My puppy swallowed a string. Is it dangerous, and what should I do?

I would recommend monitoring for any signs of trouble. This likely will pass on its own since it is so small and pliable. If he starts vomiting (both food and water), has a decreased appetite, becomes lethargic and has little to no stool production, then it is best to get him seen by your vet for a possible issue. However, he will likely be just fine and will pass this out in his stool. Yes you are right that he is still susceptible to getting parvovirus until 1 week after his last set of vaccinations, which is usually between 14-16 weeks of age. Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope that your puppy will be fine following this foreign object ingestion. Keep him away in a crate or keep items out of his reach that he can easily ingest. Puppeis are extremely curious and will put just about anything in their mouths. Best wishes and take care.

Well that was naughty of him. If the material is coming out that is a good sign. We get concerned about possible foreign body issues when we see vomiting (even water), decreased appetite, and lethargy. As long as he is still bouncing around, eating well and acting like his normal self, there is no need for concern. If he does start to have symptoms, then a vet visit is highly recommended. Just try to keep him away from things he can ingest and always monitor him when he is outside of his crate. He should be crated when he is home alone to keep him out of trouble! : ) Best of luck with your puppy Butterscotch and I hope that he continues to do well! Take care.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This can create a quite severe inflammation infection of the gastrointestinal system and surrounding organs (like pancreas and liver) and possibly a gastrointestinal obstruction. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is immediately essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics and possibly further investigations (like abdominal imaging as ultrasound or radiographs) may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Puppies are notorious for swallowing anything that crosses their path. They don't have hands, so they explore everything with their mouths. He may have swallowed something that is stuck, there may even be a piece of string looped around the base of his tongue. Hopefully your vet did a thorough oral examination, including lifting the tongue in order to see underneath. This area is very hard to see and string can hide there very easily. It could be a long human hair that is bothering him. If you find string, thread or hair in his mouth that goes down his throat, DO NOT PULL IT. Same goes for any you may see as he tries to defecate. NEVER pull on any linear foreign body. It could be looped around some soft tissue out of sight and you will cause more damage. Any stringlike material caught around the tongue should be cut with a pair of safety scissors and allowed to go on down. If this happens, let your vet know what is going on and if he develops any other symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, get him back in to see your vet right away.

Hello, and thanks for your question. This could absolutely be life threatening by causing a linear foreign body, and could result in needing surgery. I recommend calling your vet right away. All the best to you and Zoe!

I would recommend feeding canned pumpkin and bread to Maggie to help pass the string through. If you notice that she is vomiting, lethargic or not eating then I would get her in to be seen by a veterinarian and have x-rays taken to help determine if the rope is causing an intestinal obstruction. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

1.5 " of a string should not really be a problem and will likely come out the natural way. It is too short to cause a linear foreign body obstruction. If you check her poo for the next 3-4 days you should be able to find it eventually. Apart from that I would monitor her for diarrhea and possibly retching/vomiting. If that occurs, please see your vet right away.