Cooked Bones and Dogs

10 Reasons Why Cooked Bones Are Bad For Dogs:

1. Broken teeth or torn gums. While certainly not life threatening, a broken tooth or injured gum can cause a lot of pain for your dog, and may also require pricey dental work.

2. Bone may get stuck in or around your dog’s lower jaw. Because of the way your dog’s mouth is shaped, bones can become easily lodged both within and around the lower jaw. Depending on the way the bone is jammed, this may require a veterinary visit for removal and/or treatment of the injured tissue.

3. Mouth and tongue may get cut or injured. Again, not necessarily deadly, but can prove to be a very painful experience for your pet and a costly one for you if the injured area becomes infected.

4. Bone may become lodged in your dog’s esophagus. You’ll know immediately if this happens because your pet will gag in an effort to bring the bone back up. If after a number of attempts your dog is unable to evacuate the bone from the esophagus a trip to the veterinarian will be in order.

5. Bone may become lodged in your dog’s windpipe. This can happen if your dog inhales a piece of bone, either while eating and breaking apart the bone, or trying to regurgitate a lodged bone. This is a medical emergency and your dog will need immediate medical attention before breathing is compromised.

6. Bones may get stuck in your dog’s stomach. You may think that if it gets past their mouth they are in the clear, but unfortunately this is not the case. Dogs have the capacity to swallow items much larger than they are able to digest, and when they do this the bone may be too large to pass from the stomach into the intestines. If a bone becomes lodged in your dog’s stomach they will need veterinary care, and possibly surgery or endoscopy, to remove the bone.

7. A bone can get stuck in the intestines and cause a blockage. If a bone is small enough to pass through the stomach, it may still be too large for the intestines. If a bone becomes trapped in the intestines it will cause a blockage, and may need to be surgically removed. The first symptom of this is constipation and inability to pass stool.

8. Inability to fully pass bone fragments, causing constipation. If the bone has passed all the way through the stomach into the intestines, it may still have trouble passing all the way through the intestines because of pain. Sharp bone fragments can cut the inner lining of the intestines, causing severe pain and an inability for your pet to pass stool.

9. Rectal bleeding can occur as bone fragments pass through the intestines and rectum. This condition can be very painful for your pet, and can be dangerous depending on where the injury is occurring in the intestines. You should seek veterinary attention in the case of any rectal bleeding.

10. Perforation of the stomach or intestines. If the abdominal or intestinal walls are injured there is a chance for infection. A serious bacterial infection occuring in the abdominal area is peritonitis, and it is very difficult to treat. This infection, if not properly treated promptly can cause death. If your dog is exhibiting any of the symptoms of peritonitis in dogs such as dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, weakness, swollen abdominal area, depression or shock you need to visit the veterinarian immediately.