Surgery to remove a swallowed object is one of the most common emergency procedures vets perform, and almost all of it is preventable with an afternoon of preparation.
Get down on the floor at dog height and look. You will see things you have never noticed.
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Kitchen
- Bin with a lid, ideally behind a cupboard door. Bin raiding causes pancreatitis, obstruction and poisoning
- Cupboard latches on anything at floor level, especially cleaning products
- Hob knobs removed or covered — dogs do turn them on
- Food out of reach, including the fruit bowl. Grapes, raisins and chocolate are the usual culprits
- Check every label for xylitol (also sold as birch sugar) — sugar-free gum, mints, peanut butter, protein bars
- Dishwasher door closed. Dogs lick plates and detergent residue is caustic
- Cling film, foil and cooking string in a drawer. Meat-scented string is one of the most dangerous things a dog can swallow
Living room
- Cables secured or covered. A chewed live cable causes electrical burns to the mouth and pulmonary oedema
- Remote controls out of reach — button batteries are a genuine emergency, causing severe chemical burns within hours
- Houseplants checked. Lilies, sago palm, dieffenbachia, philodendron and others are toxic. Sago palm in particular is frequently fatal
- Candles and diffusers out of tail range. Many essential oils are toxic to dogs, and some by skin contact
- Small items off low tables — coins, hair ties, earphones, dice, LEGO
- Fireplaces guarded
- Cords from blinds tied up high; they are a strangulation risk
Bathroom
- Medication in a closed cabinet. Human painkillers are a leading cause of poisoning: ibuprofen, paracetamol, naproxen and aspirin all cause serious harm
- Toilet lid down, particularly if you use a cistern block
- Bin with a lid. Bathroom bins contain some of the most dangerous things a dog can eat
- Razors and dental floss put away — floss causes linear foreign body injuries, which are among the worst
Bedroom
- Socks, underwear and tights in a closed basket. Socks are the single most commonly retrieved item from dog stomachs
- Hair ties and clips off bedside tables
- Jewellery and coins put away
- Handbags off the floor. They contain gum, medication, chocolate and cigarettes
Garage, shed and garden
- Antifreeze locked away and spills cleaned immediately. Ethylene glycol tastes sweet and even small amounts cause fatal kidney failure. Propylene-glycol-based products are safer
- Slug pellets, rodenticides, herbicides and fertilisers secured. Metaldehyde and anticoagulant rodenticides kill dogs every year
- Check the plant list. Foxglove, oleander, yew, laburnum, lily of the valley, azalea and daffodil bulbs are among the more dangerous garden plants
- Cocoa bean mulch avoided entirely — it contains theobromine
- Fences checked for gaps at ground level, loose panels and gate latches. Test by pushing at dog height
- Pond or pool fenced or covered
- Compost heap enclosed. Mouldy compost causes tremors and seizures
Everywhere
- Small swallowable objects. The commonest items removed surgically are socks, underwear, corn cobs, stones, toys, balls, bones, hair ties and children’s toys
- Anything stringy. String, ribbon, tinsel and floss cause linear foreign bodies that saw through the intestine
- Stairs gated for young puppies and for large-breed puppies whose joints are still developing
- Balconies and open windows secured
Use gates rather than willpower
Management beats training in the first months. A dog who never gets the opportunity to chew a skirting board never learns that skirting boards are interesting.
Baby gates, a playpen and a crate let you leave the room without supervising every second.
MidWest iCrate Folding Dog Crate
A crate is the simplest way to keep a puppy safe when you cannot watch them. Choose the adult size with a divider panel, introduce it properly with food, and it becomes a bedroom rather than a cage.
Give them legal outlets
A dog-proofed house with nothing to chew produces a frustrated dog. Every removed opportunity should be replaced with a better one.
KONG Extreme Dog Toy
Tough rubber with a hollow centre for stuffing. Frozen with wet food, it occupies a determined chewer for a long time, and it gives you something legal to trade for the thing they have just picked up.
Benebone Wishbone Chew Toy
A curved nylon chew shaped so a dog can pin it down and reach it with the back teeth. Very long-lasting — but hard chews carry a tooth-fracture risk, so supervise, and replace it when it wears down.
What to do if something is swallowed
Call your vet immediately. Do not wait for symptoms.
Have ready: your dog’s weight, what was eaten, roughly how much, and when. Keep the packaging.
Do not try to induce vomiting yourself. Salt water is dangerous, and some substances — anything caustic, or a sharp object — cause more damage coming back up. Some cases need a vet to induce vomiting within a specific window, which is another reason to call rather than search online.
Signs of obstruction to watch for: repeated vomiting, unproductive retching, a tender or swollen abdomen, lethargy, no stool, and a dog who will not settle.
Have the numbers ready now
Your regular vet, your nearest out-of-hours emergency vet, and an animal poison line. Put them in your phone tonight. Finding them at 2am while a dog vomits is the worst possible time to start looking.
