My dog ate a small stone. Can it cause blockage? How long to watch?

It will likely pass. The symptoms of an issue to look out for including vomiting/especially within an hour of eating, straining to defecate, not popping. If you are willing to sift through each bowel movement until you find the small stone, that will provide additional peace of mind. Otherwise screening abdominal x-rays at your vet can determine whether the stone is stuck somewhere and are recommended especially if vomiting/in appearance or straining to defecate are noted. Good luck!

It is a good sign that there isn't gas building up behind the stone, which may indicate some gas is still able to pass through, however it is best that your vet continues to monitor as this may change as the stone moves through the intestines, or if it becomes lodged in a section of intestine. As for complications, it really depends on if the stone moves or if anything changes overnight. Your vet monitoring Clyde can best keep you updated on what is going on.

Considering your description I would say other 24 even 48 hours. The important clinical signs to monitor at this stage are appetite (must remain good), mental status (bright), and being comfortable (not any pain or discomfort especially on abdominal palpation or when walked around or laying down). At this stage there still good chances he will pass everything without any obstruction, so I would recommend just to keep monitoring him. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Swiss. If she ingested foreign material and is experiencing a blockage, then I would expect her to vomit any food or water consumed. She would be very lethargic and be sore in her belly. Of course, every case is different as far as symptoms, but those are the common ones. I hope this information helps!

Persistent vomiting, abdominal pain and reluctance to eat are the main signs of an obstruction, difficulty passing feces can also occur if something gets stuck very far down. A small piece of paper would be unlikely to cause any discomfort but bones, stones and tots are common culprits

As long as your dog is not lethargic, retching and /or having diarrhea you can probably wait a few days in case you cannot take your dog to a vet tomorrow. However if any of those signs show then this is an emergency and your dog needs to be seen by a vet right away as there may be an intestinal obstruction caused by more stones. She will likely have more stones in her stomach, as dogs make it a habit to eat stones. These probably can be removed by making her regurgitate them with a medicine called apomorphine, or removed endoscopically , if they are still in the stomach, or via surgery.

Whenever foreign objects like this are ingested, there is no guarantee that they will pass. The best advice is to monitor Honey for the next 24-48 hrs for any signs of an intestinal obstruction, which includes: excessive vomiting (food and water), lack of appetite, few to no feces, and severe lethargy. If seen, then its best to take Honey to your local vet for an x-ray of her belly and further care. Hopefully the rock was small enough to pass on its own. You can try feeding her 1 piece of bread to help bind the rock and hopefully help it pass. Give her plenty of access to water as well. Best of luck to you and your fur baby Honey moving forward. Best wishes and take care.