The term “foreign body” loosely translates as a solid object that’s somewhere inside the dog where it shouldn’t be. Dogs can get foreign objects stuck in their ears, in their noses, in their lungs, and between their toes, but most often when we talk about foreign bodies in dogs we mean those in the gastrointestinal tract.
It’s well known that many dogs will eat anything that doesn’t eat them first, and that can get them into a whole lot of trouble. Dogs have been known to swallow everything from underwear to socks to steak knives, with often disastrous consequences. Read on to get educated about how we deal with foreign objects that are in a dog’s gastrointestinal tract.
This too shall pass (or not)
Some objects can pass through a dog with minimal fuss. Pieces of plastic wrap and aluminum foil are examples. They can take their time about getting all the way out of the dog, and can cause irritation along the way, but eventually they’ll make it all of the way out.
Foreign bodies technically don’t really start becoming problems until they get stuck. The number one symptom of a foreign body obstruction is vomiting. Since most of us aren’t able to track our dog’s every move throughout the day, if it’s even possible that the dog could have swallowed something it shouldn’t have, foreign body obstruction should always be at least considered in every vomiting dog.
Where do things get stuck?
Generally speaking, if a dog can swallow an object, it will pass into the stomach. There are muscular “rings” at both the entrance and the exit of the stomach, and while the movement of the esophageal muscles will typically force objects into the ring at the opening of the stomach, there is considerably less force pushing on objects as they exit the stomach. Many things make it into the stomach but never get any further.
Objects that make it out of the stomach will sometimes get wedged firmly in the small intestines. However, if a foreign body can pass through the stomach and small intestines, it will have no problem making it through the large intestines and out of the body.
How x-rays can help
X-rays can often help us make the diagnosis that a foreign object is causing a blockage. Objects made out of things like bone and metal show up easily on x-rays, but things like cloth and plastic aren’t always so obvious.
With gastric (stomach) foreign bodies we often have to use materials that provide “contrast”, or a background that makes the object more visible. Barium is useful for this, as is air that’s pumped into the stomach via a tube just before the x-ray is taken. With intestinal foreign bodies, we often can’t see the object itself, but we can see that the intestines are abnormally large, which happens when something can’t pass. Again, the diagnosis can be challenging, and barium can help in these situations as well.
What about inducing vomiting?
Induction of vomiting can be a great tool to use when dogs make really bone-headed moves such as eating an entire box of baking chocolate. However, when we suspect or can confirm the presence of a foreign body in the stomach, deciding whether to induce vomiting isn’t so easy and straightforward.
With foreign body ingestion we have to ask ourselves what the risk is that the object might get lodged in the esophagus on the way back up if we are able to successfully move it up and out of the stomach, as this can create an even more challenging problem. Usually it’s not wise to try to induce vomiting, however many times dogs end up ridding themselves of the object through vomiting saving everyone involved a lot of trouble.
What can you do besides go to surgery?
Sometimes objects will pass through on their own, even when we don’t think they will. Intravenous fluid therapy can help with hydration and increase peristalsis, the wave-like contractions in the GI tract that push ingesta through. Additionally, some solid objects will “soften” in the harsh acidic environment of the stomach and will eventually pass through, where they wouldn’t initially.
It’s critically important that you remember to never, ever take this approach without the advice and assistance of your vet. An object may make it out of the stomach only to become lodged in the small intestine, or make it through the initial part of the small intestine only to become lodged further down the road. If you think your dog may have ingested a foreign body, and he’s showing signs that he may be obstructed by it, get him into your vet immediately so that a plan of action can be developed.
How do we get things out when they won’t pass
It’s usually preferential to find and deal with foreign objects in the stomach as opposed to the small intestines. Gastric (stomach) foreign bodies can often be removed with a device known as an endoscope, which is a small camera on a flexible tube that can be inserted into the esophagus, stomach, and initial part of the small intestine.
If an endoscope is not available, or if the object to be retrieved is too large, surgery is usually the only remaining option. Surgery on the stomach is much easier than surgery on the intestines, and tends to almost always heal without complication. By contrast, intestinal surgery is a bit more challenging, as the incision sites can leak fairly easily, causing intestinal contents (namely bacteria) to leak into the abdomen. This leads to a life-threatening condition known as septic peritonitis.
A word about waiting
If you suspect or know that your dog has an intestinal obstruction, it’s critical that you deal with it immediately. As an object obstructs the intestines, the blood supply to that area is compromised, and the tissue starts to die. This significantly complicates removal, because now it’s not just a simple retrieval of the foreign object, it becomes that PLUS removal of the non-viable tissue. The difference amounts to a linear incision in the intestines that gets sewn up, versus cutting out an entire segment of intestine and sewing the ends together. The later is quite a bit more challenging and has a higher chance of complication.