Four Things to Know If Your Dog Ate a Used Tampon
Help! My Pooch Ate My Tampon! What Do I Do?
1. Determine if your dog is big enough to let the tampon pass through them
For dogs who weigh more than 35 pounds, eating a tampon will probably not affect them very much. Dogs this size digest larger things more often than you think, and chances are that the tampon will pass in the dog's waste within 24-48 hours. If you have a larger dog, don't worry too much, but make sure you keep an eye on him. If you have a smaller dog, you definitely want to pay closer attention. Do you know your smaller dog ate the tampon whole? I would think it would be tough for a terrier to eat a used tampon whole, but it has happened. If it was chewed up, it probably was in a size small enough for the dog to have it pass through, like a larger dog. If your small dog ate it whole, you want to think about bringing him to the vet soon.
2. Monitor your dog's situation for the next two days
Is your dog acting differently? Is he more tired or lethargic than usual? Is he having problems running or drinking or eating more or less than usual? If any of these things are true, the tampon may be causing problems. If the tampon has not passed within two days and your dog is exhibiting this behavior, you want to look at bringing him to the vet. Your dog may be having some blockage issues.
3. Don't induce vomiting
Some experts recommend inducing vomiting, but I believe you have too high a chance of causing more problems. If you see part of the tampon in the throat, then by all means, try to take it out while being careful not to affect your dog's airway. If the tampon is already gone, by inducing vomiting you run the risk of it lodging in the throat on the way out. If you feel like you need to induce vomiting in your dog, bring him to the vet quickly and let the vet do it. You don't want to cause more problems than you already have.
4. The vet may have to do an x-ray and surgery
If you have to bring your dog to the vet, he will probably have to do an x-ray. If he feels that the tampon is causing a problem, then surgery is an option. He can first attempt to give your dog a laxative if he feels it won't cause an obstruction, but if that doesn't work, surgery would be the next step. Vets can successfully removed tampons from the stomach and intestines. Obviously surgery is the last option, but at times it may be necessary.
If everything worked out well and the tampon passed through your dog, you want to make sure it doesn't happen again. Make sure you have a lid on your garbage can in your bathroom. If your dog likes to knock the garbage over, you may want to put it in a cabinet. Don't leave unused tampons lying around either. They can be more dangerous to a dog than a used tampon. Hopefully when your dog ate a tampon, all you'll end up with is a funny story and not a more serious or costly problem.
Published by K.L. Stevens
I am a freelance writer. View profile
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9 Comments
Post a Commentyou idiots the dogs going throw them back up enventually stop freakng out
My basset hound got into the bathroom trash and ate and an unknown number of ahm... tampons. This was on Monday and all this week she has been lethargic, not eating and barley drinking. Finally today (Thursday) she threw up 3 of them outside. By the time I got some plastic bags to pick them up, the dumb dog ate them again.
Did a quick search and read to give them 1 tbsp of peroxide per 10 pounds of dog. I put it in a empty water bottle and poured it down her throat. She started sputtering and about a minute later she threw up a pile of 11 of them!! I wish that I would have done this days ago, the poor thing.
Lesson: throw those things in a small trash can under the sink with a door. And if she ever does it again, induce vomiting right away...
PLEASE READ THIS! THIS HELPED
We just adopted a Jack Russel for my son Christmas present. I would much rather save a dog then purchase a puppy. Well The other day he got into my bathroom trash. Oh.. My... He ate ... and yes this is gross a tampon. I was really worried because he is just 15lbs. Well he didn't poop the next day and I really began to worry. Although he had no signs of distress I realize how bad this situation can become. We took him to the vets for an xray. I was shocked when the Dr. said well we can't really see much. He need surgery right away. He said," We have to cut him from sternum to nape." I said wait a second. He has no temp. And he was jumping around he did drink water and ate a small amount of food so why do you have to cut him open.. ??? I just wanted to know if he had any major blockage." Well we will know after the surgery he said." I said no way. Can you cut him open yet.. I want to try the methods I read about to see if this will he relive him. If he doe
Don't panic! Dogs eat weird stuff all the time and their systems are tougher than ours. My sheltie (36 pounds) has done this several times over the years (unfortunately) and is always ok. Sometimes she passes one but usually throws them up, and I think she has had as many as four at one sitting (used - yuck). If your dog is pooping and eating fairly normally and isn't acting sick, chances are he/she will do fine without an expensive vet visit. It has taken as long as 5 days for my dog to finally throw them up, with me watching her carefully along the way for any signs of pain or distress. You can add milk and canned pumpkin to their food for extra moisture and fiber and this should help. Good luck!
Definitely don't just assume. Just happened to my 50lb lab pup and I read this article. I thought she'd be fine but called to double check. They told me she wouldn't pass it on her own and to induce vomiting... with peroxide like others have said. 2 1/2tablespoons for 50lb (I can only assume tablespoon per 20lbs?). Just saying I'd double check w/the vet if I were you :)
Great information that you just never know when you might need to know :-)
Same with my vet Rebecca. My mom had caught my dog with the toilet paper I had wrapped my tampon in (I believe he just ate it since he was trying to eat the toilet paper too). I checked the trash to see if maybe it fell out but none the less it wasn't. We called the emergency vet that's open 24/7 and they told us to give my 20 lb Shih Tzu 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. They told us to use a syringe but since we couldn't find one we used a turkey baster. Also the vet told us to run our dog around so the peroxide bubbles up so he pukes. And within 5-10 minutes he had puked up on the road.
They did also tell us to give him 2 more tablespoons if he didn't puke the tampon up within 20 minutes. And if he still hadn't puked in another 20 minutes they told us to take him to vet. They also said you DO NOT want the tampon getting to the intestines.
Will all due respect to the author of this article, please do not rely on the internet alone for vetrinary advice. If your dog has swallowed a tampon, please call a vet; my family's German Shepherd required emergency surgery after nosing through bathroom trash. A vetrinarian was unable to induce vomiting (only dry heaving) and the materials (that are designed to expand in moisture) would have created intestinal blockage. During surgery, the vet was surprised to find not one, but three tampons and part of a sanitary pad.
I called the emergency vet and they said to give my 40 lb dog 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide (this was within 3 hours of her eating them). I used a turkey baster and within 5 minutes, she had vomited them up.