Worried!! My puppy swallowed a big bone off a steak

[Cherri]

My 13 week old puppy just swallowed a big (3 inch) part of a bone off a sirloin steak. It is very thick and my husband did not think it was destructable and now half of it was missing. It started out being about 9 inches and is now 6 inches. Is this Dangerous!!!??My vet just said to watch for 3 days, but I have read it can get stuck in intestines and can kill them is this true?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I'm sure that can happen but I think it's also possible the puppy will either vomit the bone up or pass it through the GI tract. My dog vomited up shards of bone he had eaten. I'd watch for signs of distress, and abnormal behaviors. You can't know what will happen so to do surgery when nothing serious may happen would be a danger in itself. If the puppy appears to be in pain or other distress I'd take it to the vet right away.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Cherri, if the vet said to just watch him, try to relax and don't worry. You will see signs that he is in distress if it should end up obstructing his intestines or causing any other problem in his digestive tract. He most likely gnawed tiny bits of it off & did not swallow it whole.
Dogs must never be given any kind of cooked bones other than marrow bones, no matter how thick it may seem. Certain types of cooked bones can also splinter and kill a dog. Adult dogs can be given raw bones of various kinds, but with puppies, the only safe bone is the big marrow bones.
I'm sure your pup will be fine. Keep a close eye on him for any kind of changes such as lethargy, loss of apetite, vomiting, bowel changes, etc. Hopefully, he will be just fine.

[Cherri]

Thank you, I will be watching and praying all is digested. This will be a LONG wait.

[Leslie and Halas]

I hope your pup is ok. Just keep an eye on him like your vet said, and take him in if you see anything strange.

[Cherri]

Thank you, I will. Do you know how long it takes before something starts happening to show there is something wrong? Do you think I should watch him longer than 2 days? I have been just sick that this has happened.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If he goes through the next two days with no problems, behaves normally, eats & poops as usual, I would say he's fine. Most of us are always aware of the intake & output anyway, lol, and you will probably notice if something seems off.

[Cherri]

Very true. I will let ya'll know how it goes.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Cherri, I can certainly feel your anxiety. Our puppy, around the same age, would swallow Greenies and Bully Sticks over 4 inches long and I'd be sick wondering if it would cause damage. He also found a cooked rib bone and a chicken leg bone during one of our walks and had it down before i could stop him.

No problems, but you start looking at every little thing wondering if he's ok. He is a healthy 8 month old now and knows "OUT" pretty well and drops what's in his mouth when I tell him to.
They seem to do well with swallowing socks, underwear and soles of shoes too. Not that Murphy has, but I read about it all the time. So just do what you're doing and keep an eye on him....this too shall pass....(no pun intended) :}
So I'm sure you'll be teaching OUT soon. hahaha. But karen is certainly correct. NO Cooked Bones!

[Cherri]

I am so glad to hear I am not the only one that this happened to. I will defenately not ever do cooked bones!

[Cherri]

Good News! Bear seems to be feeling great. I have learned a life-long lesson!! Thank ya'll for the support!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

So glad to hear, I was thinking about you guys today and going to ask if you hadn't let us all know. Yes, could have been expensive education....glad all's well.