# Dog got HGE after chewing on meaty bone???



## Kitkat771 (Mar 31, 2012)

My mom decided to give her dogs a raw meaty bone for their teeth. She's not interested in raw feeding and is a bit ignorant with dog nutrition. However, she wanted to improve her dogs teeth. She has 3 rescue dogs. One is a terrier mix, and she has a pomeranian mix, and a black lab. She bought meaty rib bones from the grocery store. All the dogs were okay, but the terrior mix got HGE and had to be hospitilized. She seems to be doing better now. I'm afraid to give my dogs a bone again. Why would this happen? This also made her decide to never give a bone again. I'm not totally agreeing with her on this, but am more nervous now. 
One of my dogs also had HGE a couple of months ago...before I went to raw again. 

The vet told my mom to never give dogs bones because they also break teeth and are dangerous. I know that's a lower risk and am more concerned about the HGE than the broken teeth. 

My dogs did okay with bones, but I haven't given them one since this happened this past week. I read that HGE effects small dogs more than big dogs. Neither one of us has had small dogs before these dogs so we aren't familiar with this. We always had rottweilers and great danes. 

Anyone else with small dogs get this?


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

What HGE? If its stomach upset then maybe they had too much at once. Try something smaller


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## Neeko (Aug 11, 2010)

Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis? Poor puppy. My girl had that about a year ago. Never figured out the cause. She recovered fully, and has been fine since.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

I don't know what was left on the bones as far as fat or meat but I think when you have dogs that are kibble fed and not used to eating raw that sometimes it can be too much for their systems at once and they can't handle it. A friend gave her dogs that eat kibble some lamb bones with a good bit of fat and meat still on them and one ended up in the ER because of it. If this dog was used to eating raw it likely would've been fine I think. Also, they aren't supposed to have weight bearing bones because they can break teeth.
My Dachshund has had HGE 2 times and we found out it was from sneaking into the birdseed. We kept it in a bag on our screened porch and she got into it and both times she ended up in the hospital.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

i don't know about rib bones. i only give marrow bones, and wouldn't let them have the bone for the entire day, on the first time out.
tho i have fed raw, my husband is a butcher, and really very choosey about what bones they can have. i get the "they splinter, they're too sharp, they break" lecture and it's just not worth it.
2 of me 3 were ok with chicken necks and gizzards but my third , seems to barf every time i give raw.


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## Kitkat771 (Mar 31, 2012)

That makes sense. When I gave mine a bone for the first time I set a timer and only allowed them to have it for 20 minutes and then took it away. I waited atleast 3 days before giving it to them again and also timed it for 20 minutes. It was a marrow bone with meat on it too. 

My mom didn't time her dogs with the bones and she gave it to them 2-3 days in a row. That may have been too much too soon for little Lucy.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Donna Little said:


> I don't know what was left on the bones as far as fat or meat but I think when you have dogs that are kibble fed and not used to eating raw that sometimes it can be too much for their systems at once and they can't handle it. A friend gave her dogs that eat kibble some lamb bones with a good bit of fat and meat still on them and one ended up in the ER because of it. If this dog was used to eating raw it likely would've been fine I think. Also, they aren't supposed to have weight bearing bones because they can break teeth.
> My Dachshund has had HGE 2 times and we found out it was from sneaking into the birdseed. We kept it in a bag on our screened porch and she got into it and both times she ended up in the hospital.


And why am I not shocked that a Doxie would be the one(well maybe along with a Pug) to want to eat bird seed?!?LOL

Oh and like Donna said, no weight bearing bones from large animals.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> And why am I not shocked that a Doxie would be the one(well maybe along with a Pug) to want to eat bird seed?!?LOL
> 
> Oh and like Donna said, no weight bearing bones from large animals.


Snorkels loves bird seed. Crazy dogs.

I think some dogs would do fine with weight bearing bones - like Snorkels and probably alot of small dogs. I give her rib bones which she can't crack, so i don't think she would break her teeth on larger, heavier bones.

But I wouldn't give Rebel a weight bearing bone. His jaws are much stronger than hers.

