Need some advice please

1012 Views 10 Replies 9 Participants Last post by kates, Oct 21, 2011

dobesaregreat

Discussion Starter · Oct 21, 2011

My female Doberman is just over 1 year old. Last weekend she was not herself. We realized that she most likely ate a sock and it was stuck. We took her to the emergency vet who offered to do an exploratory surgery for $3000. Unfortunately, we had nowhere near that amount, so we opted to have the vet hydrate her.

Last Sunday, my mother in law came over (she is a nurse and has a lot of experience with animals). She helped keep ******* hydrated, gave mineral oil both by mouth and also...in the back end....as well as enemas (warm water and johnson's baby wash). After all afternoon, ******* finally passed the sock Sunday evening, much to our relief. Since then, ******* has been lashing out at our Boston Terrier, has been hiding under the bed, is hesitant to eat, and must be touching a human at all times. She seems scared to play with the other dogs, and is very posessive over chew toys, food, blankets, her personal space, etc. She is a great dog, and very lovable, but we are just stumped as to how to break her of this habit to get her back to her old self.

Can anyone give me any suggestions?

Thank you very much!

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TheStig

· #2 · Oct 21, 2011

My 5 month old has already eaten and thrown back up 3 socks. I caught him on the fourth with about an inch left to grab out of his throat.

On the other stuff. Supervise the chewing, playing, etc., as often as possible and the second any situation arises that is borderline hostile or aggressive in any way and no where near nice and playful...slam down the iron fist and use your outside voice. I always give a firm, loud "HEY" ...eyebrows in the angry position and make eye contact with the offender.

This should all take about 1-2 seconds from the yell to the quick stare. If further corrective action needs to happen, make the offender move from the spot they are at, anywhere else is fine, and once there they have to become relaxed (sit/lay) to which you immediately walk away from.

Works for me anyhow. I rarely have to use my outside voice.

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dobesaregreat

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 21, 2011

I have been watching and correcting right away. She usually gets a little mean with my Boston as she is getting ready to go into heat. My biggest issue right now is her fear of everything. I continue to reassure her that she is not in trouble, that it's OK to play, that it's OK to eat. Just tonight, the Boston was playing with the Kong toy, and ******* wanted to play too, but she was laying with me on the couch. I told her in a playful voice that she could play, and she starting whining and crying.

I'm not sure if she thinks she is in trouble. I know she was not happy with humans on Sunday when she was given mineral oil or enemas to move the sock along, but she hadn't eaten in a few days, and she was dehydrated, so I know we did the best thing for her. I just worry that as she is now over a year old, this may not be a phase she will grow out of if I don't nip it in the bud. I want to stop her fear of everything!

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Herb2relax

· #4 · Oct 21, 2011

Maybe there is some damage inside that you cant see and she is in pain. Thankfully Kyrah spits things out. But have read on here of many blockages causing some damage and part of the intestine has to be removed. I would take her back to vet to be checked.

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melbrod

· #5 · Oct 21, 2011

Herb2relax said:
Maybe there is some damage inside that you cant see and she is in pain. Thankfully Kyrah spits things out. But have read on here of many blockages causing some damage and part of the intestine has to be removed. I would take her back to vet to be checked.

That would be my worry too. It sounds like it has only been a few days since she passed the sock? She could easily still have some pain or intestinal damage and could be reluctant to interact for fear of hurting something again. I would head to the vet, tell him her new behaviors, and at the very least, see if you can get some advice about what possible damage could have been done, if there is any special diet should be followed and how long it might be before she is back to normal. Certainly you cannot let her completely take over and push everyone around, but I would be more likely to treat her like an invalid than a miscreant.

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lolonurse

· #6 · Oct 21, 2011

ah mel, i couldn't agree more. dobesaregreat - don't know if you've ever had an intestinal virus, or surgery, or been constipated, etc - the inside of a body is not designed to be assaulted by foreign objects, and beyond that, to then be flooded with oils and fluids from both ends... not only is she probably quite sore and in pain, but she is probably also physically exhausted from the ordeal, and emotionally drained.

she should be on a bland, simple diet (like white rice, boiled chicken, a little pureed canned pumpkin and an egg or a little plain yogurt) for at least 3 or 4 days, so her digestive tract can rest, heal and uncramp. your vet might give her a mild pain med or something to relax her so she feels better, or you can get some rescue remedy or other herbal/homeopathic anti-anxiety compound for her. does she have a crate? does she like to be in it? she might like to be away from the others an hour or 2 at a time, so she doesn't feel she needs to fend them off. she'll be OK - but like anyone convalescing from a traumatic experience, quiet, rest, good nutrition and hydration, and lots of patience will be a big help to her.

(btw - we had a 10 week old pup swallow a sock, and we did have to have surgery to remove it ... but it wasn't $3,000!! of course, it was 8 years ago, so maybe it would be now - yikes!!)

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odiakkoh

· #7 · Oct 21, 2011

lolonurse said:
(btw - we had a 10 week old pup swallow a sock, and we did have to have surgery to remove it ... but it wasn't $3,000!! of course, it was 8 years ago, so maybe it would be now - yikes!!)

I was quoted around $3k for a 5lb cat 2 years ago so im actually surprised its not more for a dog.

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kates

· #8 · Oct 21, 2011

odiakkoh said:
I was quoted around $3k for a 5lb cat 2 years ago so im actually surprised its not more for a dog.

I just paid about 3K last December for my girl to have a corncob taken out. I still have no idea how or where she got it. Frustrating. You know though to be fair that price included everything, like almost a whole day of diagnostics (xrays, barium testing, etc) trying to figure out if she actually had a blockage or not.

She was definitely "off"/not herself for at least a week following the surgery. Including extra snappy with the puppy.

Of course, then the best Christmas gift was having my girl healthy.

No suggestions, but I am so glad for you she passed that sock!

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kbostock

· #9 · Oct 21, 2011

My girl was always sneaking socks and underware when she was younger...most times they would come out one end or the other but one time it didnt and it was about $2000, if I remember correctly, to have an exploritory and that was maybe 3 years ago now...it was veryyyy unpleasant...
I hope she gets back to herself soon

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mmctaq

· #10 · Oct 21, 2011

kates said:
I just paid about 3K last December for my girl to have a corncob taken out. I still have no idea how or where she got it.

Chances are, you have a neighbor feeding squirrels, and squirrels dragging corncobs all over the neighborhood. If you can figure out who it is and explain why it is important that they stop (this poses a risk to all neighborhood dogs), they will maybe choose to feed other items or not feed at all. Until this is dealt with, I would be doing corncob patrol in my back yard at least every day...

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kates

· #11 · Oct 21, 2011

mmctaq said:
Chances are, you have a neighbor feeding squirrels, and squirrels dragging corncobs all over the neighborhood. If you can figure out who it is and explain why it is important that they stop (this poses a risk to all neighborhood dogs), they will maybe choose to feed other items or not feed at all. Until this is dealt with, I would be doing corncob patrol in my back yard at least every day...

This was (one of) my theory and my parents, friends, etc. thought I was nuts! Actually I feel very validated now

Because it was a few weeks after Thanksgiving, I think it might have been part of a tossed out turkey day display: it had the red kernels you normally see on decorative cobs.

But, corncob patrol was instituted anyway.

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