What would you have done?

[ej]

Yesterday while walking the dogs, we bumped into our neighbor with his 1+ yo rescue mix.  He has had him since he was a cute little pup, and we knew them since.  The dogs were thrilled to see each other and Z did her silly dance & bow and roll-in-dirt routine, but something quickly caught his dog's attention. He got hold of a piece of food wrapped in tin foil, and he started snarling and growling at anyone (dog and human) who got near him.  When he bared his teeth and growled at Z, we quickly bidded them goodbye and moved on.

 

Few minutes later, they caught up with us, and we were told that he ate the food, tin foil and all.  My neighbor showed us his bleeding finger and thumb, his dog bit him when he tried to get him to relinquish the food & foil.  He told us his dog is food aggressive. I felt really sorry for my neighbor and told him to get home fast and google induce vomit with hydrogen peroxide, or if it was too late (if dog ingested the item more than 10 mins), then call the vet.

 

This got me thinking, what would I have done if I were him... i.e. knowing that my dog is food aggressive, would I still risk getting bitten to try and prevent him from ingesting something which could cause serious intestinal obstruction?  Both Z & K have not displayed any signs of food aggression to humans nor dogs , although Z does guard a few things that she deems rare and high in value with her death grip (e.g. years ago she put a death grip on a piece of rawhide she found at my neighbor's, and a few weeks ago she gulped down a stuffed rabbit to prevent K from getting it).  But as long as I could get through her death grip by prying her jaws apart, she readily relinquishes the object.

 

What would you have done?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't know, because "leave it" and drop it" are among the first commands I teach; I just couldn't have a dog who wouldn't give up anything I asked him to give up. That's something you should start practicing when they're tiny puppies. And I can't imagine having a dog that would bite me for taking something away from him; that would call for heavy-duty professional training. I would be concerned about a lot more than the dog getting sick from whatever he ate; that's a dangerous dog.

I pay a lot of attention to what's on the ground when I walk Jack. People throw unbelievable stuff around my neighborhood. I've seen chicken legs, rib bones, eggs, fruit cocktail (I am not making this up) and there are always animal caracasses from the coyotes. In the winter, there can be antifreeze on streets and in people's driveways, which is very attractive to dogs, and one lick can kill your dog before you can get him to the emergency room. So this is a good reminder to watch what's on the ground and make sure you have control of your dog when you're out anywhere with him. And to work on teaching leave it and drop it!

 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I certainly agree on the training part. But unfortunately I am a stickler for facts. According to this article

http://www.vspn.org/Library/misc/VSPN_M00981.htm
"Ethylene glycol is the most dangerous form of antifreeze. Most commercial antifreeze products contain between 95-97% ethylene glycol. The minimum lethal dose of undiluted ethylene glycol antifreeze is 4.4-6.6ml/kg in dogs"

Needless to say I am not advocating that people let their dogs lick sidewalks or driveways. I just don't want people to panic if their dog should lick a driveway briefly. Dogs ,according to the article get into trouble most commonly when they lap antifreeze or chew open a container.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, I'm relieved to hear that it isn't quite as bad as I had thought; these articles indicate that it takes about 3 tablespoons to kill a medium sized dog, (so less than that for a small dog), and less than that to make them gravely ill. For cats, it takes much less yet. I had always heard, as one of the articles mentioned, that just licking it off a paw would make a dog seriously ill.
http://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/digestive/e_multi_antifreeze_poi...
http://www.2ndchance.info/antifreeze.htm
http://www.suite101.com/content/dogs-and-antifreeze-poisoning-a68859
Regardless of the exact amount it would take to kill which dog, it's not something I would want to test out, lol. I make sure Jack doesn't lick anything on the ground outside. ,

[Adina P]

Thanks for posting that.  It just didn't seem 'right' that merely licking a smear off the driveway or parking lot would be lethal....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

From the third link I posted above:

The small amount licked off paws can cause serious illness and, according to Ron Hines, DVM, three tablespoonsfull is enough to kill a medium size dog. The Humane Society of the United States claims that less than a teaspoon can cause death in dogs.

Read more at Suite101: Dogs and Antifreeze Poisoning: Radiator Fluid or Engine Coolant is Toxic to Pets http://www.suite101.com/content/dogs-and-antifreeze-poisoning-a68859#ixzz190IfcBtf

[F, Calla & Luca]

We agree that antifreeze  is certainly to be avoided. However, conflicting things are written about amounts that cause serious harm and death. The humane society as far as I can see says a few tablespoons would jeopardize a pet's life.Nevertheless, avoiding antifreeze entirely is the only prudent thing to do.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/antifreeze.html

The author of the article in Suite 101 is not a vet and she doesn't say where her information about licking comes from.

[Shelly Gouvas]

Jake play bites and I don't even like that

[Adina P]

That's a tough one.  The fact he said more or less "my dog is food aggressive" means this is not the first time he's done this so frankly I'd have started work on this dog from the first sign.  I'm really scared of being bitten so I don't think I would have gone after the food because if anything it would have possibly given him more practice biting and unless I was willing to risk it every time he'd find he was really successful when he bit people.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don't know what I would have done had I thought that the object about to be ingested would be very harmful. But I would never tolerate any aggression like this from the get go. This is one form of training I'd be sure to perfect. Never bite the hand that feeds you.

[Adina P]

Yeah it would depend on what I knew about the object.  MOST random objects dogs pick up aren't too dangerous.  Thule once ate half an empty soda can and barfed up pretty much all the aluminum later.  So the dog might be fine if the tin foil wasn't a HUUUUGE wad.  But ya never know in a moment of panic what even I would do.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I'm with Karen.  "leave it" and "drop it" are ESSENTIALS!! Not optional!!  And that your neighbor should be getting professional help with this dog NOW before something REALLY bad happens like a child messing with him when he has found a "tidbit" on the ground.

 

But to answer your question...in the case of your neighbor it made no difference that he tried to intervene. He got bit and the dog swallowed the garbage anyhow.  Now you have 2 that need the emergency room! I would think that he would have learned from the past and tried carrying a stick or some other object to use as a "hand" instead of his hand (not to hit the dog!!). Or at least carry gloves!

 

It is hard to  answer to your question without  being  IN that situation. Sometimes you just react without giving thought to the consequences!

 

 

[Michael Gurley]

My mom's dachshund is very highly food-motivated and clamps her jaws like a vice around anything she determines to be edible, but I never hesitate to pry it out of her mouth if it's dangerous to her- or I just don't want her to have it. She doesn't bite or try to, though, so that would be a whole different ball game.

 

So, if I were your neighbor and my dog grabbed and ate a piece of tin foil with food, regardless of whether he bit me before swallowing it, I would call my vet immediately and rush him in for treatment. After his health was stable and good, I would call a trainer!!!