The Dog Who Loved to Eat Rocks – Buddy’s Foreign Body Ingestion

Buddy is a 2 year old chocolate labrador retriever who has a bad habit. He is obsessed with rocks. He loves them so much that he frequently carries them around in his mouth.

Unfortunately, he has also been known to swallow them.

So it was no surprise when Buddy came in to see Dr. Kovar with symptoms of vomiting and not eating, that his radiographs (x-rays) revealed multiple large rocks in his stomach. Not exactly the best way to get your minerals, Buddy!

We were able to remove a few by inducing vomiting, however surgery was required to remove the remaining rocks. It would have been too risky to wait and see if the rocks would pass because of the potential for a small intestinal obstruction. Buddy recovered uneventfully and was discharged the next day.

Unfortunately, we veterinarians see many cases of “foreign body” ingestion. Over the years, we have certainly seen some unusual items. We have removed sewing needles, carpet, underwear, corn cobs, racquet balls, socks, and plastic toys to name a few. Some pets are actually habitual offenders!

Our best advice? If your dog or cat does get into things and eat inappropriate objects, try to limit the exposure (yeah, we know, easier said than done!)