REMINDER WARNING - Page 1

WARNING TO ALL DOGS OWNERS by quenna on 01 May 2010 - 17:05	quenna Posts: 58 Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 03:32 pm Owner edit
Our 12 month old German shepherd dog nearly lost his life today. Phill and I were playing with our two shepherds in the field next to where we live. They love to run and play especially with a ball on a rope. How fun can turn so quickly into panic and devastation. Saffie ran for the rope ball then brought it back for a tug of war, before releasing it. When suddenly! the ball detached from the rope which made it catapult straight to the back of his throat. I began to lift Saffie’s back legs in the air, whilst Phill tried to reach for the ball. The more he tried, the further it went down Saffie’s throat. He was now choking badly. We needed to get to a vet very quickly; I rushed home with our other dog Quenna, and got the car. We drove immediately to our vet which was 15 minutes away. It was Saturday they were closed at 1.00pm the time was 3.00pm. I flagged a stranger down on the road and asked if we could use his phone, we had rushed out without one. We phoned the emergency vet who said come straight away, this was another 15 min drive, by this time Saffie’s breathing was slow, he was choking to death with lots of white froth, coming out of his mouth. We arrived at the vets, Phill carried him in and placed him on the vets table, he was so good his tail wagging, for all the attention, he was getting from the staff. They told us to wait in the waiting room, while they operated on him. They did a two pronged attack, they squeezed the throat behind the ball and at the same time they pulled it out. The vet gave us the ball, you know what we did with it, yes BINNED IT. The vet said we were very lucky because the ball had holes through it for the rope to thread; this is what kept Saffie alive. If it were an ordinary ball (tennis ball) he would have died. We waited an hour whilst Saffie came out of his anaesthetic and was able to take home. I am asking everyone to think before playing with your dog, do not use a ball, do not play with sticks, which I have never done. I thought I was safe with a rope ball but will never purchase one again. I will stick with our knotted ropes. Please spread this awareness to people with dogs. I would not want any dog owner to go through what we experienced. Next day Saffie was back to his self, playing with his mum as if it never happened.

No one has answered you so i will, First it is great that you saved the life of your Dog and a really nasty experience for you both but it ended well.
Regards balls on a rope, they have been around long enough accidents will happen in anything, However for a German Shepherd dog a good sized ball on a rope is better than a small ball on a rope which can be swallowed easy enough, So use a larger sized Ball is what we do.
We never use a tennis ball because of the Glue which holds it together the Dogs Saliver breaks it down and the dogs ingests it a bit at a time
Steve1

Glad your dog is OK. Use larger sized balls for sure, rubber ones.  Tennis balls are abrasive to the teeth.

 

Glad your dog is ok, for future references if god forbids, this was to happen again, don't grab the dog from the rear legs and lift it, ball Its not gonna come out by gravity, if anything grab the dog from the bag, surround it with your arms right under its front legs and squeeze gently (without breaking its ribs) that little burst of air coming off of their lungs could've helped expell the ball (if there was no holes in it)

Bernhard Flinks told of seeing one dog die and taking a pen knife and pen without the insides and doing an on the spot tracheotomy on a dog to save its life.  Had it been a solid ball, indeed in less than 3 minutes, death would have come.  If this happens with a solid object, the Heimlich and then the emergency trach must be done IMMEDIATELY.

Thank God your companion survived because of that hole in the ball.  

    Per Bernhard Flinks, when you first purchase a ball on a string the first thing you do is pull the string out and tie a larger knot in it so that it don't pull through. If the ball starts to show signs of wear i.e. cracks or tares throw it away.
    First aide in this situation would be to straddle the dog and  raise your arms in the air and hit hard on both sides of the rib cage this should cause the ball to dislodge. If not let the dog PASS OUT and and then with a paper towel reach in and try to pull ball out. Paper towel because ball will be slimy and wet. You wont be able to grab with your bare fingers. Never try this while dog is conscious  because you will probably lose a finger.
    If all this fails then tracheotomy must be done. A small incision above the collar bone into the esophagus and then place a straw or an empty pen or anything into the hole to keep it open and then go to your vet.
    This happens more often than most think and while training these items should be close at hand. Small two sided sharp knife, pen or straw, and paper towel. Sounds weird but put it in a plastic baggy and keep it in your training bag.  Hope this helps someone. And THANK YOU!BERNHARD FLINKS.
    

I never use toys that can dislodge in their mouth or could be swollowed. Tennis balls are very bad for their teeth anyway, as said previously they are abrasive and with a lot of slobber - turn to mush. Balls on strings could detach. For me its either a tug toy for work or a large rubber frisbee for fun and playdrive.

Hi,

You both must have gone through hell !!!    I know how careful you both are with those two dogs, and how caring - I can only say well done for still having him, and keep telling yourselves how well you both did.    We know and care for him too, so it was a shock to read this, but glad it ended well, give him a hug,
Mo and Zep.

From:

http://www.uspcak9.com/medical/emergency.pdf

FOREIGN OBJECTS OR SWELLING IN THROAT (Trachea).
·  Signs are related to difficult breathing
·  Bluish colour to lips and gums
EMERGENCY CARE OF THE PD
VERSION 2003
-PAGE 12
·  Collapse
Þ  Force mouth open and check back of throat
Þ  If can be removed use pliers or Hemostat
Þ  Can use a roll of Tape as a Moth Gag
Þ  In dogs can use a K9 Heimlich maneuver.
·  K9 Heimlich.
Þ  Stand behind dog with arms around body behind the last rib.
Þ  Use a “two handed hand over hand” fist
Þ  Exert a quick forward upward thrust.
Þ  Repeat 2-3 times
Þ  If animal collapses continue maneuver , pull tongue forward…try artificial respirations.
Þ  Transport.
Þ  Emergency tracheotomy
·  Objects in esophagus
·  Frequent swallowing motions
·  Extended head and neck
·  Avoids food or water
·  If swallows water it comes up immediately
Þ  DO NOT FORCE ANY FOOD
Þ  Transport ASAP for scoping and removal
Þ  Necrosis and injury to esophagus can happen in hours.