I have a 7 month old male Doberman and we’ve been battling his habit of swallowing things! At first it was things like socks even underwear that he would get out of the dirty hamper! Now that he’s grown it’s becoming worrisome. He stopped for a while but In the last 3 days he threw up his dog toys and rawhide bones (which are large). Every time this happens he won’t eat for a day and gets diarrhea. Obviously it’s upsetting to his stomach. It’s extremely frustrating and gross. But most importantly it’s scary! I’m worried he’s going to eat something he won’t be able to barf up. I can’t believe he’s able to swallow them in the first place. I don’t know what to do. I am going to have to start kenneling him at all times when we are out of the house
Isenia, this is a problem with Dobermans. My own girl has had surgeries for two different obstructions. They certainly teach us to make a clean sweep of the house before leaving and making sure
laundry doors are shut and soft toys taken away etc before leaving them. Crating when gone is a good idea, until he grows up a bit more. I think the age has a lot to do with it too. You have to be eternally vigilant. They do get better as they age. Others have wisely advised using a Greyhound type muzzle that still allows drinking while on. If you wanted to leave him out while gone I think that is what I would do.
It can have serious consequences, leading to major surgery or death. Our senior almost died after he ingested a tennis ball. We also had a dog who had to wear a muzzle most of his life when not under our observation.
My girl isn't as bad, she was never much for laundry, nooooo she'd prefer to chew on my house "insert eyeroll". A few things I have learned though is laundry is never where the dogs can get to it. Toys are only the hard chewable kind, no stuffies or ropes (I've pulled more rope out of bums than I'd like to admit too) and DEF. no rawhide!!!! It's not digestible. Instead give bully sticks. If you can't keep an eye on him I'd suggest muzzle training him or you WILL end up with a VERY expensive stomach surgery... If you're lucky. That diarrhea and not eating thing you're talking about is called a blockage, it's what happens when they eat something they shouldn't and can't get it to pass. if it won't pass it can irritate the stomach and cause the intestines to get infections and kill the dog. Life in a muzzle isn't fun, but the surgeries are expensive and death is even worse.
Thank you all for the feedback. It’s nice to know there’s others who have dealt with this. And yes the rope toys seem to be his favorite food! 😩 I’ve gotten rid of all the smaller toys and the muzzle sounds like a life saver (literally). I will get one today! Luckily my husband and I have opposite work schedules so Rocco is not home alone often. Hopefully the muzzle use will be minimal.
Contain the dog *and* the loose stuff. Based on his age I wouldn't leave him loose anyway...he's proven himself unreliable when it comes to eating things he shouldn't.
Yup ... Maybe another week to 10 days, I just tethered my computer to my iPhone for a quick check in! We have AT&T, which is the only provider that works for miles around here. Everyone else has to roll into West Y to get cell service.
For sure keep him in his kennel when no one is home to watch him. My husband and I thought our dog, who was a year and a half at the time, was mature and obedient enough to stay out of his kennel when we weren't home ... til we came home one day to one of his puzzle toys chewed up and partially eaten! So even though now he's a few months shy from being two, he still stays in his kennel when we're out of the house. At least we can trust him to have his bed in there with him now. For the longest time, he just had the hard kennel flooring to lay on because he would tear up any bed/kennel cover we'd get for him!
As for toys that he can't destroy and eat, try some of the Kong rubber toys. The classic Kong has lasted us forever, and our dog is a monster chewer. I don't bother buying soft/plush toys because he tears them to pieces in less than ten minutes! He likes to eat the string from rope toys as well, so the only time he gets that is when we're playing with him. He doesn't have a chance to freely chew on it like he does his Kongs. The Kong tire is also a durable one. I don't like the Kong Goodie Bone because even though we got the "extreme" black one, he broke it in half within a day. I haven't had any trouble with any other of their rubber products.
Another cool thing about most Kong rubber toys is that they have openings that you can stuff with treats to keep your pup busy when he's home alone in his kennel. I like putting kibble in his classic Kong, running water through it so the food gets wet, plugging the open side with peanut butter (or spray cheese or whatever) and sticking it in the freezer overnight for it to freeze. Then when I leave the house, he has his Kong toy with frozen food inside that he has to work at for a while to get out.
At that age he might also be getting his adult teeth and be seeking more calcium and/or his gums might be really bothering him. I know our last female dobie pup started eating our cat's litter around that age which was totally disgusting. We assumed she was missing some nutrients she needed and got her some mineral supplements. Unfortunately she ate the bottle at some later date so I can't link the product. Within a couple of weeks on the supplements she stopped with the cat litter. I can't say for sure it was the supplements, she may just have finished teething, but at the time I was pretty sure they helped. Also if you search teething or 7 month dobie on this website I know there's been some very useful threads on dealing with their additional teething issues around that age.
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