I'm not sure what HGE is, but I'm sure my small dogs haven't gotten it or I'd know what it is. Snorkels has eaten all kinds of stuff right from the first. I guess some dogs may just be prone to it.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

xellil said:


> Snorkels loves bird seed. Crazy dogs.
> 
> I think some dogs would do fine with weight bearing bones - like Snorkels and probably alot of small dogs. I give her rib bones which she can't crack, so i don't think she would break her teeth on larger, heavier bones.
> 
> ...


Haha, see now Brody and Dixi would be the two beast that I wouldn't ever give a WBB to....well Keeva-Pig too!Lol


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

xellil said:


> Snorkels loves bird seed. Crazy dogs.
> 
> I think some dogs would do fine with weight bearing bones - like Snorkels and probably alot of small dogs. I give her rib bones which she can't crack, so i don't think she would break her teeth on larger, heavier bones.
> 
> ...


Madison has always liked bird seed too and if we'd see her eating some that spilled we'd let her not thinking it would be a bad thing. But she got into a good bit of it one day. Even when she got sick the first time I didn't connect it to the bird seed. It sounds so harmless. 
HGE is nothing to mess with. It presents very much like parvo. Bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration can happen very quickly. When Mad had it the first time, my vet, when I asked if she was going to survive it, said she'll either die fast or get well fast. 50/50 odds. She was at the vet for 2 full days and on the morning of the third I was there at 8:00 am and she was no better. She was still totally lethargic with blood seeping out of her rear. I really thought there was no way she'd live through it. They called me at 11 am and said she was fine and I could come and pick her up. It was so strange. It's like once it passes through their system it's totally gone. Then she did it again (ate bird seed) and at the first sign of sickness I knew what had caused it the first time. I immediately started giving her anti nausea meds and got some fluids in her and she recovered much faster and I was able to do it at home. 
We had a dog at the humane society though who got it and was dead about 6 hours later. She literally bled out. 
So keep Snorkels out of the bird seed or that'll be what the little crazy does as her next suicide attempt. And we're all getting tired of that nonsense. How are we gonna make her the star of her own TV show if she's killed herself? :biggrin1:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Donna Little said:


> Madison has always liked bird seed too and if we'd see her eating some that spilled we'd let her not thinking it would be a bad thing. But she got into a good bit of it one day. Even when she got sick the first time I didn't connect it to the bird seed. It sounds so harmless.
> HGE is nothing to mess with. It presents very much like parvo. Bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration can happen very quickly. When Mad had it the first time, my vet, when I asked if she was going to survive it, said she'll either die fast or get well fast. 50/50 odds. She was at the vet for 2 full days and on the morning of the third I was there at 8:00 am and she was no better. She was still totally lethargic with blood seeping out of her rear. I really thought there was no way she'd live through it. They called me at 11 am and said she was fine and I could come and pick her up. It was so strange. It's like once it passes through their system it's totally gone. Then she did it again (ate bird seed) and at the first sign of sickness I knew what had caused it the first time. I immediately started giving her anti nausea meds and got some fluids in her and she recovered much faster and I was able to do it at home.
> We had a dog at the humane society though who got it and was dead about 6 hours later. She literally bled out.
> So keep Snorkels out of the bird seed or that'll be what the little crazy does as her next suicide attempt. And we're all getting tired of that nonsense. How are we gonna make her the star of her own TV show if she'll killed herself? :biggrin1:


Thanks very much for telling me that. I had no idea. I keep our birdseed in small metal garbage cans but I'm not always careful about spillage. I sure will be now!

Thank goodness Maddie was ok. I can't imagine how scary that would be. With all the craziness Snorkels has caused, there really hasn't been a time when she's been in imminent danger of death like Maddie.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

xellil said:


> Thanks very much for telling me that. I had no idea. I keep our birdseed in small metal garbage cans but I'm not always careful about spillage. I sure will be now!
> 
> Thank goodness Maddie was ok. I can't imagine how scary that would be. *With all the craziness Snorkels has caused, there really hasn't been a time when she's been in imminent danger of death like Maddie.*


But you know she keeps trying....


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## Kitkat771 (Mar 31, 2012)

Samething happened with my dog, Chloe a little over a month ago. I do not know what caused it in her though. I suspect it's something she ate in the yard. I inspected the yard and didn't find anything. 
I took her to the vet and the put some fluids under her skin where she puffed up and they sent her home. I put her in her crate at home and had some clients to see for work. I stopped back by my house an hour or two later to check on her and she had blood pouring out of her rear. I took her back to the vet and they hospitilized her. I was also told she had a 50/50 chance of survival. 

