They had to keep my dog overnight at the vets office yesterday, because she was vomiting a lot Sun morn and it turns out she had eaten a piece of corn on the cob at a bbq on Fri. That was totally my fault. I should've kept a closer eye on her, which I was, but I have no idea how it happened. After she threw up a piece of cob, I got nervous and took her to the vet immediately. I also began to think she might have gotten MORE sick because if a piece of cobb was keeping her from releasing stools, and she had 3 meals of raw chicken in her, would she get salmonella poisining??

Of course the vet didn't like the fact I feed her raw, and was trying to tell me how bad it is, but I didn't want to get on her bad side at the moment. I will wait to tell her about all that stuff today when I pick my dog up. They did not see anything blocked in the x-rays, which leads me to think why was she acting so ill? She was real restless and would lay down on the grass, then whine and stand up, then lay down, and whine and stand up...etc. She was panting heavilly so I thought it was bloat from the cobb blocking her stomach, but there was no blockage. Any thoughts?

Alex, would a chunk of cob definitely show up on an x-ray? Wondering if they could be missing it, especially if she has other food containing chicken bones and such in there... I think the most dangerous thing to worry about with swallowing corn cobs is indeed obstruction. *Some* dogs can be allergic to them, but I would think obstruction is more common - it also sounds like your dog's symptoms (laying down, whimpering, getting up - general discomfort) more so than an allergy. And unless she ate meat that was seriously contaminated BEFOREhand, I don't think salmonella is really a risk.

Did she loose her appetite at all? What did the vet suggest you do now, or will you get that info when you pick her up...? Hope she's feeling better today.

~Natalya

Could be a bad stomach ache from the corn?

FWIW...A few weeks ago a client of ours had exploratory surgery following weeks of off and on loss of appetite, some mild vomiting and lethargy and our doc found...a small chunk of corn cob! The owner said the dog had eaten this possibly a month ago.

The dog DID have x-rays and the cob never showed up. Possibly a barium series might have shown it, but maybe not? Anyhow, the surgery found the problem and the dog is doing great.

Thanks for the replies. Well the vet did say, it could've been an upset stomach since she managed to vomit the piece of cobb, which was maybe 1" by 1/2" (I think). It came out the 3rd time she vomited along with some blood (upset throat?). I was thiking of waiting, but once she started becoming restless I got worried & went to the vet. The chicken I gave her is the same she'd been eating. The only thing difference was I got some meat shavings from a butcher and she had not had that before. It smelled and looked fine. She had been eating ground beef w/her chicken. The meat was maybe a few days old and was frozen when given to me. I might have given her a bit too much since it was a new type of muscle meat, but she had never had any problems on raw before.

As far as the x-ray Natalya, you may be right. They told me they put barium? in her system and that would tell them if there was any blockage because the x-ray would show where it stopped. After spending almost $300 I at least need to know what happened I hope they can tell me.

Also, my dog had not shown any loss of apetite.

Edited by Alex Corral (07/23/2007 01:24 PM)
Edit reason: Added comment after reading Sarah's post

Yes, those are all typical symptoms of blockage, and corn cobs are such a common obstruction item that entire Q&A sections are devoted to them on vet med sites. Dogs like the sugar in the corn as well as the butter and salt that are left on the cob.

I would strengthen my mind to make sure I kept the vet on track, because I hate to say this, but I know too many people whose dogs had something undiagnosed because of a vet who was trying to write off a problem to raw feeding.

I'd ask whether or not there had been formed stools at the vet's and whether or not they had been examined for any items that could have caused an obstruction and then moved along after all.

I know you don't have info yet; if the vet releases the dog and the dog is not 100% (with formed stools), without careful observation instructions, I'd absolutely get a second opinion.

Alex, I hope your dog recovers, hopefully your vet is doing all that needs to be done.likeother have said keep on your vet and ask a list of questions....
I'll be thinking of you both..

Thanks Angelique , well just wanted to update. My dog is fine. She was very happy to see me and was acting normal. They said absolutely nothing was seen in the x-ray using the barium test. They think it was just an upset stomach. She pooped once there and they did not see anything out of the ordinary. As soon as we got home, she pooped again and the stool was very minimal but looked normal and was mostly white (I'm guessing the barium?). They said to give her a bland diet for a few days. Can I feed her, her raw chicken alone? No skin/fat? Should I boil chicken for her and rice? They also gave me some metronidazole? tablets to give her twice a day. Is that for an upset stomach?

Also, so how can a dog get salmonella from it's raw diet? or any illness? As long as the meat is fresh, there's no problem right? I can't figure out, why she got so sick. She had been doing great with every ingredient I put in her diet.

Edited by Alex Corral (07/23/2007 03:15 PM)
Edit reason: spelling

Glad to hear she's better Alex!

Dogs can get tummy aches from all kinds of things. It happens. I wouldn't be surprised if that chunk of corn cob did in fact make her digestive system a little upset for a while, even if she passed it herself. And since you didn't notice her eat that, perhaps she nibbled a little something else off the ground that didn't agree with her (spicy BBQ sauce or potato salad, etc.) Who knows. My dog has gotten upset stomach over wild berries (no, I didn't feed them to him, but noticed him sampling them), trauma (injury associated), and a mystery that I THINK was either lamb or beef that might not have been quite right when I fed it to him. Normally, even meat that has gone "off" a bit is just fine by him, but this one time something was different. The diet below worked without a trip to the vet. HOWEVER, if you suspect ANY kind of blockage or foreign material swallowed, I'd see a vet pronto.

Whenever my boy has gotten a belly ache (usually signaled by diahrea) we immediately switch to boiled, skinless, boneless chicken and boiled rice, with a little plain yogurt on top. We do this until everything starts coming out the other end in normal fashion, and then even a day longer - incorporating his raw back into the meal over a day or so. Does the trick.

Cheers,
~Natalya

http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monographs/metronidazole.asp

Glad to hear she is better Alex!!!!