My dog ate pine needles and sticks. Why is he gagging and drooling?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Drooling can be sign of nausea which is a typical symptom of a dog with a gastrointestinal foreign body obstruction. Since that is a possibility with Bentley, I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian a veterinarian as soon as possible for further assessment especially since it is possible that he ingested those needles. Likely diagnostics include abdominal imaging and bloodwork. If an obstruction is noticed or some of those needed are stuck in his gastrointestinal tract, surgery may be recommended. Good luck!

It sounds like your dog was nauseous, and dogs can lick things when they are nauseous. I can give you a home remedy for the vomiting to see if that helps. Withhold food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.

Sounds like your dog did one of the following: inhaled something into his lungs, got something stuck in his esophagus, or ingested something that scraped up the esophagus on the way down causing irritation and pain. In order to differentiate between the three of these possibility, a physical exam and x-rays would be needed. If you feel Meeko is stable (based on his continued appetite and thirst I would say he most probably is), it wouldn't hurt to see if this is something that will resolve on its own in the next 24 hours. If something just scratch the lining of the esophagus it is going to be a little painful and inflamed for the next day or two. If you do decide to take him into the vet, he would likely benefit from a anti-inflammatory and/or pain medication to alleviate any discomfort he may be feeling. Hope this makes sense.

Withhold food for 12-24 hours. Allow small amounts of water or unflavored PediaLyte. Resume feeding a bland diet (1:1 ratio of plain boiled boneless chicken and plain white rice). Feed in small, frequent amounts waiting at least one hour between feedings. Continue feeding until the stool is normal. Transition slowly to the regular diet. If the diarrhea doesn’t stop, see your veterinarian. Restrict access to pine needles to prevent future episodes of diarrhea.

He might have eaten something spoiled that is causing this. withhold food for 8 hours then offer him boiled boneless chicken and rice every 4-6 hours in small portions. if he is eating and not vomiting, continue with this diet for 2 days. After 2 days, you can put him back gradually on his normal food. If he continues vomiting or is not eating, take him to the vet to get treatment.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! She should be evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. This could be because she has developed a gastrointestinal obstruction or has gastrointestinal upset for example. I recommend that you have Chloe evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these abnormalities so that she can be treated accordingly. Best of luck!

Puppies are notorious for swallowing anything that crosses their path. They don't have hands, so they explore everything with their mouths. He may have swallowed something that is stuck, there may even be a piece of string looped around the base of his tongue. Hopefully your vet did a thorough oral examination, including lifting the tongue in order to see underneath. This area is very hard to see and string can hide there very easily. It could be a long human hair that is bothering him. If you find string, thread or hair in his mouth that goes down his throat, DO NOT PULL IT. Same goes for any you may see as he tries to defecate. NEVER pull on any linear foreign body. It could be looped around some soft tissue out of sight and you will cause more damage. Any stringlike material caught around the tongue should be cut with a pair of safety scissors and allowed to go on down. If this happens, let your vet know what is going on and if he develops any other symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, get him back in to see your vet right away.