# Actual choking incident!



## Moomama (Apr 22, 2012)

It was horrifying! Mitch was eating a chicken quarter, and my husband and I were nearby watching. He started making a weird motion with his mouth over and over again. We didn't want to freak him out, and we weren't sure that something was wrong, so we waited. A minute or so goes by, and he puts his nose down on the ground and starts frantically pawing at his mouth. I opened his mouth and Brian reached in, but it was too far down to reach. He was breathing, so we knew it wasn't in his trachea. I attempted some sort of doggy-Heimlich, and after another minute or so, he swallowed it. 

So now I'm all freaked out. I figured since he's been on raw for a while (2 months, I think), I would just cut down on the chicken quarters and do more beef heart (something he normally gets rotated in anyway). The problem is, hearts give him very runny poo. The chicken quarters sort of counter-acted this, but I'm very hesitant to do that on a daily basis anymore. I tried pork again (this time, NOT enhanced): runny poo. I'm honestly considering going back to kibble. We switched to raw because of diarrhea bouts, but the only thing that changed is I now control when the diarrhea happens. I feel like if I don't want diarrhea to happen, I have to risk him choking. UGH! Help?


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

people choke. dogs choke. 

i know you're all freaked out. i would certainly be, also. and was when my shih tzu choked on a piece of steak back in the day before we fed raw.

your dog has been on raw for two months. he should not yet be ready for heart. 

dogs choke on kibble, too.

having said that, there are guidelines for feeding raw......and based on what i'm reading, it really sounds as if you would benefit from feeding something else.

i don't mean to sound harsh...but user error is usually the culprit.....when it comes to transition. i know it was for me. i gave my dogs a case of cannon butt...that i hope never to revisit. but in looking back and my mentor laughing at me.....i see now that i caused the runs and any other problems we ran into.

i think the first few months of raw can freak someone out absolutely, but you switched to raw for a reason.....the bumps in the road are going to happen.....we are here for you....should you decide to continue.


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

How scary! I know you were terrified. 

That has actually happened to me, but with a small piece of kidney. I fed the dogs, was standing at the sink, heard a metallic clang, turned around and Snorkels had apparently gotten choked, reared back, hit the dishwasher and fell over like a dead cow with her legs and neck stretched straight out, not breathing.

Believe me, I was absolutely horrified. But it hasn't happened since then, and that was six months ago and she's eating the same things.

You could try feeding the quarter half frozen of completely frozen. Or hold the end so he chews. Or, try introducing something lighter like turkey necks - it's bonier. 

I agree with Re - if he's prone to diarrhea hearts are not what you want to be feeding. I think pork disagrees with alot of dogs - I know it does mine. I think you could try turkey as a new protein and slowly introduce beef. And you could also give him some fish now. 

Whatever you decide, I do know how it feels to see your dog choke. I know it's scary. I had no option to go back to kibble, as I knew where I came from and I'd rather risk choking than ever do that again.


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

xelill...her dogs have only been on raw for a short amount of time.

beef heart or any heart, for that matter, will most likely cause the runs.....because the dogs aren't ready for a food so rich.


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> xelill...her dogs have only been on raw for a short amount of time.
> 
> beef heart or any heart, for that matter, will most likely cause the runs.....because the dogs aren't ready for a food so rich.


yes, that's why I suggested turkey or fish


----------



## Stinky (May 31, 2012)

That is very scary. Stuff happens, though, could have happened on kibble. I'm introducing turkey now to my dog who has been on raw for a month.


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> xelill...her dogs have only been on raw for a short amount of time.
> 
> beef heart or any heart, for that matter, will most likely cause the runs.....because the dogs aren't ready for a food so rich.


Oh, I see what you are saying "Slowly introduce beef." I should clarify - slowly introduce beef AFTER you have done the turkey or fish and he has been diarrhea-free for awhile.


----------



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I agree watching your dog choke is terrifying. My first expereince was with Dal, our golden retriever, he choked on his kibble. It was horrible seeing him trying to hack it out, the gurgling gasps, and with him, the splat of kibble being coughed out, followed by the heavy wheezy breathing. It was the second experience that sent me looking for larger size kibble, discovered about raw. Switched over, sort of, had a couple of choking (mostly more swallowed wrong) incidents due to stupid eating (yes, chewing is neccessary. Not an option). I have to say for me the raw "choking" incidences haven't been as frightening as the kibble ones. I figure with raw it's just a chunk I have to drag out, not pieces that might end up being "broken apart" and inhaled even more.


----------



## meganr66 (Mar 2, 2012)

It is most definitely scary, but i would rather take sometimes diarrhea than always diarrhea if he was having diarrhea on kibble. about 2 weeks ago my 46 lb pit/lab mix Belle snatched a chicken back out of my hand and attempted to swallow it whole, i had to reach in and pull it out. scared the bejeezus out of me, but i know she is a gulper and i always hold her food.. the little poohead just snatched it out of my hand when i was only half watching! don't switch back because you had one scary experience. if you have a dog prone to poo explosions, then you go REALLY slow. like, really slow. my boy couldn't handle any skin on his chicken for the first month to month and a half, now he is a pro without any explosions from that!


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i was thinking about the beginning....and it can be frightening.....the first time i handed my dogs something with bone in it, i had to drink.

i admit it.

my pug tries to swallow everything whole.....i had to pull a piece of long tendon out of his throat....and thought..nah, this is not for me....not for me.

it's something that you stick with.....keep sticking with.....one day at a time, one meal at a time...because at the end of the day, it is so worth it...

the diarrhea will clear up once you get the hang of what to feed and when..

go back to chicken, bony chicken...let's clear up the diarrhea.....and then go from there.


