Annie our young Lab had us up most of the night on thursday coughing & retching so took her to vets and she must of swollowed a stick puncture wound was found also tonsils full of puss.I never let my dogs have sticks so it looks like the dog walker who took her out last week and also thursday,poor Annie has is not herself at the mo,on antibiotics and would you believe simple linctus .

Sheila.

Poor Annie, I hope she is feeling better soon....................sounds like you need to have a quiet word with your dog walker ;)

Hopefully your early alertness will have set her on the course to a full and quick recovery. :)
Allthough we can be alert to a greater or lessor degree they can pick up and have a sneaky chew in a very quick time and it only takes a very small piece to create problems.  We can minimise it by not playing throwing games or anything else that is likely to encourage an interest in sticks but really it is part and parcel of living a free running doggie life like treading on something sharp or brushing up against barbed wire unfortunately.

I allways put a poster with this link http://www.colliecorner.com/stick-to-toys/ in my puppy folders for all new owners so they can see the dangers for themselfs and hopefully aviod any accidents with sticks have a look you can print of their poster this is what i do

We have always given our Staffordshire Bull Terrier sticks to take on a walk with her, she even carries it there. it works brilliant as she has a purpose when carrying a stick on a walk and it stops her pulling etc, even though shes a top trained dog. No one can say sticks are bad for dogs as they have chewed on them for centuries!
just dont let them get a massivly oversized one like our staffie tries to bring home sometimes, honestly she tries to carry a whole tree home most of the time!!!!:rolleyes:

I'm afraid that I would disagree :) When Tara was younger she liked carrying sticks home. One day she caught one of the ends of the stick on the ground. The stick snapped off in her mouth, tearing a hole in the roof of her mouth :( Fortunately it didn't require stitching, but I never let her carry a stick again :(

Daisy

Just goes to show that, if that can happen just carrying a stick, the damage caused by running full pelt onto one must be huge. Fortunately none of our dogs have ever been interested in sticks at all - my current boy does have a thing for plastic bottles though and usually brings one back from every walk (seems to like coke bottles best!). I was wondering whether I should send him out to work as a litter picker - get him earning his keep :P

>No one can say sticks are bad for dogs

A dog carrying a stick and a dog chasing a stick being thrown for them are 2 completely different things! I know of several dogs who have been running after sticks that have stuck upright in the ground, rather than landing flat. Guess what happens next? I'm sure many vets who have had to perform emergency surgery on a dog that has run onto a stick and literally become impaled through the throat or roof of the mouth would disagree with you!

Rach have you looked at the link given in the previous post. There are horrific stories there of the injuries and even fatalities caused by just a stick. I personally know a BC who will be undergoing her 3rd operation shortly all because she was carrying a stick that she caught on the ground and damaged her throat and mouth,The vet  has had trouble locating all the splinters and she now needs a salivary gland removed because of some. My own bitch was and is if given the chance obsessed with carrying sticks however after trying several alternatives I find an empty plastic drinks bottle is an acceptable alternative for her and if we go out without one they are fairly easy to find (unfortunately) so we do our bit in picking up some litter in the process.

Tara carries a rugby ball on every walk :D :D :D

Daisy

We tried various toys, frisbies rubber bones but Cyan would swap them for a stick at the first oppertunity and I lost more than I care to remember until we found she was happy with a  bottle :D

Have to say that I was a little sad when I banned Tara from carrying sticks - trying to get half a treetrunk through the kissing-gate from the field was always amusing :D :D :D She still has a little problem with the rugby ball - she likes to squeeze through the side of the gate, rather than walk round the 'proper' way. She has to remember to turn the ball so that the pointy end goes first, but some days she forgets and can't work out how to get it through the gap, so resorts to going the long way round :D :D She's a bit of a dumb, Essex blonde really :D :D :D

Daisy

>No one can say sticks are bad for dogs as they have chewed on them for centuries!

And for centuries some have suffered from perforated bowels and obstructions from doing just that.

You're missing the point. :) Carrying a stick and chasing after a thrown one are two entirely different scenarios. The first is perfectly safe (apart from when the daft dog tries to get a long stick through a narrow opening! :D and nearly somersaults); the second is potentially lethal - when the same dog chases after a thrown stick that's stuck raised in soft ground and impales her throat. :(

Never ever EVER throw a stick for a dog.

Even carrying sticks can be dangerous.

Daisy

It's the sort of thing you pooh-pooh until it happens to you. :(

I've got two friends who has had dog/stick accidents. The first lost a BC when she chased a stick, the other had a Golden lose an eye.

Getting an incorect sized toy could be dangerous.  I think it's important to consider the shape and size of the toy being thrown for a dog.  Especially with things like tennis balls, they don't suit any dog much larger the a collie really. :)

Yep - there isn't much risk of Tara swallowing her rugby ball :D :D :D

Daisy

Don't think there's any chance of that happening!!! :D :D :D :D

Flat footballs seem popular with our aussies :)  Of course most where found in normal football shape untill they get hold of them!

Tara was a flattish football girl until she discovered rugby balls (she has 14) :D :D :D

Daisy

Would never use tennis balls either as they aren't brilliant for their teeth and the soggy fluff harbours bacteria. Thats why I didn't mention ball's. Toys were her soft toys even once tried a vinyl stick however she destroyed that LOL