ChowChow.org

Warning – please read.

Today I had the chance to use my Bloat Kit but not for bloat, for one of my chows choking on rawhide.

Now, I know better – and never give my dogs rawhide or even chewable/edible bones because they could get stuck in the throat, expand and block the tubes to the stomach and small intestines.

It’s been raining for so many weeks straight, that I felt badly that the chowdren didn’t have anything to play with. They are kind of bored by their toys, and the one kind of bone I do give them which is reindeer horns. Those are good. They don’t expand and don’t break down. My chows are also bored with the treat filled kongs and other chewies.

So I bought them a LARGE rawhide bone which I had planned to watch as they chewed. As pieces got soft, I cut them off so that they couldn’t get chewed off and swallowed. I sat right next to Chutters.

BIG Mistake!!!

He evidentially got some of the rawhide stuck and started gagging. I ran and got out my bloat kit which contains a block of wood with a hole in it to put into dogs mouth and a long clear tube which you put into their mouth and snake down to their stomach to reduce gas.

Well I pushed the tube all the way down to his stomach and pulled it back out, and a whole bunch of large chunks of rawhide came out that he was choking on and were getting stuck right by the end of his Trachea and esophagus and the beginning of his stomach. As I rotated the plastic tube, I dislodged the pieces of rawhide and phem and pulled it back up out of his mouth. I did this several times to assure that the tubes were cleared.

What a panic.

NEVER, NEVER again will I give them any hard edible bones which can break into large pieces and get stuck and never rawhide which expands and blocks tubes.

I have learned my lesson. I knew better and blame myself. I knew NEVER to give them raw hide. I gave into wanting them to have something new to play with and keep them occupied. But, I shouldn't have done that. Never...never.

I don't know why they are all over the stores - even the good stores like Red Bandana. They are absolutely everywhere. Maybe this doesn't happen to all dogs - I guess not - or they wouldn't be there. But I will never take that chance again.

That's so scary. I'm glad you were there to help him and that he's ok now.
That's why I don't give Tippsy or Jasper things like that.

But, again, I'm glad Chutters is alright.

Oh you must have been so scared (

I don't give my Chows anything but pig's ears and only on occasion. I never give them rawhides or bones, etc. I've had 3 Chows now and never had any problems with pig's ears. Although Chows will eat almost ANYTHING you have to watch what you leave down. I do give them two eggs over easy, chopped up every week with a little cottage cheese on a paper plate and they will eat the center right out of the paper plate because it is soaked with egg yolk. Sometimes I think Chows are part goat. They love chewing on paper.

Gene.

Glad to hear Chutters is ok. Chows are like goats. My little Bo is. Bear is kinda picky although she does love Sonic onion rings

Im glad Chutters is OK. Thank GOD you were home when that happened. Where do I get a bloat kit? That is a super smart thing to have. Thanks for the Warning!!!

Mia,

I feel for you. My Cinder tore off a large piece of rawhide and tried to swallow it. There she was, obviously in distress. I did the only thing I could think of: the Heimlich manuver on her and out it shot. It was terrifying. I am so glad Chutters is okay. Please give him a big hug from Auntie Jerilyn.

OMG Mia, thank goodness Chutters is OK. I give mine rawhide bones and have never had any choking now I will have to find something else for them. It gives you such a shock when they choke. Bramble choked on her breakfast last weekend and I had to thump her on both sides of her chest for a while. I thought I was going to have to do the Heimlich manuver too. Give Chutters a big hug and yourself a pat on the back for cool thinking.

rougedriner - I thought I would just let you know that onions are a toxin for dogs so you might want to find another treat.

I'm glad Chutters is okay. That must have been really scary.

The problem with a lot of those kinds of things, isn't that chows will eat anything, they actually are quite picky especially when compared to labs and golden retrievers, (who have won the title from Vets. of the dogs who will eat ANYTHING) Chows like all dogs will chew though, and some things like rawhides they will swallow pieces of it tha they chew off. The problem is that rawhides are brittle and even the giant extra large ones will break apart with the strength of a chows bite.

The people who make these things really have no clue as to how strong the jaws of some breeds are. I used to give my chows the xxlarge giant ones, the ones that are supposed to be for the giant breeds, and my chows had no problem snapping off pieces of them. They never choked on them, but they had some intestinal distress from them, gagging and throwing up pieces of them. So I stopped giving rawhides. They have soft toys which if they tear apart are picked up and discarded, they get nylabones, and even those I give in the extra large size, so they can't crack pieces off. And once in a great while they get raw joint knuckles, but they can only have them until all the meat, sinew and marrow is gone, the actual bone is then picked up and thrown away.

Thank you for the warning. I give my Chow Chows only bully sticks to chew and gnaw on. I was wondering why not to give rawhide bones as I seen it mentioned here before, well now I know. I am sorry this happened to Chutters, thank god you were there and able to help him.

