Category: Ask A Vet

You’re likely reading this because your dog has swallowed a bully stick and you need to know what to do next. A bully stick is a dog chew usually made from the penis of a bull. They are long thin chewy stick treats for dogs. They are designed to be chewed over a long period, but due to the fact they are so palatable, some dogs get over-excited and swallow them whole or swallow large sections of the chew.

Whether your dog has swallowed a whole chew or just a larger piece of one, the main risk is choking and gastrointestinal tract blockages or perforation. If you are concerned that your dog may have ingested a large piece of a bully stick, or swallowed it whole, you need to contact your vet immediately. You may not have seen them eat the whole thing but have noticed that the stick got eaten in a much shorter time. You may know that they had a chew earlier in the day and now they are showing signs of choking or a blockage. Whatever the situation is, you need to contact your vet immediately. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

What Are Bully Sticks?

A bully stick is a long thin chewy product usually made from a dehydrated bull penis. It is a popular choice for a chew for a few reasons:

The size of the sticks varies, and bully sticks are suitable for dogs of any breed and size. They are a relatively hard chew treat, so usually dogs will gnaw at them and break small pieces off over a long period of time.

Why Bully Sticks Can Be Dangerous for Dogs

Larger dogs, dogs with very strong jaws, and avid chewers, may be able to bite off larger sections or swallow whole chews. The chews are not particularly sharp, however, if they have had parts bitten off this may leave pointy bits that could cause internal damage.

Some bits that are swallowed may be pushed through the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and perforate the guts. This is a medical emergency, and your dog will require immediate veterinary assistance. If left untreated, your dog may develop septic peritonitis which is a serious condition that can result in death. The chew may not even make it past the throat as it may become lodged in this area as the dog tries to swallow. Sometimes it can be difficult to locate if it is further back and out of view.

The bully sticks are designed to be swallowed by your dog. If they eat small parts over a long period of time, this should not cause a problem unless they ate a large amount of the chews. For example, if they stole a whole packet and ate them all in one sitting. There is nothing poisonous or toxic in the chews. The issue is the shape of the whole chew or a larger section of one which can potentially be a choking hazard, cause a blockage in the intestines, or even perforate them.

Some dogs will manage to eat a whole bully stick and have no symptoms at all. The body will start to digest the stick as soon as the dog starts chewing it, so even if a really large piece is ingested, the body may still be capable of digesting it properly before it causes any issues.

My Dog Has Eaten a Bully Stick, What Do I Do Now?

Follow these simple steps if your dog has eaten a bully stick.

1. Remove any of the remaining bully stick out of their reach and ensure they don’t have access to any more.

Stay with your dog to monitor them for any immediate signs of choking or distress.

2. Contact your vet straight away.

Make sure you stay with your dog or have another adult supervise them and ring your vet immediately. Your vet will need to ask some questions to obtain a full clinical history and decide on what action needs to be taken next.

3. Do everything your vet tells you.

Follow your vet’s instructions as your vet is likely to tell you to bring your dog down to be seen.

4. Don’t attempt to fix your dog at home.

If you think your dog may have something stuck in their throat, trying to retrieve it yourself is dangerous. That is unless it is very obvious, and you have easy access to it without further injuring your dog or getting injured yourself. You may end up pushing it further down into the stomach or doing damage to surrounding tissues trying to pull out. Not to mention if your dog is in pain or stressed, they may bite you. Attempting to make your dog vomit at home is advised against too. If there are sharp or pointy sections of the stick, this could potentially cause damage on the way back out or cause it to become lodged somewhere.

5. Don’t let your dog out of your sight.

It is very important to monitor your dog for any signs of choking, abdominal pain, or general distress. It is also important to monitor them to ensure they don’t run off or try to escape as this would prevent or delay them receiving the treatment they need.

Clinical Signs Your Dog Has Eaten a Bully Stick

It is important to remember that some dogs will be absolutely fine after eating a bully stick as mentioned above. They will be able to digest the stick and break it down before it causes any medical issues.

If there is a problem, some of the clinical signs may include:

How to Treat a Dog That Has Eaten a Bully Stick

Depending on the size of your dog and the size of the stick, the first option may be to monitor the dog. This is because the stick is made of protein that the body is capable of digesting, so often the dog will be able to break it down despite it being whole or in a large piece.

If it appears as if the stick is causing problems, your vet will make a treatment plan. Your vet may decide to use a piece of equipment called an endoscope. This is a small camera on a probe that is inserted down the throat to allow the vet to visualize the inside of the gastrointestinal tract. It may be used to locate the stick, and then another probe with a grabbing tool connected can be inserted to retrieve the stick safely.

Your vet may have to perform surgery to remove the stick from your dog if it is further down the gastrointestinal tract or if there has been any damage such as perforation.

How to Prevent Your Dog from Eating a Bully Stick

If you are worried about your dog eating a whole bully stick, there are a few things you can do to prevent any harm from coming to them.

Conclusion

Bully sticks are a popular chew treat for dogs. They are extremely palatable to dogs and often when given one, dogs will become very excited and try to eat the chew whole or swallow large pieces without chewing properly. Due to their shape and size, bully sticks have the potential to cause problems including choking, gastrointestinal blockage, or perforation. Care must be taken when giving these treats to your dog.

Featured Image Credit: Dmitriev Mikhail, Shutterstock

The post My Dog Swallowed a Bully Stick: Should I Be Worried? Our Vet Explains appeared first on Pet Keen.

Sometimes accidents happen. If your dog has consumed weed, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible. Do not panic. Determine what type of weed they consumed (buds, leaves, brownies, edibles, etc.). You must also monitor your dog for possible signs of marijuana intoxication.

