# I'm an idiot. No more rubber toys for Harry.



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Bad Dad. Someone should call the ASPCA on me 

Harry had a bad vomiting episode Monday evening...real lethargic the entire night which I know is a bad sign. In his vomit was a plastic plug about the size of a quarter, maybe bigger. The SAME color as a plastic/rubber chew bone I had him chewing on about a MONTH ago!!!!!
Contemplate taking him to our 24hr emergency Vet but I hold off as he stops vomitting. Take him to my VET first thing yesterday morning. X-Rays, examination look ok, though he does seem to think his Intestinal track looked inflamed(or something like that)...... Vet concludes that the stupid rubber piece was stuck in him all this time and finally his system worked it out thankfully. 

I feel bad about this one. Hard lesson to learn. Other than the Kong beehive, there will be no more rubber type chew toys in my house. No way. Harry has probably felt like crap for over a month now.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

What's amazing to me is that they sell this stuff, knowing that dogs can chew it up. I have purchased "bones" from PetSmart that broke into these big shards and cut both my dogs mouths to pieces. 

You'd think stuff like that would be safe, but alot of it isn't. My dog carries a stuffed toy without chewing it up, but how many dogs have clogged intestines from eating those things?

I'm so glad he's getting better!!! Those operations are pricey.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Its hard because he absolutely LOVES chewing on these type of things. 

Oh well, I'm sure he'd love Twinkies too but it doesn't mean I should give them to him.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Was it a nylabone or just some other type? My dogs don't care for those at all. But they do like those Kong toys and Thank goodness they can't chew through those ~~~~gosh I better check ~~~~and like right now! But this is a good tip to stick away from those chewy and chewable type bones. Thanks for this tip.:smile: Hope Harry is doing better. He deserves a nice big juicy steak after all his ordeal!:smile: And no you are not a bad Doggy Dad! Think of the folk out there that would have not bothered with even taking their dog to the vet and let the dog just deal with it! They would never have invested the time or energy on their sweet lil' pup even if they are well off! So kudos to you for doing the right thing! :smile:


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

The bad thing is most of these dog toys will say to be in close supervision of your dog, generally in tiny letters somewhere on the back of the packaging. So even if they are supposed to be "safe" it will be your fault for not reading every last thing on the cardboard packaging and watching your dog like a hawk *siiighh*.

A lot of these dog toys shouldn't even exist, yet they do, and they will continuing doing so as long as they say somewhere that you dog has to be supervised.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I'm in agreement that some of the toys on the market really shouldn't be. 
That being said, what is safe for one dog is not safe for another. I've always used Nylabones, and been quite happy with them, but now that Mousse is around, the others can only have them in their crates, because he can plow through one of those like there's no tomorrow. For aggressive chewers, there really is NO safe toy that I have come across. I think Antlers are probably the only thing I feel are "fool proof" but even so, if they're dense enough for the powerful chewers, I can't help but wonder if they are too dense to break teeth on. I used to buy femurs for Champ before I knew better, and he could eat them just fine, but can't eat antlers. It just makes me wonder.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

kevin bradley said:


> Bad Dad. Someone should call the ASPCA on me
> 
> Harry had a bad vomiting episode Monday evening...real lethargic the entire night which I know is a bad sign. In his vomit was a plastic plug about the size of a quarter, maybe bigger. The SAME color as a plastic/rubber chew bone I had him chewing on about a MONTH ago!!!!!
> Contemplate taking him to our 24hr emergency Vet but I hold off as he stops vomitting. Take him to my VET first thing yesterday morning. X-Rays, examination look ok, though he does seem to think his Intestinal track looked inflamed(or something like that)...... Vet concludes that the stupid rubber piece was stuck in him all this time and finally his system worked it out thankfully.
> ...


kevin, honey, don't feel badly. dogs eat things they shouldn't be able to eat.

i have a pug who eats the tops off his kongs...yeah...kongs...

and if it isn't a kong, he likes to roll rocks around in his mouth. doesn't eat them, just puts them in his mouth...

don't feel badly...

i hope he feels better soon....


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

thanks guys. Wags, no, this wasn't Nylabone. 

The typical nylabone works well for Harry... the real hard type material. I have to be careful just saying "nylabone" because Nylabone actually makes stuff in a few different materials. I think most people think of that super hard bone when they say "nylabone" though. Anyhow, it wasn't a Nylabone brand product. 

It was an off brand rubber type toy that actually held up for awhile. I probably wasn't real clear on my initial post.....it wasn't a piece he ripped off. It was this PLUG that goes in one end that you are supposed to fill w/ water. Once I saw he ripped it off, I immediately took it away. I didn't probably pay enough attention to where the stupid plug went. I remember scratching my head thinking, HUH thats weird. And I KNOW that obstructions can be a real issue for Dogs. Just a lapse on my part I guess. Obviously, he swallowed the darn thing and "held" onto it for the last month at least. 

It was just dumb on my part. And I'm not looking for anyone to say "thats ok, Kevin"..... as much as I appreciate it. It was my fault. I'll learn from it. Seeing your poor boy that sick because of something I did is hard.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Kevin, well, if thats the worst you can do to your pup, then Harry's got it pretty good! 
I've done dumb stupid stuff, like dropping the leash on a busy road when Mol was a wee pup, things where something saved my bacon a few times, thank goodness. So, we all do it at some stage in one form or another. 
The good thing is that Harry is really quite ok, it didn't cost a fortune at the vet, that we all learn from our mistakes, just like I've learnt from your's right now!


