Accepted Answer

Hi there XXXXXXX,

Thank you for your question regarding your 2.5 year old Golden boy who ate an entire fried chicken around 5 hours ago! This sort of case is always of concern to be since so often I see dogs such as yours in my clinic who have accidentally (or otherwise) ingested cds, toys, bones and other objects and more often than not, these need to be removed via surgery. It is possible one of these chicken bones could become stuck, but it does depend on how much your boy chewed this bones up before swallowing them. If this has happened within the last 4 - 5 hours then I would like you do feed your boy a couple of things to try and help coat any of the ball in soft material. Please feed your boy 3 - 4 slices of white bread and/or a cup of mashed pumpkin or potato. This helps coat any sharp pieces and will hopefully help them pass through without causing too much damage.

 

Whatever the case you will definitely need to visit your Vet in the morning - unless he seems absolutely symptomless. Please keep a close eye on his mucus membranes, capillary refill time and respiratory rate tonight as follows:

 

Mucus membranes - flip his lip and look at the color of his gums. They should maintain a nice salmon pink color. Get him to the emergency Vet if they appeal white or very pale pink, or if they are a dark deep red color.

 

Capillary Refill time - this measures blood perfusion and test this by putting your thumb on his gum to apply pressure. After you release your thumb you will see the gum blanch. Capillary refill time is the amount of time it takes (in seconds) for the gum to return to a healthy pink color from the blanced white color. If 2 seconds or less don't worry - if it is taking significantly more time, again - off to the emergency Vet.

 

Respiratory Rate - if he is continuously panting throughout the night this is a sign of shock and or pain and a signal for a trip to the emergency Vet.

 

If he has vomition throughout the night, seems painful or you are just overly worried about his state of health - ease your peace of mind by getting him to your local emergency Vet clinic.

 

There are a few things that could potentially happen from here including a partial chronic obstruction, a full complete obstruction or even something like an intersucception where the bowel telescopes in on itself. It is also possible that your boy may just have gastroenteritis and manage to pass any ball fragments in their entirety. If you are worried and get your boy to the Vet then they may want to give him fluids, and take several radiographs (plain and contrast ones to help highlight a foreign body). If it seems as though there is something stuck in his gut, the next step will be an exploratory laparotomy (opening up his abdomen) to be able to get the foreign material out.

 

Best of luck and for any further help please feel free to call on me. I hope I have been of help to you.

 

Thank you for your question and please now click ACCEPT.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Dr M D Edwards

Expert:	Dr M D Edwards
Pos. Feedback:	99.7 %
Accepts:	1182
Answered:	10/28/2009

Dog Veterinarian

Veterinarian - BVSc (DVM equivalent)