Barkes Corner: 07 543 0026 | Brookfield Vets: 07 576 1818
Sticks and Stones.....
STICKS AND STONES...
Sticks and stones may...............
Convenient, near at hand it's a great game for dogs. Throw and fetch is part of the canine psyche an essential part of the human pet bond but there can be consequences to these games.
I knew a stone dog called Charlie, 1 of 3 adorable CKC spaniels. He loved to eat stones. The first time he had 7 stones removed from his abdomen. The second time he had 4 and the last time, well the owners decided it was in their best interests to sell up and move house, somewhere with no stones, all concrete and grass and in the days when you could actually sell your home and move on quickly, they did.
Routine exam will reveal other stone pooches. Any time those sharp, proud and piercing canines at the front turn into low rounded stubs, or sharp fractured bits, you can beat a dollar to a cent it will be because stones have become an obsessive retrieval item. Either proudly carried and tossed around inside the mouth on a walk, or picked up from an underwater diving expedition, the pulp cavity will be exposed and sooner or later an infection will get down into the root. Inevitably, inflammation and pain will follow, and the result, a trip to the vet to have them painstakingly removed, an arduous and costly exercise.
Sticks on the other hand, tend to be fine, most of the time. Proudly carried, always an opportunity for a chase or a in a contest, 2 dogs side by side or in a tug of war. A chomped up stick or a few scratches are often the only war wounds. Sometimes though we get a panicky emergency call; my dog has blood pouring from its mouth and is comatose on the ground. It happens innocently at first, a stick is thrown, usually thin and sharp at both ends, and unlike every other time, it does not land on its side, instead it sticks into the ground. Instantly this stick has becomes a pointed dangerous spear. For a dog bearing down on it, mouth wide open to retrieve, it is mortal. Some part of the mouth, cheek, or throat gets impaled, usually on the inside as retrieval is a precision art. It's a 50/50 call whether we have to dig out the stick or not in surgery, or if it has come out before. The least we get away with is intra oral surgery, the most, well let's not go there.
In fact let's not go there at all. There are plenty of options available for safe retrieval items for chasing games with dogs that do not turn into nasty weapons. Check out the toy shelves next time you are in. From throw balls to frisbees, there are safe and effective alternatives to sticks and stones and if you must use a stick use a big blunt one!
Let none of them break any bones and let these words alert you.
Go Back to Peter's Corner
Convenient, near at hand it's a great game for dogs. Throw and fetch is part of the canine psyche an essential part of the human pet bond but there can be consequences to these games.
I knew a stone dog called Charlie, 1 of 3 adorable CKC spaniels. He loved to eat stones. The first time he had 7 stones removed from his abdomen. The second time he had 4 and the last time, well the owners decided it was in their best interests to sell up and move house, somewhere with no stones, all concrete and grass and in the days when you could actually sell your home and move on quickly, they did.
Routine exam will reveal other stone pooches. Any time those sharp, proud and piercing canines at the front turn into low rounded stubs, or sharp fractured bits, you can beat a dollar to a cent it will be because stones have become an obsessive retrieval item. Either proudly carried and tossed around inside the mouth on a walk, or picked up from an underwater diving expedition, the pulp cavity will be exposed and sooner or later an infection will get down into the root. Inevitably, inflammation and pain will follow, and the result, a trip to the vet to have them painstakingly removed, an arduous and costly exercise.
Sticks on the other hand, tend to be fine, most of the time. Proudly carried, always an opportunity for a chase or a in a contest, 2 dogs side by side or in a tug of war. A chomped up stick or a few scratches are often the only war wounds. Sometimes though we get a panicky emergency call; my dog has blood pouring from its mouth and is comatose on the ground. It happens innocently at first, a stick is thrown, usually thin and sharp at both ends, and unlike every other time, it does not land on its side, instead it sticks into the ground. Instantly this stick has becomes a pointed dangerous spear. For a dog bearing down on it, mouth wide open to retrieve, it is mortal. Some part of the mouth, cheek, or throat gets impaled, usually on the inside as retrieval is a precision art. It's a 50/50 call whether we have to dig out the stick or not in surgery, or if it has come out before. The least we get away with is intra oral surgery, the most, well let's not go there.
In fact let's not go there at all. There are plenty of options available for safe retrieval items for chasing games with dogs that do not turn into nasty weapons. Check out the toy shelves next time you are in. From throw balls to frisbees, there are safe and effective alternatives to sticks and stones and if you must use a stick use a big blunt one!
Let none of them break any bones and let these words alert you.
Brookfield Vets
Brookfield Shopping Centre
Otumoetai Road, Tauranga
(07) 576 1818
