Big Sock Scare

[Holly Southall]

Has anyone had something similar to this happen???

Angel loves to eat socks. Mostly the kids socks. She does not stop to enjoy the chew, just swallows them whole in 3 seconds. There is no hope of getting it away. Normally they will come right back out one end or another.

We knew she had swallowed one of my son's blue socks. But it was not coming out. 3 or 4 days after eating the sock she started vomitting 1 or 2 times a day. Her activity level was fine and she ate and pooped fine. I called the vet just to get an idea of how long is too long for the sock to stay in her tummy and what would be really bad signs I should look for. Well my vet told the receptionist to tell me the vomitting was a very bad sign and take her to the Emergency Vet Clinic immediately because they were not able to see her for next 3 days. She needed a scope and probably surgery. Whoa - that was not what I was expecting especailly when the dog was acting perfectly normal. I am not a rush to the emergency room type person, especially when I never talked to the vet personally and they have not seen the dog.

My neighbor is a vet and I asked her opinion before deciding to leave anywhere. She said she has known dogs to keep something in their stomachs for a month or more sometimes. Angel would look and feel really bad if it was dangerous. She would vomit over 5 times a day if the sock was stuck and she would not want to play and she would act like she was in pain. Defnintely no her symptoms. My neighbor said she could feel a hard lump if the sock was stuck in the tummy or intestines. Then go to the emergency vet. (Most Vet clinics here do not have the advanced equipment as the emergency vet clinic) What a save there. It was the information I was looking for. I decided to keep a watch and hold off on the emergency clinic. I definitely think I am switching vets.

The next day she threw up one of my husbands socks. The day after that another one of my husbands socks came out the other end. We were very suprised and are now really keeping socks out of her reach. We are still anticipating the blue sock. But she is fine, happy and playful. That saved me a ton of money!!!

[Holly Southall]

Angel is fine now. She is almost a year. We have trained her to drop an object she is not supposed to chew. She would still eat socks if we let her though.

We trained her by saying "Whatcha Got??" then giving her a treat. She didn't have anything, but we were associating the phrase with a treat. Usually when she finds something to chew she will run to her bed. So anytime I see her running to her bed I will say "Whatcha Got?" She is expecting a treat and she drops what she has and I give her a treat. I leave a little cup of dog treats on the couner for this purpose. She is a treasure hunter and we use this everyday.