Gastrointestinal foreign bodies in dogs

A gastrointestinal foreign body is something swallowed that is unable to pass normally out of the ‘gastrointestinal tract’ (which includes the stomach and intestines). Dogs are naturally curious and playful and like to put strange things in their mouth to play with or to eat. Some dogs may swallow something without chewing properly if they think they are under threat of having a tasty bit of food taken away from them. Dogs that scavenge are at particular risk of picking up and swallowing something they should not eat. Often scavenging merely results in an upset tummy but sometimes something a scavenger eats may get stuck. This is a potentially very serious condition and if you think your pet may have an obstruction in its intestines you should contact your veterinarian immediately.

Any dog can get something stuck in its gastrointestinal tract. However, dogs that like to scavenge are at risk because they may swallow things that are more likely to cause problems. Intestinal foreign bodies are often toys – so dogs that play with plastic squeaky toys are at risk if they chew up a toy and swallow its parts. Some dogs like to carry or play with items of their owner’s clothing; and socks and underwear are not an uncommon foreign body removed by veterinarians. Threads or ribbons, although seemingly harmless can cause severe problems if swallowed. The object may pass easily through the stomach and into the intestine. Here it becomes stuck to the wall of the intestine and causes the intestine to bunch up in a knot which means that other food cannot pass through. Moreover the thread rubbing on the intestinal wall can make a hole allowing gut contents to escape into the abdomen causing peritonitis. Dogs that play with or chew stones often have many stones in their stomach. Sometimes these are picked up on an X-ray taken for another reason and often these cause dogs no significant problem. Small objects may be able to pass all the way through the intestines and be passed from the other end without causing any obvious problems.

If your dog swallows a sharp object like a stick, needle, or commonly a wooden kebab skewer you must get veterinary advice immediately. Anything sharp may penetrate through the intestine wall allowing gut contents to leak out. This can rapidly result in a life-threatening peritonitis. Alternatively the sharp object may pass through the gut wall and may enter another abdominal organ and cause significant damage.

Foreign bodies in the stomach often do not cause dogs many problems. Stones may remain in the stomach for months or years and occasionally a dog will vomit and bring up a foreign body that the owner did not know was there. The stomach is quite large when distended so anything that has managed to be swallowed has plenty of room to move about in the stomach. The exit from the stomach into the intestine is a much smaller hole and this only opens periodically when liquidized food is expelled from the stomach some time after eating. A foreign body can therefore remain in the stomach for a long period of time without causing many signs. Sometimes the object will wedge into the outflow from the stomach for a time and prevent food leaving. Your dog may then vomit back food hours after eating and this may occur on and off for a while if the object moves into the outflow and blocks it and then moves away again.

If the object is small enough to pass out of the stomach into the intestine it may become jammed further along the intestinal tract. This is a much more serious condition and requires urgent veterinary attention. Dogs with an intestinal obstruction will generally be unwell and may have abdominal pain with signs of vomiting and diarrhea.

Some objects, eg old pennies and batteries or lead, can be very toxic if swallowed and they sit in the stomach or intestines for long periods of time and these can make your pet very sick without any obvious signs of gastrointestinal disease.

Your veterinarian may suspect that your dog has an obstruction from what you describe of the history. If they examine your dog and feel its tummy they may detect pain or tenseness and sometimes they can feel the foreign body lodged in the intestine. In order to confirm what is there and where it is stuck your veterinarian will want to take an X-ray or ultrasound of your dog. If your dog has been vomiting or had diarrhea for even a few days they may be dehydrated or have other abnormalities in their blood. Blood samples may be taken to see if there are any effects of dehydration and intravenous fluids may be given.

Once the foreign object has been identified it may need to be removed at surgery. In a few cases a foreign body stuck in the stomach can be grabbed using a scope passed into the stomach through the mouth and removed through the esophagus. In most cases your veterinarian will need to open the abdomen during surgery to remove the object through the wall of the intestine or stomach.

Being able to visualize the gastrointestinal tract properly means that your veterinarian can check there is no damage or signs of a hole in the gut. If the foreign body has been present for some time there may be damage to the wall of the stomach or gut and, in severe cases, part of the intestine may need to be removed during the surgery.

Following removal of the object your pet will be quite sore for several days and will need nursing care at home or in a veterinary hospital. They will be monitored closely until they are eating and drinking normally and able to pass feces.

If there was a lot of damage to the intestine, your pet had peritonitis before surgery or was dehydrated, they may have to stay in hospital for several days until your veterinarian is happy they are well enough to go home. It is likely that they will also need a variety of medication to make them more comfortable and to reduce the risk of long-term damage.

Unfortunately, septic peritonitis caused by a hole in the stomach or intestines can be fatal despite appropriate treatment by your veterinarian. There is also a risk of septic peritonitis following surgical treatment for intestinal foreign body due to poor healing and leakage through the surgical wound in the intestinal wall.  Your veterinarian will advise close monitoring for signs of this complication of intestinal surgery and you should contact them if you are at all concerned during your pet’s recovery.

It is important to make sure your pet does not have access to anything they could swallow that might harm them. Never let your dog play with a ball or toy that is small enough for it to swallow; or with anything that it can chew into smaller pieces that it might be able to swallow.

However, accidents do happen and despite everyone’s best efforts some dogs are ‘repeat offenders’ – having to have multiple surgeries for removal of things they shouldn’t have eaten. If your dog is a scavenger or is obsessed with stones it may need to wear a basket muzzle whenever it is in a situation where it can access these things unsupervised! Eating non-food items and the need for repeated foreign body retrieval can be a sign of an underlying anxiety condition. Referral to a veterinarian specially trained in treating animal behavior disorders, can help you identifying and addressing the underlying causes for the behavior. 

Foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract can be very serious and potentially fatal. If you are worried that your dog may have swallowed anything it shouldn’t or you are worried that it is unwell always ask advice from your veterinarian. Early intervention can mean a successful outcome and may save your dog’s life.