Fatal cases are rare, except for those in which the dog has consumed large amounts of marijuana or if the weed they ate contained chocolate or xylitol (artificial sweetener).

Read on to learn what to do if your dog has accidentally consumed weed and/or weed products, the clinical signs of weed intoxication, how to prevent it from happening again, how toxic weed is to dogs, and the benefits of cannabidiol (CBD) for dogs.

What to Do If Your Dog Ate Weed

If your dog has accidentally consumed marijuana, it is important not to panic. Although you need to contact the vet (and the sooner, the better), there are a few steps that you can take to care for your dog until you get to the vet.

1. Determine the Type of Weed

First, you need to determine what kind of weed your dog consumed: leaves or buds. This information will be useful to the veterinarian. The leaves have a lower content of tetrahydrocannabinol ¹ (THC, the psychoactive component of weed, which is toxic to pets) compared to the buds (inflorescences). The THC content decreases with each part of the plant (from top to bottom), as follows:

Therefore, weed buds are more dangerous for your dog than the leaves.

It should be noted that cannabidiol (CBD) is not the same as THC. CBD is veterinary approved for pet consumption. The compound cannabidiol is not psychoactive.

You also have to consider other ingredients. For example, if your dog has eaten weed brownies (which contain chocolate), it is possible that your pet will get chocolate poisoning. Chocolate is more dangerous than weed (especially THC), and as a result, you must take your dog to the vet immediately.

Weed gummies and THC edible candies or mints may contain xylitol, another substance that is toxic to dogs. If this is your dog’s case, you have to take them to the vet immediately.

Both chocolate and xylitol poisoning can be fatal to dogs.

2. Monitor Them for Clinical Signs of Weed Intoxication

A crucial thing to do is monitor your dog for possible signs of intoxication. Although weed intoxication in pets is rarely fatal (if they do not consume brownies or products with xylitol), it can be severe. The most common signs of weed intoxication in dogs may include:

If you notice any of these clinical signs after your dog has consumed weed (especially if they have an irregular heart rate or are vomiting severely), contact your veterinarian immediately.

3. Contact the Vet

It can be embarrassing to tell the vet about what just happened. However, the more details the veterinarian has about your dog’s condition, the faster they can diagnose your pet properly. The veterinarian’s role is not to judge you but to save your pet.

Even if your dog does not show signs of severe intoxication, the veterinarian will need to evaluate their vital functions. Also, if it hasn’t been long since your dog consumed weed, the vet can try to induce vomiting.

If your dog suffers from moderate to severe clinical signs, the veterinarian may recommend hospitalizing them so they can be treated and monitored. Treatment can consist of administering intravenous fluids, activated charcoal (to bind the toxins), anti-nausea medication, and warming devices if your dog has a low temperature.

Ingestion of marijuana is not usually fatal in dogs. Only if your dog has consumed weed brownies, weed products that also contain xylitol, or a large amount of marijuana is there a risk of death.

How to Prevent Accidental Weed Ingestion in Dogs

You can prevent your dog from accidentally consuming weed by properly storing your weed products. Smoking in another room and safe storage of edibles and weed products will minimize access.

Don’t feed weed leaves or buds to your dog, and don’t intentionally blow the smoke in their face. This is categorized as abusive behavior because your dog can’t give their consent to experience the “fun part of being high.” Dogs do not enjoy the experience; they get confused and anxious because they don’t know what is happening to them. The harmful substances also remain in their bodies even after the effect has worn off.

Also, if you’re growing weed indoors, secure the room to keep pets out of that space and to prevent them from getting to the leaves and buds. If you grow weed outdoors, you can secure your garden in several ways, such as enclosing it with a fence.

How Toxic Is Weed to Dogs?

Weed is equally toxic to both humans and animals, but pets reach toxic levels faster than humans because they have smaller bodies.

The minimum lethal oral dose for dogs is more than 3 g THC/kg body weight. So, your dog has to consume huge amounts of weed to get severely intoxicated and die. The effects of weed in dogs can be seen in approximately 60 minutes from the moment of ingestion.

What Is Cannabidiol and What Are Its Benefits for Dogs?

CBD is not the same thing as THC. It is not psychotropic and has no known harmful side effects for pets. It is a powerful natural compound found in cannabis and hemp plants. The hemp plant contains much higher amounts of CBD.

CBD comes in a variety of forms, such as oils, topical products, and snacks. However, oils are the most popular. If you want to give CBD oil to your dog, talk to your veterinarian first.

Choose the oil according to the concentration of CBD in the oil and to your dog’s weight and health problems. You should also carefully read the ingredient list to make sure no ingredient could be harmful to your dog. Avoid CBD oils that also have low concentrations of THC because these can be dangerous.

Conclusion

If your dog has accidentally ingested weed, don’t panic. Determine what kind of weed they consumed (leaves, buds, or products that contain other ingredients that can be harmful to dogs), monitor them for possible clinical signs of intoxication, and call the veterinarian. Although it can be embarrassing to tell the vet what happened, they need to have this information so they can treat your dog properly.

Common clinical signs of weed intoxication in dogs include incoordination, urination in unauthorized places, depression, dilated pupils, low or high temperature, and irregular heart rate. In severe cases, convulsions can also occur. While rare, death is possible if your dog consumes products containing weed and chocolate or xylitol, these two latter ingredients being toxic for pets. Keep your weed products out of your pet’s reach, do not give them weed to eat, and do not blow the smoke in their face.

Featured Image Credit: Michael Fischer, Shutterstock

The post My Dog Ate Weed: Our Vet Explains What to Do appeared first on Pet Keen.