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My dog ate a rib bone. Is his sickness from eating the bone?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Male | unneutered | 100 lbs

my dog ate a rib bone on Monday evening. On Wednesday he started acting very weird.....wouldn't eat, didn't want to walk, could barely stand up, started having diarrhea...we took him to the vet Saturday and she did blood work and said his red blood cells were high and gave him some high powered medicine to give him multiple times a day for the next few days...could any of his symptoms be from eating the rib bone?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Ann Dion, DVM

Answered By Ann Dion, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 10th, 2017

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Bones and raw food of any kind are a huge danger to any dog as they can cause serious infections, can perforate (poke a hole in) the intestines, cause gastritis, pancreatitis, and other issues. I would be very worried about a septic abdomen with Rowdy. If he is still not acting normally I would have him rechecked with your vet ASAP to do x-rays, a possible abdominal ultrasound to make sure there is no free fluid in his abdomen. If these are normal then your vet will likely treat for a gastritis/pancreatitis. If he can't stand and is having diarrhea, he could be very dehydrated and need IV fluids as well. I would strongly suggest pursing these other tests, especially if Rowdy is still acting the way you have described, with diarrhea and unable to stand. Best of luck with Rowdy.
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