How is this possible?

[Frannie & Callie]

About two weeks ago, our neighbor's goldendoodle (Einstein) was having a playdate with Louie and Callie, over at Louie's mom's house. Robyn (Louie's mom) suspected that Einstein had eaten a the plush shell of a toy (the stuffing had long been removed). Robyn let Einey's folks know to be aware and watch for problems or potential blockage, but Einstein remained her normal happy self, eating and eliminating per her usual. Robyn figured that she must have been wrong and that she just couldn't find the toy. Then yesterday, Einstein threw up the toy (in car, on their way back to Atlanta). Two full weeks later.

 

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??? For a plush shell to live in Einstein's (a 40-ish lb 10 month old goldnedoodle) belly without passing through?

 

I'm really curious about this.

[Sally]

i don't know but i'm glad to hear it came out. Wow!!!!

[Camilla and Darwin]

I have no idea. Yikes.

[shelly]

WOW!  I'm so glad it came out!  I have heard stories about things staying in bellies for a while and then throwing them up... scary!  Glad he's ok!

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Maybe it was too big to pass on through?

[Anna and Achilles]

Glad to hear Einstein's ok.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Talk about a cast iron stomach!

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

Dexter has eaten things and has thrown them up a week later.  I'm glad it came out!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

After the hambone incident, Jackdoodle was walking around for about two weeks with bone shards in his stomach without them passing through, and I'm wondering the same thing.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Here's the Doctor Foster and Smith explanation.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2090&aid=437

Apparently small objects generally pass through. Some object can lodge in the stomach but may cause all manner of problems and need to be removed.

[Ginny Nightingale]

A dog I had years ago did the same thing after eating a large piece of foam from a dog bed. I knew the foam was missing from the bed when I returned home after leaving the dog for a few hours, but I have no idea how the dog swallowed the entire missing piece whole. (It was at least a foot wide.) I think that if the piece of toy etc is pressed up against the side of the stomach, food can be churned and can pass through the small opening at then end of the stomach that sends the food to the intestine. I imagine that if the item gets jammed up in the curvature (stomachs have an opening at one end and at the other and have  a round area in between) it could be there for a while.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Ginny, that is an amazing story!! Well both yours and Frannies are amazing.  I think you are right about how something could stay lodge in the stomach for so long. I would think though that it would cause enough irritation to the stomach to cause the dog to vomit it out or at least be wretching??? I guess foam and stuffed animal shells are not rough enough to be irritating!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This is just the kind of thing that gives me nightmares.  Thank goodness everything was okay and he was finally able to vomit it without requiring surgery.