Cape Town - Dogs are notorious for swallowing paper, tissues, articles of clothing, sticks, bones, food wrappers, rocks, leading to one of the most common potentially life-threatening conditions seen at the SPCA’s Animal Hospital - foreign body obstruction.
According to animal welfare organisation, Cape of Good Hope SPCA, untreated gut obstructions can be fatal.
Head Veterinarian, Dr Rivona Ramnanan said: “Time is important when dealing with a potential foreign body. An intestinal or stomach obstruction can compromise or cut off the blood supply to vital tissues. If the blood supply is interrupted, these tissues may become necrotic or die, and irreparable damage or shock may result.”
Here’s What You Should Look Out For:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Abdominal tenderness or pain
- Decreased appetite (know as anorexia)
- Straining to defecate or producing only small amounts of faeces
- Lethargy
- Changes in behaviour such as biting or growling when picked up or handled around the abdomen
After obtaining a thorough medical history, the veterinarian will perform a careful physical examination. If a foreign body is suspected, abdominal radiographs (X-rays) will be performed. In addition, the veterinarian may recommend blood and urine tests to assess whether your dog’s health has been compromised by the obstruction, or to rule-out other causes of vomiting such as pancreatitis, gastroenteritis, infections, or hormonal diseases such as Addison’s disease.
According to the SPCA, the prognosis is largely dependent on the location of the foreign body, the duration of the obstruction, what the pet ingested that resulted in the obstruction and the overall health of the pet.
If a foreign body obstruction is diagnosed or suspected, exploratory surgery is generally recommended during which any foreign body will be removed under general anaesthesia.
Cape Times