Buy The Appropriate Soft Rope Toy For Your Dog

Recently we pet sat for the 2 dogs we regularly pet sit for. One is a 2 year old, male Golden Retriever. We have been pet sitting for this dog since he was a puppy and never had a problem with him. Since he has been chewing on things from the time he was a teething puppy, his owners keep a regular stock of dog toys around the house and yard for him to play with. One was a large size, soft, rope toy. Each time we pet sat I noticed that the Golden Retriever tore apart the soft rope toy more and more, but since the owners allowed it, aside from throwing away the small pieces of wool, I allowed the dog to continue playing with it. I guess we all assumed since it was a dog toy and sold in pet stores, it was an appropriate toy for the dog. Little did we know....

We pet sat for 12 days and on the 8^th day we noticed that the dog started throwing up, stopped eating and was drinking a lot of water. He also looked very droopy eyed and appeared to be very sluggish - not his usual playful self. After the dog didn't eat for 36 hours and then stopped drinking for almost 24 hours, we became very concerned about his health. He also just laid around more and he wouldn't budge when we tried to open the door he was blocking. Our biggest fear was that the owners would come home and we would have to tell them their dog had died. We made every effort to avoid such a situation.

First I called the owner's two veterinarians which weren't open (it was a weekend) and then three 24 hour emergency veterinarians. I told each person I spoke to the dog's condition and I kept hearing the words, "The dog needs to be seen immediately," "fatal," and "life threatening." We chose the 24 hour emergency center one of the owner's veterinarians recommended and took the dog in.

As soon as we entered the 24 hour emergency veterinarian's office, they took the dog into a room immediately. After taking x-rays they saw a string inside the dog's stomach, the veterinarian told us he needed emergency surgery. The veterinarian told us that the string could strangle the stomach and small intestine and possibly kill the dog. Luckily the string didn't block the dog's digestive tract. As soon as I heard the word, string, I immediately thought of the soft, rope toy the dog had shredded to pieces.

After 3 hours of stabilizing the dog, 6 hours of surgery and the expense of approximately $8,000 for the owners, the dog was doing much better. It seems the frayed, soft, rope toy was one of the causes of this near-fatal crisis.

The soft, rope toy this dog had was the large one, which was appropriate for this size dog. The reasons it created such a crisis were:
1. The dog had chewed and frayed it to a harmful level;
2. The owners allowed the dog to continue playing with it in such poor condition; and
3. The dog was allowed to play with this pull toy alone.

The solutions so any dog owner isn't put in such a worrisome situation are:
1. When a dog chews and tears apart a soft, rope toy and you see it frayed and heavily worn, throw it away. Don't just throw away the loose pieces; throw away the whole toy because he will continue to tear it apart and you may not be aware if he swallows a piece of it.
2. Every once in awhile, take inventory of all of your dog's toys. Replace the old ones, especially the worn and chewed ones, with new ones. Dogs like new toys, especially ones that are scented to their liking. Old toys lose that scent.
3. Buy dog toys that are appropriate for your size dog and comply with the dog's personality. Rope toys are to be played with and not chewed.
4. If it's a pull toy, such as the soft, rope toy, never allow your dog to play with it alone. After tug-of-war is played with the dog, put the toy away and out of the dog's reach.

Remember that something as simple as a string can be fatal to your dog.