Gosh damnit, my dog just ate a piece of plastic; what do I do?

Question

As if the week couldn't get any worse. I was teaching my dog how to shake and he got hold of the bag that the small treats come in. The bag was probably about 3in x 3in and had a small piece of paper inside of it. He didn't cough or gag or anything, it was like one swift motion he inhaled it. He is a 13 week puppy, Weimaraner to be exact and is about 2 feet long and a foot high. What should i do, wait for it to pass, play it out to see if he starts to show signs, go to the vet right away?

Answer 1

It won't break down in the intestines. If you go to the vet right away they can snag it for about two hundred dollars. If you wait, it might pass. But if it causes an obstruction, it will cost about two thousand dollars to fix.
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after reading all the answers, I want to add this..... I would go have it snagged before it leaves the stomach. A three inch piece of plastic might not pass. If it is the mylar stuff, soft and pliable, then it would be more likely to pass, but if it is hard plastic, it just won't pass at three square inches. It is more cost effective and better for the dog to have it done now before it leaves the stomach.

Answer 2

I once had a beagle that got into some candy bars I was selling for a school-based fundraiser, ate two or three, and never even so much as got sick. And those were pure chocolate. As others have said, Kit Kat Bars are mostly wafers, not chocolate; and even if it was pure chocolate, the dog probably would have been fine with such a small amount. Don't panic, the dog will (probably) be fine! What you may want to do just to make sure, though, is call your vet just to make sure. After all, your vet knows your pet's history, and has a lot more experience in this sort of thing than even a hard-core dog owner. If the vet isn't open, try your local emergency pet hospital, many of which are open 24 hrs.

Answer 3

Most likely it will pass within the next day or so but, since you are talking about a puppy instead of a full grown large dog, you should contact your vet and see about adding some vegetable oil or some other lubricant to help pass it along.

If he starts vomiting or fails to pass it you could have a more serious problem. Weimaraners are pretty robust large dogs so I wouldn't worry unduly. Dogs eat all kinds of nonfood items and they are fine most of the time.

Since he did it once, he will probably do it again so I would watch him from now on out to make sure he doesn't do it while you are not watching.

Answer 4

I have 4 dogs and they have eaten MUCH worse and it ALL comes out (well...you know)~

My advice;
Note the date on the calendar and the best thing you can do for him...WATCH. Watch him when he goes outside to do his thing and first, make sure he actually HAS a bowel movement. Then every time he does, look in it to see if you see the plastic. If you never see the plastic but things are perfectly fine, that means it was probably just balled up inside of one of the "pieces" of BM... if you never see it come out AND/OR if he developes ANY kind of abnormal symptoms, take him to a vet ASAP.
It should just pass.... and things will most likely be fine.
Good luck and keep an eye out~

PS- And if you don't want make things worse, don't start giving him all of those crazy home remedy BS things that people suggest (like milk, vasoline...etc). They never do anything good and will just add to the problem if anything. Your dog eating plastic really isn't THAT huge of a deal where you have to start giving him stuff because if he was that serious, you would have already taken him to the vet. Dogs eat things they shouldn't ALL the time (mine poops out long pointy sticks and squeeky toy squeekers..etc)

Answer 5

Call the vet just to let them know about it and they'll tell you if there are any signs you need to look for that would mean you need to take him in, or if you need to feed him a special diet (like rice with cottage cheese) for a day or two. Good work trying to train him, keep working on the training (maybe do some refusal... sprinkle a couple treats on the ground and walk him past on leash saying 'look here' so he looks at you and not the treats and praise him when he does, don't let him get the treats off the ground but give one from your hand when he's passed all of them) or he might start inhaling plastic patio furniture when he grows up!

Answer 6

Many times dogs will pass the most bizarre things through their systems. I would definitely be watching his # 2 to make sure he passes it. If he seems ill or stops going #2 you need to take him to a vet right away. If it was part of a plastic toy I would be pretty worried but a small baggie isn't as likely to get stuck somewhere inside your dog. I had a doggie which unbeknown to me ate a leather thing. I did not know till it came out in whole chunks. My puppy was fine because everything passed through.
End all go with your gut. If you are really worried just get him checked out for sure.

Answer 7

Either it will come out the other end or you maybe have to do something... wierd.

If you are willing to do this, then you should:

Give the dog, like a drop of proxcide or a VERY VERY VERY LITTLE AMOUNT!

It will make the dog barf.




I had to do this with my bichon frise because she ate i think a really small plastic ball.

Answer 8

Call the vet and see what he says....that's better than any answer from yahoo answers. You don't want to jeopardize your dogs health.
Hopefully he will be alright. Some dogs are not bothered by eating things like that and it will just come out the other end again...but better call your Vet to see what he says.

Answer 9

My friend's dog just ate string cheese, and it was still in the plastic! not simple cling wrap, but not a plastic ball either. What should she do?

Answer 10

He will probably pass it in the next day or so. As long as it hasn't affected his breathing I wouldn't worry about it. Once my daughter got a hold of a Christmas lightbulb and was chewing on it. It broke in her mouth and she kept chewing on it. I thought she probably swallowed some and the Dr said the other food stuff in her system would pad the pieces and she would likely pass it without a problem. She did. She is now almost 20 years old and thankfully gave up hiding in the ornaments and snacking on them.