I usually give them only nylabones (xtra large) and the reindeer horns (xtra large) to chew on. The problem is since they don't chew on their toys and the nylabones and reindeer horns only keep them occupied for a few mins, I am afraid that they don't get enough to chew on.
I see tartar building up on Mia. I brush her teeth, but I really think she needs to chew.
Chutters chewed off some large pieces of the raw hide and it got stuck way down the gullet close to the stomach. The tube that I stuck down him went over a foot down. I twisted the tube and dislodged a huge hunk of rawhide and pulled it out.
The only good thing about this is I have realized that I can be cool under pressure.
Of course, after, I fall apart.
I was so upset with myself. I kept getting up every five minutes to make sure that I cut off any soft pieces of the rawhide, so that he couldn't chew it off and swallow it. So, one big hunk of rawhide got by me.

Well, we won't be doing that again.

Some Chows will eat anything. I cleaned a charcoal grill with a "Choregirl" steel pad and Max got it and ate half of it before I got it away from him. In two days the whole back of him was covered in blood from passing pieces of this pad. The other day he got a 3 1/2 floppy disc and had eaten a few small pieces of it so I'm careful what I leave down now. He's not picky about what he eats.

Gene.

You get the emergency room nurse award of the year. Good quick thinking. I have not given raw hide bones but someone gave nikki a hard natural bone(Its called natural bone). Its not rawhide just very hard white bone. She doens't seem to be too excited about it but once in a while she will chew on it .. Doesn't really put much of a dent in it but she does chew it. I see alittle gnawing marks but no chucks off it. Has anyone seen these or know if these are bad?? I was trying to keep the tartar down.

If its one of those white sterile bones with the hole in the middle - they should be fine.
My chows won't chew on anything.
That's my problem - they really don't get too interested in the nylabone or the sterile bones that I have for them.
They have NEVER chewed anything but the nylabone, reindeer horns or sterile bones - problem it those don't keep them occupied too much.

Tippsy's like that too. It's hard to find anything that'll keep her occupied... She loves pig ears, but I'm too afraid to give them too her after everything I've read about things like that...

How terrifying for you both, I'm so glad you knew what to do and all turned out well. I don't give rawhides b/c Buddha inhales stuff like that. You said you got out your bloat kit? I didn't know such a thing exsisted, where can I get one?

Thats it the sterile natural bones with the whole in the center.. Nikki doesn't care much for it but occassionally she'll gnaw it for a minute or two.. Forget nyla bones she either inhales them or doesn't both with them. I got her a bigger one since she inhaled the first one and the petstore people said it was too small for her so try a bigger one.. so I did and 2 yrs later its still here.. She hates it. . Shes really a fussy treat and bone eater.. The dogs next door love it cause they get all the stuff she won't eat.. (Labs eat everything).

There is a place called Nature's Pharmacy and it's online.
The bloat kit has an instruction book, a long plastic hollow tube, a block of wood with a hole in it to keep the dog's mouth open and a bottle of charcoal (kind of an anti gas/anti poisoning mixture) which should help the dog with gas if you start to see your dog bloat and can still get something down his throat. There is also a large needle which you stab the dog in the stomach to make a hole if the tube down his gullet can't relieve his gas.

Bloat is when the stomach gets so much gas and then twists so that the gas can't get out. The dog's stomach bloats and the dies from the stomach twisting and cutting off blood supply. So the last ditch effor is to stab the stomach to make a hole for the gas to come out.
It's about 50 dollars, but you can make your own. Most important thing is the plastic tubing about a 1/2 an inch - outside rim. the hole only has to be big enough to get gas out. And, if I had to, I would use a knife to stab the stomach to make a whole. And, then take to vet.

Thre reason you have a bloat kit is because you don't have time when the gas starts building up.

Thank you Mia for the info on the Bloat Kit. Im going to buy it before I even bring my new pup home. I wanted to add you can buy large Catheters at any Medical supply store which will come in a sterile wrap, which is not need to be sterile just clean because the Stomach is not a sterile organ like the lungs are. Im sure you can find other much needed items also. Like something sterile to poke a hole if needed, that way less of a risk of infection.

I'll deffinately have to either make a bloat kit or buy one... It worries me that it could happen to Tippsy or Jasper.

I would make one. Get a catherter and large needle from a medical supply house. The block of wood you can make. The hole in the wood just has to be large enough to allow the plastic tubing through.
It prevents the dog from choking on the tube, trying to bite it or chew on it. It also keeps them occupied with having their mouth open so that the don't really realize a tube is going down their throat.
The kit was 50 dollars - the tubing and needle a couple of dollars, the wood wouldn't be much and you can buy the special anti gas from Natures Pharmacy for a couple of dollars.
And there, you have the kit.

Ok everyone - you can send me a dollar for the bloat kit information....LOL just kidding!

My Gosh! How scary! Thank goodness you were able to act quickly!!!!

I got the bloat kit at Natures Pharmacy online.
But you can make your own.

Glad all was well. Some dogs just don't do well with those soggy rawhide pieces. We give mainly raw bones, but when we do give rawhides, we use the pressed ones, which don't seem to turn so soggy.

For anyone who might try it, though, be careful about putting a tube down the throat when there's a choking concern, since it would be easy to shove the stuck object further into the trachea