SOME dogs are highly fussy eaters – they would no more think of eating cheap tinned dog food than attempt a channel crossing without a boat. One little guy that I had showed me exactly what he did with trashy food – he rolled in it! What a mess. But there are other dogs who seem to be totally oblivious to the definition of food and of trash.
Top of the tree in the latter category come the faithful and laid-back Labrador retrievers, and some of the junk that they attempt to eat has to be seen to be believed. I live in a house with three Labradors and can testify that one of them is more of a poodle than a Labrador (we call her ‘Princess’). She is in the fussy category – very unusual for her breed – but the other two eat anything they come across - road kill, manure, live or dead birds or animals, grass or garden vegetables and fruit.
In particular one of the two seems to have no concept at all of what food is as she also eats plastic, towels and tea towels, stones, grass roots along with the soil they grow in, rubber, paper, she just adores eating the cardboard roll from toilet rolls or lunch wrap paper, cardboard boxes ... and that is the best of what she has so far consumed.
One day she was watching as we prepared the family dinner and when an avocado stone was dropped she pounced and swallowed. We were most anxious about that one and watched her closely for the first sign of trouble. On the morning of the fourth day she calmly walked outside and threw up on the lawn – and out popped the avocado stone. I screamed at her as she prepared for a retry and scooped it up and into the rubbish bin. We were amazed that it had been in her stomach for the four days and had not seemed to bother her – she had eaten everything on her plate and looked around for more at every meal time.
But she is quite infamous in our family for her greed. Even as a half-grown pup she was in trouble. The remaining two pups from one litter, herself and her brother, were given a bone each to chew on as a treat. This girl decided that both bones were hers, and began to fight her brother for his one. In the encounter he almost tore her ear off and retrieved his bone. Miss greedy though, was so high on adrenalin by then that her owner was able to stitch her ear back on without any reaction or sign of pain. From that time onwards she has always eaten her meals in a separate area, behind a baby gate.
Another time this same dog ate some bubble wrap. Again we expected trouble, but the next day her doggy doo arrived neatly wrapped. The state of her stomach defies all imagination. She has been known to steal the bone carcass of a cooked chicken while we were turned the other way eating our dinner – that disappeared in record time as no way was she going to ‘leave it’. Another time I went to the kitchen to find her walking around with the carving knife in her mouth – luckily not the blade end, but she still could have badly cut the other two dogs or run into something that could have forced it down her throat.
Corn cobs seem to be the food article that has caused the largest number of problems for dogs (luckily this particular dog has never had a encounter with one of those), and I am sure that every vet has removed at least one of these from the stomach of at least one dog that had swallowed when it grew tired of chewing. These can become stuck sideways in the stomach and have no hope of shifting either up or down. Please do not give any dog a corn cob to chew on unless it is small enough to ensure that it could not possibly swallow (a Chihuahua perhaps).
If you drop a bottle of milk or something similar, make sure any dogs present do not attempt to lick it up – the broken glass will cut their tongue, mouth, and right through their digestive system. Put any animals in another room before you clean up the mess.
Dog owners will not take long to realise what category their own dog goes under, and all I can say is for those with an appetite for anything at all, just watch them carefully and keep them well separated from trash cans, bags or bins, or anything likely to cause harm. Think of them as you would think of a toddler and make your house and yard “toddler proof”.
For those of you with dogs that will eat nothing but the best of foods, then count yourself lucky. But don’t totally rely on your dog’s judgement – there could come a time when something harmful had a delicious smell and the dog would take a bite (especially something like a dropped bottle of milk, oil, salad dressing or anything similar). You do still need to exercise care and attention. Treat your dog as you would treat a toddler and you won’t go wrong.
Before I finish, I just wish everyone a very Happy New Year and hope that 2010 is a year of plenty for all and a year when more dogs than ever before find their forever home with loving, caring human companions. - Liz
