Late last night, I gave my pups their usual bedtime treat…a piece of a soft meat dog food roll that is soft enough to crumble in your hand easily. Elsa (my Maltese) dropped hers (I had given her a good sized chunk 
) and in an effort to snatch it up before her pig of a brother took it, managed to get it lodged in her throat.
She took a few steps, fell on her side and started what appeared to be seizing. I tried doing the doggie heimleich’ techniques: abdomen compressions, turning her upside down and striking her on the back, swiping with my finger in her mouth (it was so far down I couldn’t even feel it). I couldn’t get it out and by this point she was totally limp, and didn’t appear to be breathing or conscious.
I remembered having some small syringes my vet had given me to use for feeding my kitten when he was sick and not eating. I tore the kitchen apart and found one and used it to repeatedly suction as far back in her throat as I could reach and it finally popped out. She started breathing and woke up but wouldn’t get up for awhile…but her little tail thumped on the floor as I was talking to her. I sat up with her all night watching her breathing and this morning she seems fine.
Me, I think I have some PTSD from the whole ordeal, but she is ok.
Had this been a harder type treat, I don’t think the suction would have worked and there was no time to get her to the ER vet, or even up the street to our beloved regular vet, had she been in the office at the time.
I’ve always been wary of harder type treats and bones for this reason, but had it in my head these were fine because they were very soft. Please consider this when giving your pets treats, and monitor them while eating any. I was headed upstairs to check on my kittens who are recovering from surgery, and if I hadn’t seen what was going on she would have definitely be gone by the time I came back down.
) and in an effort to snatch it up before her pig of a brother took it, managed to get it lodged in her throat. She took a few steps, fell on her side and started what appeared to be seizing. I tried doing the doggie heimleich’ techniques: abdomen compressions, turning her upside down and striking her on the back, swiping with my finger in her mouth (it was so far down I couldn’t even feel it). I couldn’t get it out and by this point she was totally limp, and didn’t appear to be breathing or conscious.
I remembered having some small syringes my vet had given me to use for feeding my kitten when he was sick and not eating. I tore the kitchen apart and found one and used it to repeatedly suction as far back in her throat as I could reach and it finally popped out. She started breathing and woke up but wouldn’t get up for awhile…but her little tail thumped on the floor as I was talking to her. I sat up with her all night watching her breathing and this morning she seems fine.
Me, I think I have some PTSD from the whole ordeal, but she is ok.
Had this been a harder type treat, I don’t think the suction would have worked and there was no time to get her to the ER vet, or even up the street to our beloved regular vet, had she been in the office at the time.
I’ve always been wary of harder type treats and bones for this reason, but had it in my head these were fine because they were very soft. Please consider this when giving your pets treats, and monitor them while eating any. I was headed upstairs to check on my kittens who are recovering from surgery, and if I hadn’t seen what was going on she would have definitely be gone by the time I came back down.
If anything seems "off", have her seen. Better safe than sorry, you know?