore, but before it's small enough to swallow and you can hear their breathing change... when that happens we tell her to get the ball and the opening her mouth around the ball makes the bone come out somehow... but I don't think it would work if the bone was half way to the dog's stomach.

My corgi got a round bone stuck around his bottom jaw once and my grandpa had to come over and pull it off... the corgi also tried to bring a oppossum into the house because he saw it outside and it played dead, so he picked it up and carried it around... he wasn't the smartest of dogs now that I come to think of it ;o)

Anyway, I'm sorry I don't have any better advice. You can try getting her to drink water to push the bone down or try to get her to cough it up, but it sounds like it's pretty stuck and she'll need a vet if you can't get it out yourself.

Answer 5

She needs to go to the vet. Why are you worried about an expensive vet bill? Your the careless owner who allowed your beloved pet to have the darn bone. The dog is your responsibility! Would you let your child who was having severe pain go on without being taken to the doctor?

Answer 6

You can't. Either wait and see if pain goes away. Some dogs can handle doing that or get an expensive vet bill!

Answer 7

good christ. Take you dog to the vet. NOW.


you should have thought about the expensive vet bill long before you ever decided to get a dog.

Answer 8

If it is causing her pain then I don't think you have any choice but to take her to the vet. You could talk to your vet about a payment plan.

Answer 9

there's no way to avoid a vet bill for the safety of your pup. if you can't see it and he cant tell you. take him to the vet ASAP. you cant put a $$ on a pet's life.

Answer 10

Agreed with the above poster. Have you opened her mouth and checked her throat? You are responsible for her safety and unless you have an x-ray machine you can't do much.