Gross thing my dog did just now...

[jessjgh1]

and yes, its gross so don't read if you are easily grossed out...


















... he found a young rabbit in the grass and swallowed it hole. It wasn't full grown, but it seemed larger than a tiny baby. He had dental work done and has very few teeth, so he's, uhm, limited in what he can do, but because my dh saw what he had done and tried to get him to let go of it he just tried to inhale it. By the time I tried I couldn't do much and he was choking a bit too. I didn't have anything to grab the poor bunny out with.
He's such a gross dog this way. He knows if he sees us coming when he's found something we might take it from him so he just inhales stuff. But usually not this BIG.

Ok, clarifying here.... I'm not so grossed/worried by the fact he ate a bunny, but the fact that the fairly small dog (23 pounds) ate it completely whole. He's a beagle/basset mix, so we know he 'lives' for bunnies. I'm just surprised he didn't need to break it down a little. I had setters and retrievers growing up (much bigger dogs) and they at least ate their bunny-catches.

Seriously, do I need to worry about the fact he swallowed the whole thing i one piece? The thing wasn't even dead while we were trying to get him to drop it.

He's sleeping in the garage tonight. We won't be surprised if he's going to throw it all up.

Luckily the kids don't seem too traumatized by it. They didn't really see much, but they know the dog swallowed a bunny.
Ok, the little rabbits need to know not to hide out by where the dog comes out (he's usually leashed and we let him out in this one space in the yard- it's not very big, but the bunnies must have frozen in the bushes).

JEssica

[Catubodua]

might be gross to you, but it's perfectly natural for him. what do you think they ate before we gave them kibble?

[jessjgh1]

Uhm, not bothered by it.... but normally dogs chew things- don't they?
He did not chew it at all.
The dogs we had growing up in the country got rabbits every once in a while. They might eat them (or not) but I remember they seemed to chew them.
Jessica

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

doesn't really sound gross to me as a pp said thats the sought of thing they would have eaten before dog food was invented.

i thought what my mums dog gizmo tried eating once was pretty gross though, my dd. chloe's pooey nappy when she was a baby.

[jessjgh1]

Sorry, tried to clarify that I"m not really grossed out that he ate a bunny. It was a bit gross to try to reach into his mouth and pull and shake the thing out of his throat. It was halfway down his throat and still sticking out of his mouth. It wasn't really even dead yet.
I'm more concerned that a smallish dog swallowed a rather large boney object whole. He's swallowed things before, but not the size that was big enough to choke him going down- and he had to choke it down.
My husband seems to think the bunny might have even been momma bunny but I'm hoping the one we saw in the garden was momma.

Just seemed like it would be rather unpleasant... especially coming out, at some point. I'm thinking he might end up throwing it up.. and knowing this dog he will then just eat it again.

Jessica

[North_Of_60]

That reminds me of the poster here (can't remember who?) who has a dog (a lab I think?) that LOVES to swollow socks whole. Even been "extracted" a few times.

Hopefully he doesn't have troubles passing it. I bet he won't be hungry for a day or so.

Might I also suggest working on the "leave it" command so he's not compelled to swallow stuff whole? 'Cause really, he could get into trouble that way, you know?

[Ola_]

Well good for you that you're not grossed out, I totally would be and I'd scream like a girl too!

He will likely be fine with swallowing it whole, though that is a bit odd. I feed a raw diet and at the beginning the dogs would sometimes get so excited about this "new" food that they'd gulp items down. Occassionally they would come back up but most of the time their stomach acids will deal with it after it goes down the hatch. It will most likely get digested completely and you might not see any signs of it on the "other end".

[jessjgh1]

Thanks Ola, that's reassuring. I'm glad you posted that.
He's been fine so far. I expected that he'd throw up... I actually was on the phone with my dad last night and he figured he'd throw up, too.

He's a rescue, so I doubt I can teach him anything helpful. If the kids drop something on the floor we can tell him "no" and he won't get it, but once something is in his mouth it's a different story.

Jessica

[North_Of_60]

Originally Posted by jessjgh1

He's a rescue, so I doubt I can teach him anything helpful.

Huh.. that doesn't matter. He can learn "leave it".

[Narmowen]

Originally Posted by jessjgh1

Sorry, tried to clarify that I"m not really grossed out that he ate a bunny. It was a bit gross to try to reach into his mouth and pull and shake the thing out of his throat. It was halfway down his throat and still sticking out of his mouth. It wasn't really even dead yet.
I'm more concerned that a smallish dog swallowed a rather large boney object whole. He's swallowed things before, but not the size that was big enough to choke him going down- and he had to choke it down.
My husband seems to think the bunny might have even been momma bunny but I'm hoping the one we saw in the garden was momma.

Just seemed like it would be rather unpleasant... especially coming out, at some point. I'm thinking he might end up throwing it up.. and knowing this dog he will then just eat it again.

Jessica

He should be fine. Many people feed their dogs RAW, which includes organs, bones & meat. I doubt it was the mama bunny, though, since he seems a bit small to swallow a whole full grown rabbit. Probably out of the nest, though.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by North_Of_60

Huh.. that doesn't matter. He can learn "leave it".

I agree, both of my dogs are rescues and have learned plenty of useful things.

[Catubodua]

Originally Posted by Ola_

I agree, both of my dogs are rescues and have learned plenty of useful things.

i'll pile on. my dog is a rescue (an adult rescue at that - meaning i didn't get her as a puppy) and she's not only well trained, but has passed the Canine Good Citizens test and is a Delta Therapy Intl certified therapy dog.

[jessjgh1]

Ok, I had decided to keep it simple and just left it at that... but of course I didn't mean that all rescues can't learn anything. Just that his past abuse makes training him a bit harder for us- and I'm not sure I'd know how to go about it or that it would really be worth the trouble.
I'd invest my time if I thought it is important, but I can only think of this as a strange coincidence. We've had him for over 8 years and I can think of only 2 times where the 'leave it' command might have helped us out (the rabbit and one time when he got into the garbage and got some cooked chicken bones). If it is not a food object/animal, saying 'no' will do the trip.
I've successfully trained 3 dogs when I was younger and volunteered to teach dog obedience to youth and I know that I would need to invest in a trainer or seek out different methods because of his past abuse and how he reacts to things. The dog already leaves stuff alone if it falls on the floor- he waits for his food- he'll walk on a leash. I used to have chinchillas and I could let them out around him while I sat next to him he'd leave them alone. I've tried to work with him on coming and sitting and he has cowered with training that normally works with dogs. He gets too excited if I use food, although that might be an excellent incentive for training. He doesn't 'play' with things like balls or booda bones, etc.... so I'm not even sure how I'd go about simulating an environment to practice 'leave it'.
My husband will not be letting him out off leash at dusk anymore. I think he (dh) learned that lesson. Hopefully that solves the problem
Thanks!
Jessica

[Catubodua]

i know what you mean about rescues sometimes being more sensitive to training.

when we first got ours, i signed up for a class that was all about authority and you being alpha over your dog. they required that we use a choke chain for training.

instead of listening to my heart which was telling me that my dog wasn't doing well under this much stress and we were failing miserably as a team i kept going.

finally i went to a different place that only used verbal corrections and it's amazing the difference it made!