So, what do you do if your puppy or curious older dog gets in amongst your Christmas decorations and eats that glass ornament or he steals that cooked chicken or turkey bone or a staple or indeed any sharp object? It's a potentially lethal mishap that needs to be dealt with very quickly.
Well, believe it or not, your saviour could be that cotton ball in your medicine cabinet. It has to be a 100% pure cotton ball - not the cosmetic cotton balls or puffs that are made from synthetic materials. You should be able to get 100% pure cotton balls in any pharmacy and they are a must in any first aid kit.
Should your dog eat anything sharp, take some cotton balls, break them into SMALL pieces and soak them in milk or cream or even smear something like cream cheese or spread or something that you know your dog will love. Then simply feed the pieces of cotton ball to your dog. This starts the process of bringing the sharp foreign object out of your dog's system safely.
As a guide, if your dog weighs:
| 5 - 10lbs (2 - 4½kg) | - | feed 2 cotton balls |
| 10 - 50lbs (4½ - 22kg) | - | feed 3 - 5 cotton balls |
| 50+lbs (22+kg) | - | feed 5 - 7 cotton balls |
You may feed larger dogs an entire cotton ball without breaking it into pieces. For some reason, dogs seem to really like these strange treats and will readily eat them.
As the cotton works it's way through the digestive tract, it will find all the pieces of the sharp object and wrap itself around them. Even the tiniest shards will be caught and wrapped in the cotton fibres. The cotton will protect the intestines from damage by the sharp object. Your dog's poo will look very strange for a few days and you will have to be very careful to check for any fresh blood or a black tarry look to the stools. If you find either, you must get your dog to the vet as soon as possible for a check up.
Even without the signs of blood in the stools, you should still contact your vet for advice as soon as possible after the incident.
You may well find that your dog vomits up the cotton ball, along with the sharp object. This is nothing to worry about - it just means that the sharp objects hadn't got right through your dog's digestive tract.
An alternative or indeed addition to the milk, cream or spread is Marshmallow Root. This is an herb that can be bought in any health food shop.
It is NOT the marshmallows that you can buy in the sweet shop or supermarket!!
Marshmallow root helps to expel, soothe and soften tissue while controlling bacterial infections. It soothes inflammation in organs such as the digestive tract, urinary tract, lungs and reproductive system. It also absorbs mucous and poisons and serves as a lubricant.
Along with the cotton balls, this can help soothe and expel the sharp object.
Why should you be careful about your dog eating bones?
Bones can puncture or block the dog's digestive tract.
Cooked bones are dry and brittle because the cooking process removes all the moisture from them. As they move along the digestive tract, they splinter into tiny, needle sharp pieces. This is how that simple "stealing a chicken bone" can turn into a lethal situation. Punctures, lacerations or tears to the intestine allow toxins to escape from the intestine, causing the dog to be gravely ill.
Turkey bones are the worst bones for splintering and you should NEVER give them to your dog.
Splinters of bone can get caught anywhere from in the mouth, right through the digestive tract to the rectum so great care should be taken when giving your dog a bone.