Dog Choking Hazards

Dogs have an inherent habit of chewing. It is their way to explore the world around them. Chewing helps your furbaby achieve various things. For puppies, chewing helps relieve the pain of teething. For older dogs, chewing helps keep their teeth clean and their jaws strong. Some dogs chew for fun and the others chew out of anxiety and frustrations. Sadly, dogs are not always smart at choosing the best things to chew on. This is where pet parents come in.

There are incidents that because of them excessive chewing, dogs have choked which resulted in them experiencing extreme pain, and even for some, it led to their death. As much as it can be adorable to see your dogs enjoy playing around and chewing different things, you need to be cautious enough to protect them from any possible danger. In this article, we will look at the most common choking hazards for dogs, how to help a dog choking, and safety precautions to stop a dog from choking.

7 MOST COMMON DOG CHOKING HAZARDS

It is very vital to choose quality treats and toys for your dogs. This is to ensure their safety while enjoying the said toys inside your own homes. A dog choking on an object can lead to emergency situations which are much easier prevented than solved. Therefore, as pet parents, we should make the safety of our furbabies the top priority.

Here are the most common choking hazards that you need to be aware of as pet parents:

Balls. Your furbaby probably loves to play with different types of balls, particularly with rubber balls and tennis balls. It is very important to supervise them while playing with balls. As mentioned by Health Guidance, there have been many tragic occurrences in which a dog has choked to death after catching a ball and having it get lodged in their throat.

When playtime is over, make sure to hide it from them and keep the balls out of their reach to prevent a dog choking on balls. Finding the right size of a ball is an important thing to consider for your dogs to avoid choking incidents. A small ball that fits right into your furbaby’s mouth can pose great danger!

Bones. If there’s one thing people can associate with dogs, it would have to be bones! But did you know that bones, in general, are very dangerous to your dogs’ health? According to Dog Time, there is a risk of a dog choking on bones if they swallow without thoroughly chewing. Bones that are too hard can cause damage to the teeth, too! Cooked bones, in particular, create huge risks when your furbaby gets to chew them because the bones could easily splinter into smaller and sharper pieces that could injure their throat or even their internal organs.

Plastic Wraps. Some dogs just love to dig into trash bins! But it’s good to note that a lot of items in your garbage are dangerous to your furbaby. Trash bins are so full of choking hazards for your dog. There are paper products like napkins and paper towels that your dog may chew on. But the most dangerous of all plastic wraps. Choking is the most acute danger to your furbaby who has eaten plastic. If you hear a dog choking sound, coughing, gagging, or see signs of panicked behavior, call your vet and head over to the closest veterinary clinic as soon as possible.

Stones and Rocks. Most veterinarians will not be shocked to hear a dog ate a rock. Although we know stones add up to the aesthetics of your lawn or garden, it is considered to be a choking hazard for dogs because they are curious creatures and they may attempt to swallow them! If your dog is attempting to eat rocks, be sure to keep a close eye on them outside as surgery might be required if a dog ate a rock.

Sticks. Pet parents usually give their dogs sticks for playtime. Sticks are best enjoyed in games like fetching. But when dogs get to chew the said sticks without your supervision, it could harm them when it gets stuck in their mouth which could also lead to intestinal blockage if swallowed. This is why you should be very careful if your dog has a habit of eating sticks.