----------



## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I like the idea of the turkey necks. Bony, and easy to chew. 

I have found with mine, that they "learn" to chew better and better the longer they have been on raw. My youngest, Shadow will try to swallow too large of a piece of something when he gets to the end of it and then when it doesn't go down he "horks" it back so to speak and chews some more then swallows just fine. My older more experienced ones hardly ever do that any more. This could be with you as well. Maybe just some more time learning to chew. 

I know what happened to you was scary, but you were doing right by keeping an eye on Mitch while he eats. That is exactly why it is recomended to always watch dogs while they eat. And, even dogs on kibble can choke just the same.


----------



## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

I would try giving bigger pieces and then holding it/watching really him carefully when he's working on the last bit. Some dogs will try and gulp smaller pieces, if he thinks yo're going to try and take the piece he might try and gulp it too. Some dogs are good chewers from the start, others are gulpers and you need to keep an eye on them (like a certain dachshund I've read horror stories about lol).

I see it like when you swallow a piece of food only to find it gets stuck down in your chest and you need water to push it down (I'm not the only one who has experienced this? xD).


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

> I see it like when you swallow a piece of food only to find it gets stuck down in your chest and you need water to push it down (I'm not the only one who has experienced this? xD).


Rebel does that and he's a good chewer. My thought is I never interfere unless they can't breathe because I want them focused on the food and not on me. He has always resolved it himself but he's not pawed at his face.


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

3Musketeers said:


> I see it like when you swallow a piece of food only to find it gets stuck down in your chest and you need water to push it down (I'm not the only one who has experienced this? xD).


i do that with air. LOL

and water. and vitamins.


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> i do that with air. LOL
> 
> and water. and vitamins.


My aunt is getting swallowing therapy since she coughed last week taking a drink. I have a page of instructions if you want them 

Never knew there was so much to swallowing!


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

xellil said:


> My aunt is getting swallowing therapy since she coughed last week taking a drink. I have a page of instructions if you want them
> 
> Never knew there was so much to swallowing!


i have a curled larynyx.....and because of that, had to be taught how to swallow without choking.

it would make sense to me tho.....when dogs are eating something new, they too have to learn how to 'eat'....


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

and if i could spell....larynx. d'oh.


----------



## doggoblin (Jun 6, 2011)

Nothing prepares you for the sight of your dog choking. Although we had two dogs on raw when we had Daisy we thought we'd let her settle before transitioning her. Second day on kibble she started choking on it. Mad panic later she was fine. She went onto raw the next day. I think you do need to put it into perspective. Dogs can and do choke on things, doesn't matter if it is raw food or not.


----------



## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

My youngest sheltie almost choked to death on a bunch of grass. She decided to graze and ended up with too much grass and couldn't swallow. Her gums were white and she couldn't breathe right. She has been raw fed since she was weaned from her mom. She has never choked on food but grass almost did her in. Things happen. i would never not let her play in the yard because she decided to eat too much grass just like if she did choke on her food i wouldn't take away her food. you have been given some ways tot each your dog how to chew. I hope you go with that. Raw really is the best thing for your dog.


----------



## bullyBug (May 31, 2012)

How terrifying. I had one choking experience with my GSD. I believe we were towards the end of our first year on raw when he choked on a pork neck. It wouldn't go down or come up, but (thankfully) he could still breathe. I was 19 and on the verge of hysteria. I called a pet ambulance service we have in the city and 15 minutes later they showed up. When they rang the bell, he barked and out it went. After that I stopped buying sliced or chopped RMBs and started feeding the largest cuts available. He went on to eat raw for another ten years without incident, and I have since learned the doggie Heimlich. :tongue:


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

bullyBug said:


> How terrifying. I had one choking experience with my GSD. I believe we were towards the end of our first year on raw when he choked on a pork neck. It wouldn't go down or come up, but (thankfully) he could still breathe. I was 19 and on the verge of hysteria. I called a pet ambulance service we have in the city and 15 minutes later they showed up. When they rang the bell, he barked and out it went. After that I stopped buying sliced or chopped RMBs and started feeding the largest cuts available. He went on to eat raw for another ten years without incident, and I have since learned the doggie Heimlich. :tongue:


I know this really isn't funny but I have this vision of you totally frantic and the ambulance arriving and he barks and out pops a neck.


----------



## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

My dogs have had a couple of incidents that have made my heart drop. And it has never been from anything with bone, always boneless hunks of meat.

For what it's worth, when I asked my vet to show me on Tux how to do the Heimlich...he did show me, but also said he has NEVER had to use it. Said dogs are very good on their own about getting things out.


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

shellbell said:


> My dogs have had a couple of incidents that have made my heart drop. And it has never been from anything with bone, always boneless hunks of meat.
> 
> For what it's worth, when I asked my vet to show me on Tux how to do the Heimlich...he did show me, but also said he has NEVER had to use it. Said dogs are very good on their own about getting things out.


I'm not sure I would be as successful with Rebel as with Snorkels. I can't hold him upside down. BUT, like you say, he seems to be very good at taking care of it himself.


----------



## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

xellil said:


> I'm not sure I would be as successful with Rebel as with Snorkels. I can't hold him upside down. BUT, like you say, he seems to be very good at taking care of it himself.


If you are full of adrenalin at the moment, you would surprise yourself and find you can hold Rebel upside down easily. It would be a panicky moment no doubt!


----------