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Funny....

that "cheap" chew toy turned into a $151.89 chew toy. (not that cost matters in getting Harry right, but there is some irony to it).


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Aww, poor Harry...I can totally relate. There was a time before raw, where I gave Louis a sample can of Tikki Dog...I sure didn't know any better at the time, it looked so gourmet with the little soybeans and veggies in it and little cooked shrimp on top. My poor guy was SO sick from eating it, lots of barfing, pooping, and sleeping for 2 days. Then there was a time when he got into a bulk box of Nature's Valley granola bars, and ate 3 whole bars. You bet I don't put those things in his reach anymore! :biggrin:


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Here is a list of things my husband or I have done to Ania:

Stepped on her little baby paw with heels on (me, not my husband :wink.
While walking through the yard, Puppy Ania had a bad habit of nipping at my husband's heels. One time, her bottom canine tooth got caught in his pants. He didn't know and kept walking. This resulted in her puppy tooth being broken off. Had to get it extracted so it wouldn't get infected.
Due to the same puppy nipping problem, her wittle face got kinda stepped on a couple of times.
I dropped Ania on the floor. She landed badly on her leg and started cryyyyying and limping immediately. She even held her paw in the air. I thought we were going to have to amputate. Took her into the vet, and she was fine. This was the day I learned that she was too big for Mom to pick her up and hold her like a baby anymore.
While chasing after Dad on an urban walk, she misjudged the height of a retaining wall and crashed chin first onto pavement.
Fed her Enkanuba when we first brought her home.
My point is, don't beat yourself up. We live and learn. I bet that toy was even marked for voracious chewers. You're one of the best daddies I know of.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

you have to check your dogs toys
occassionally for wear no matter what 
they're made of. when you buy your dog
toys you have to figure out what's safe,
what's going to last. don't buy cheap toys.
Kong makes a black rubber toy line
that's extra heavy duty.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

yep, Kong is about all I'll ever give Harry and it would have to be the beehive type shaped ones... he doesn't seem to be able to shred those for some reason. And he won't get anything by himself any more which is sad because I'm at work all day. 

The one part I don't like about the manufacturers is the fact that there are FAR too many toys out there that are a joke. If human babies were put at risk like this, about 10 Govt agencies would be breathing down these companies necks. The issue with Dog toys isn't isolated. There are TONS of toys that could do harm to a Dog in a millisecond. I blame myself because I know this. Many poor folks do not.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

kevin bradley said:


> Funny....
> 
> that "cheap" chew toy turned into a $151.89 chew toy. (not that cost matters in getting Harry right, but there is some irony to it).


we live. we learn. stop beating yourself up over it. believe me, after this, you'll never do it again, eh?


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## Love my lab (Dec 9, 2010)

ahhh the sweet bitter truth magicre .....or we would like to think that way huh Some of the lessons learned actually come the hardest...oh wait if they dont come hard then more then likely dont get completely learned. lol.....at least in my world anyway. But yeah bad dog toy experience ends you w/a dog who has slim picking for toys. Really...no sense in beating yourself up, and guess what...your dog loves you just as much today as he did yesterday. All good!!!


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Love my lab said:


> and guess what...your dog loves you just as much today as he did yesterday. All good!!!


you know what Barb? I think you just nailed it.... what we love about Dogs. I ran home for lunch to check on him and he looked at me with the same loving eyes he always does... without an ounce of bitterness or anger. 

I think we love Dogs mainly because we all wish we were more like them.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Off topic I know, but I can't help myself



magicre said:


> we live. we learn. stop beating yourself up over it. believe me, after this, you'll never do it again, eh?


What about hangovers though? I live, I learn, I swear, never, ever, ever again. 
Till the next weekend. :happy:

Must care about my dog (and cat) more than I do myself!!


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

Don't feel too bad-just be glad your pup was alright.
Consider it a lesson learned.
Moka ate her entire 6 foot leash when she was 8 months old...took about 3 weeks to poop/puke all the pieces out.


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## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

Kevin,

Glad your pup seems to be on the mend. Please don't beat yourself up, we have all had these "learning curve" experiences. Like Natalie said they love us and don't hang onto things mentally the way humans do. I've had a dog eat part of a towel(dumb moment on our part), pulled the top of a beehive black Kong toy out of a choking malamutes mouth(scarey as the dickens)eat the stuffing/batting from a bed spread(this one scared me to bits as a friends dog had done this and required surgery)man's hankee, the list is short but nerve wracking. I have become so paranoid about toys, all kinds of toys, but for some stupid reason I still waste some money on them periodically. Those critter things advertized on TV with no stuffing had their squeakers annihilated in less than 5 minutes, recently an air kong toy, one of the dogs worked through the outer layer to get to the squeaker, so far with intensive supervision the soft nubby nylabones and the Cuz toys with the feat cut off have worked, I cut the feet off because they WILL be chewed off, Lol, I'm not even sure the dogs enjoy them because I am a hovering paranoid maniac when they have them. With the siberian prey drive I should have been more alert to the squaker toy really kicking in that drive, sighhhh, toys are my nemesis. I've decided exercise for the dogs and I is better than toys...............now I just have to keep up with my seniors as I hit middle age.


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