A few years ago we used to walk our dogs by a river and watched a chap throwing sticks for his two Boarder Collies. One of them in particular seemed to be fixated on sticks, thought of nothing else.

I was always a bit sorry my dogs wont play fetch games, they belive, if you throw it, you fetch it. That was until the morning I watched helpless as the dog bled to death having pushed a stick into a major blood vessel in her throat.

The reason I have told you this horrid story is to ask you all please, please do not throw sticks for your dogs and if you throw ball make sure they are big enough not to lodge at the back of the dogs mouth. Dogs mouths are always bigger that you think.

Sorry to start the week on such a note, but if it saves one dog damage it is worth it. JH

Hi Jackie

I agree with your post about stick throwing and hope it was not one of you dogs - you don't make this clear.

A dog out of the first litter I bred was injured by sticks - he bounced over it somehow, and had bits of it in his underside from stomach to scrotum - had many operations over the years as more problems were found.

Tennis balls and the like for large dogs are also a potential life threatening problem as they get stuck in their throats.

Christine

No it was not one of mine, it was the paranoied collie. But a teriable sight. Never want to see again. The worst thing was seeing the collies owner spreading sand over the pools of blood as he did not want to upset children. JH

I have always believed that sticks were bad for dogs, and have always discouraged my dogs from stick playing. However this year we moved and the place we moved to we had to cut some trees out. Our new puppy taught our older dog how to eat sticks, and as much as we cleaned them out, they would even pull them off trees. A few months back the older dog came running in terrified, pawing at her mouth and not breathing. I did 'doggie heimlich' and she started breathing and I kept reaching into her mouth and throat to find the stick (I knew that's what it must be). It had lodged at the top of her mouth in the back of her pallet - took me ages to find it. Although it was probably only a minute or two my life and hers flashed before my eyes!. She had swallowed her tongue back while trying to dislodge it which is why she hadn't been breathing. I had to pull it back up.

She didn't chew them for a while after that. I hesitated to tell my story on this board originally (as it was the old format and I was afraid of being flamed) however since someone else has begun it I will happily jump on the bandwagon.

The good thing about the day is we had someone visiting who'd never seen anything like that. I guarantee you he won't forget it soon and will NEVER let his dogs have sticks.

Wendy

Wendy accidents happen !! It doesn't matter how careful you are , occasionally something will happen that you can have no control over.
I am glad that you felt able to tell us on this board. :-)

Leigh

One of my Pet Hates has to be the way, that some people allow their dogs to enter water. Over the years I have seen many dogs literally throw themselves at speed, into water or off river banks etc. Totally, oblivious of anything that may be lurking under the waters surface eg: sticks, old bike frames, branches etc. It makes me shiver just to think about it, and yet the owners seem to take delight in the fact that their dogs "Love Water"!!

It wasn't I was afraid of being flamed for it happening - I was afraid I would be in the minority if I came out against throwing sticks for dogs!

But thank you for your VERY kind words:) And I agree about the water thing as well.

Wendy

No, your not in a minority. :-) I think that anyone who thinks stick throwing is a good idea, has never given any real thought to the "What if ...." factor. Leigh

I for one am glad Jackie posted about sticks as I still see so many owners throwing them, not quite so many as maybe a decade ago perhaps, but still.

Wendy years ago I was out on a walk with Tasha and almost the same thing happend, I am afraid in my ignorance I did throw a stick and she got some of it lodged into her back teeth. She was clearly upset and came racing towards me just as your dog did; luckily it wasn't a major problem and I was able ot see the pieces of stick and clear them out. Not life threatening but scarey. It could have been.

Taught me a major lesson.

I have a friend who has always thrown sticks for her BC and maintains it is safe as he stalks them ratehr than trying ot catch them, but I think she's just been lucky really.

PLEASE tell your friend that the BC I watched bleed to death did not catch the sticks either, she would give them the BC eye, stalk them, pick them up and return to her owner. She caught the stick on the ground as she returned to her owner, sadly she did not make it. JH

Sadly I also know of a tragic accident with a stick. It was with a neighbours beautiful white shepherd, who after a walk was in obvious pain, she had a vet check him, but the vet was nervous of looking into the dogs mouth!, so said he had probably pulled a muscle! and gave him some pain killers. The next morning she got up to find her dog dead in a pool of blood. IT turned out that he had had a stick lodge in his throat which when it worked lose caused the dog to have a massive bleed. It was very sad as he was a lovely dog not just to look at but a marvelous temperament.

When my parents worked in Bull Terrier kennels, they had a bully that was forever picking up sticks (they weren't being thrown for her) and she ended up getting one stuck in her throat on more than one occasion. When they took her to the vets they told him what was wrong with her but the vet wouldn't believe them until they made him look down her throat and what did he find - a stick stuck horizontally across her throat. She was fine afterwards though.

My 7mth pup insists on picking sticks up and eating them just like biscuits. I try to discourage it but what can you do, I take him to places where there shouldn't be too many sticks but's it's difficult, if in the end he doesn't find a stick he finds something else. I try to keep him and my other dog amused but sometimes I guess the stick is more exciting than me and my toys :-( I tried a muzzle with my bitch when she was a pup but she was too damn clever and STILL managed to manoevre the stick into her gob !!

I know he won't grow out of it as my other dog hasn't but thankfully she doesn't take as big an interest in sticks now as she used to. Pleased to say she grew out of eating stones and he seems to be heading that way too.

God they are such a worry aren't they :rolleyes:

Then please tell her about my dog who didn't catch, but was chewing!! I know of another dog who had to have one surgically removed from his throat when he chased it because it landed and bounced back up at him as he went for it and impaled him.

It is SO scary to hear the stories. I'd rather my babies be safe:) After hearing what happened to Chelsea my neighbours don't throw sticks for their dogs when walking with us (don't know if they still do it when we're not there though)

Wendy