My Dog Ate Paper Towel What Should I Do?
My Dog Ate Paper Towel What Should I Do?
Dogs, for some reason, enjoy paper products, including paper towels. This is a common problem in dogs. They may find the paper towel in the garbage. And there are dogs that able to access the kitchen counter and pull a paper towel roll onto the floor. The pup may then enjoy chewing up and playing with the paper towels. However, a dog’s love affair with paper towels could lead to serious medical complications.
Paper Towels & Medical Issues in Dogs
Eating a paper towel can cause serious issues for your fur baby. Let’s a look:
1). Bowel obstruction: this is a very serious medical emergency, which can be life-threatening. The paper towel could be lodged in the stomach or intestines. Signs of a bowel obstruction include lack of appetite, bloating, abdominal pain, inability to have a bowel movement, and weight loss. This condition is an emergency and you’ll need to call the vet immediately.
2). Stomach upset: this isn’t as worrisome as an intestinal blockage, but your canine companion won’t feel too well. He may develop an upset stomach and could vomit the paper towel back up. He can even develop diarrhea.
3). Poisoning: if the paper towel was used to clean, and contains cleaning products, your fur baby could be poisoned. This is another medical emergency that requires an immediate trip to the vet.
4). Difficulty swallowing: in this instance, the paper towel may have become lodged in the back of your dog’s mouth, or in his trachea. You may notice that he’s having trouble swallowing, is coughing or retching, as if trying to vomit, but nothing comes up. This is another medical emergency and you must call the vet immediately.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Once at the vet’s, they will perform a physical examination and run medical tests. Tests can include x-rays, if your fur baby appears to have a bowel obstruction. The x-rays will also show where the paper towel is located in your dog’s digestive system.
Your vet may induce vomiting if the paper towel hasn’t progressed past your fur baby’s stomach.
If the paper towel has moved farther down, the vet may choose to perform an endoscopic procedure. A long tube will be inserted into your canine companion’s mouth and it will grab the towel and bring it out.
However, if the paper towel is causing an intestinal blockage, your fur baby will likely require surgery.
The prognosis is good for your dog if you seek early treatment.
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Bowel obstruction is the most common thing I see in dogs when their owners bring them in as a result of a paper towel or any other thing they tried swallowing. I think it’s best people learn how their dogs behave and try to work around how things can be placed in the house so that dogs can’t reach harmful things. If he finds it easy leaning on things to reach and grab items, then your home arrangements should have things raised more than they should so that he doesn’t get a chance to grab things and swallow. Most of them don’t survive this.
That’s a good idea. Last time my dog swallowed a towel, it cause an intestinal blockage and I was scared when I was told that she required surgery. It was a slim chance as she swallowed very thick one. But she survived.
wow! Just some paper towel could cause this much harm? I’d better keep it away from my dog’s reach. Sometimes, I wish they didn’t assess everything with their mouths.
The day my dog swallowed a paper towel I was not even there until I got back and noticed her restless he was. He was having trouble swallowing and would try to vomit but nothing comes up. Then he would rest a bit before trying again. I learnt it was a paper towel I had mistakenly left on the floor. The vet really did a good job and it was out without a short time we got to the hospital.