Within a couple of weeks she starting to show the same symptoms again. I also bought her some anti-nausea drops and some electrolytes from the holistic pet store in my area and she improved without getting worse in a couple of days. 

I'm keeping it on hand now just in case. I am also giving her probiotics. 

I tried to get my mom to do the same for her dog, but she's afraid to do anything now. She's in the mindset that what she did before (her low quality kibble) was fine as her dog was never sick then.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

Scarlett_O' said:


> And why am I not shocked that a Doxie would be the one(well maybe along with a Pug) to want to eat bird seed?!?LOL
> 
> Oh and like Donna said, no weight bearing bones from large animals.


My corgi back in the states loves bird seed too =)


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

Maybe the RMB were a coincidence? I don't think vets know what exactly causes HGE. They just know that it is more common in smaller dogs. My Grandmas JRT got HGE last year, and he was in the vets for 3 days. It's a very scary thing.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

to the best of my knowledge, hge is not caused by bone, though a sliver can start the process....

marrow bones and bones that are very dense should not be fed merely because of tooth breakage.

anything can contribute to hge....usually, though, the dog or human is born with a thinner stomach or intestinal lining. the tissues are simply not as thick and healthy.....and it's a biological thing.

it doesn't mean you never feed the dog a raw diet...kibble can do the same thing.

any abrasive, such as seeds, or junk in a yard....what's one man's trash is a dog's treasure, like seeds and their shells....

anything can lacerate. please tell your mom that....anything can lacerate, even doggie treats.

you may want to get her checked for ulcers or something in her gut that causes her to start this process.

but, kudos, for having the supplies you need in case you see the symptoms...she doesn't have to be getting into anything...


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Kitkat771 said:


> My mom decided to give her dogs a raw meaty bone for their teeth. She's not interested in raw feeding and is a bit ignorant with dog nutrition. However, she wanted to improve her dogs teeth. She has 3 rescue dogs. One is a terrier mix, and she has a pomeranian mix, and a black lab. She bought meaty rib bones from the grocery store. All the dogs were okay, but the terrior mix got HGE and had to be hospitilized. She seems to be doing better now. I'm afraid to give my dogs a bone again. Why would this happen? This also made her decide to never give a bone again. I'm not totally agreeing with her on this, but am more nervous now.
> One of my dogs also had HGE a couple of months ago...before I went to raw again.
> 
> The vet told my mom to never give dogs bones because they also break teeth and are dangerous. I know that's a lower risk and am more concerned about the HGE than the broken teeth.
> ...


There isn't really any known cause for HGE... well aside from the possibility of food sensitivity, or a bacteria... I've never had a dog with it, my grandmothers pug got it, unsure of what he could have gotten into... god knows i suppose but, they've never been given bones etc.

As far as the bones go, like others have said... don't give weight bearing bones, I love my dog to death, he's like my child and i wouldn't give him anything that would hurt him, he chews on leg bones from deer and that's about it marrow bones are a big no no. ribs are nice, from beef though.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Tobi said:


> There isn't really any known cause for HGE... well aside from the possibility of food sensitivity, or a bacteria... I've never had a dog with it, my grandmothers pug got it, unsure of what he could have gotten into... god knows i suppose but, they've never been given bones etc.
> 
> As far as the bones go, like others have said... don't give weight bearing bones, I love my dog to death, he's like my child and i wouldn't give him anything that would hurt him, he chews on leg bones from deer and that's about it marrow bones are a big no no. ribs are nice, from beef though.


i think that giving immune support, probiotics and essential nutrients is about all that anyone can do.

there is no known cause....some people or dogs just have thinner tissues than others....


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## Kitkat771 (Mar 31, 2012)

I agree. My dog was not on raw food at the time she got HGE. I hadn't started raw yet. She was on high quality kibble. One of the top brands of food made my other dog really sick although it wasn't HGE. She couldn't handle the food. I'm not sure if we are allowed to name brands so I wont. That was the same food Chloe was eating when she got HGE...not sure if it was related to the food or something else she got into. She had been eating that food for about a month or so when she got sick.


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