Signs & Symptoms of Dogs Having Something Lodged in Their Stomach

The swallowing of inedible things is especially common in puppies.
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If you have a dog, one of the last things you want to hear is that a random item somehow got stuck in the little guy's stomach. This does, however, occasionally happen in pooches. If your furry buddy is dealing with a gastric foreign body, your duty is to seek urgent veterinary care for him, stat.

Vomiting

Throwing up occasionally signifies a dog who is experiencing something lodged inside of his stomach. If your pet is vomiting a lot, waste no time and get him veterinary assistance. This vomiting could occur nonstop, or could be more sporadic. Some objects that inquisitive dogs regularly ingest are small toys, parts of towels, stones, wood, bones, diapers, yarn, socks and balls. Note that although throwing up is prevalent in gastric foreign body situations, it can indicate numerous other canine ailments, too.

Stomachache

Your poor buddy might not have the ability to tell you that his stomach hurts using words, but you might be able to figure it out just by looking at his body language. If your pet is crouching over in a noticeable manner, it might just mean that he's experiencing intense belly pain.

Drop in Appetite

If your doggie normally has the appetite of a high school boy but randomly couldn't care less about the can you just opened, investigate the situation further. Absence of appetite is a common hint of something being lodged in the stomach. Bigger items stuck in the stomach usually lead to more drastic decreases in appetite, which sometimes can eventually even bring upon weight loss. If the stuck item is on the small side, however, your dog might proceed with his typical eating patterns. Dogs who have something stuck in their stomachs also occasionally experience dehydration.

Exhaustion

Dogs who have an item lodged in their stomach might just behave in an uncharacteristic sluggish and exhausted way. If something about your dog's temperament just seems a little "off" but you can't put your finger on it, there's a good chance that he feels malaise as a result of ingesting something out of the ordinary.

Veterinary Attention

If you think that your dog has something stuck in his tummy, never opt to just see if it comes out with his next bowel movement. Allow a veterinarian to determine how to proceed with the problem, perhaps through surgery or endoscopy. No matter how tiny a lodged item might be, extraction is absolutely vital. Ignored cases can be extremely hazardous to pets, bringing upon starvation and often even fatalities. If a stuck object travels on to a dog's intestines via his stomach, you might notice symptoms such as depression, extreme dehydration and incessant vomiting. Surgery in most cases is an absolute necessity for intestinal lodging.