My dog swallowed a hair tie. Is it safe to make him vomit at home?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Maggie. I'm sorry she ate the string anklet. I never recommend inducing vomiting at home. This is because hydrogen peroxide can and does cause gastritis and esophagitis, often worse than the initial problem. You can take her into an ER vet now, and they can safely induce vomiting with a shot. Otherwise, it may pass without problem, and you can watch her. If you see any vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, or lethargy, that is an indication there may be an obstruction from the anklet, and she will have to see a vet immediately. Should she develop an obstruction, surgery will be needed to correct it. I hope this helps, best of luck.

I would not recommend inducing vomiting at home - hydrogen peroxide can cause gastric ulcers. A single tampon could pass in a 78 pound dog, but tampons can also get stuck in the gastrointestinal tract. I would recommend contacting your vet to see if they would recommend inducing vomiting with a medication.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Mocha. I never recommend including vomiting at home because the substance used at home causes esophagitis and gastritis, often worse than the initial problem. Plus, the shoe could become stuck in his esophagus, leading to a very serious situation. You can take him into a vet now to have vomiting safely induced with a shot, or you can chose to monitor him. If you see vomiting, diarrhea, blood in his poop, anorexia, or lethargy, he should see a vet immediately. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Luna! The rubber band is very small and likely will not cause a problem but you never know. You will need to call your Vet for instructions to induce vomiting. Hydrogen peroxide causes vomiting by irritating the stomach lining and can cause inflammation of the esophagus. We can't prescribe dosing of hydrogen peroxide on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You can try calling a local emergency hospital and see if they will provide instructions or they can see her to induce vomiting with apomorhine. I hope this helps and I wish Luna the very best!

Yes you always have to be worried with potential foreign body ingestions. Hair ties are pretty small so the chance that they can cause blockages are slim, but they can still get stuck in the intestines and cause problems There are two possibilities at this point: 1) There is another hair tie still in there ( this will take some deductive reasoning in your part) that is stuck. 2) All hair ties have been expelled and your pet now just has an upset stomach due to dietary indiscretion. The odds are good because it is very small and had no sharp edges. With small foreign bodies it is recommended feed the pet a bulking agent like 1/2-1 loaf of bread or canned food that will help bind any additional objects within the GI tract and potentially help expel them out of the system. Good luck with your kitty and I hope that things will progress uneventful in the next couple of days. - Dr.H

If Chewy is acting normal so far, I wouldn't be concerned just yet - the hair tie could possibly cause an obstruction, but there's a good chance that it will pass through without causing any problems. Signs of a possible obstruction would include repeated episodes of vomiting, not wanting to eat, and acting lethargic - if he develops any of these symptoms, I would have him seen by a vet right away. But as long as he is acting normal, eating and drinking with no vomiting, I wouldn't worry. In most cases, objects like this will pass through within 2-3 days of being swallowed; you can look for it in his stool so that you'll know once it's safely out :)

Induction of vomiting is only helpful if it is within a couple hours or if it is in the stomach and hasn't passed. At this time, I would not recommend induction of vomiting. I would take Rocket in to the vet for x-rays and/or ultrasound which will help determine if there is something still in the stomach or provide a baseline to be used for comparison should he start to feel sick. Watch him closely over the next few days for lethargy, decreased appetite, gagging, or vomiting, which would warrant immediate vet attention.