My dog swallowed a string. Is this life-threatening for them?

Hi, and thanks for your question. This can create a quite severe inflammation infection of the gastrointestinal system and surrounding organs (like pancreas and liver) and possibly a gastrointestinal obstruction. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is immediately essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics and possibly further investigations (like abdominal imaging as ultrasound or radiographs) may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

This could become a problem in that strings can cause a foreign body obstruction in the intestine. You can try to feed your puppy some sauerkraut which hopefully will envelope the string and take it with it through the intestines to be excreted naturally. Should your puppy get diarrhea, start to retch or get lethargic, she will need to be seen by a veterinarian right away.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Zula! If she is extremely lethargic and is vomiting a lot she should go to the ER today. If she seems ok and the vomiting is minimal she should she your Vet first thing in the morning in case she needs surgery. I wish you the best of luck!

Oh no, that's not good! More than likely, this one thread will pass without problem especially if it isn't very long. The worst case scenario would be it could cause a linear foreign body, signs of which include a decreased appetite, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. Keep an eye on her to be safe, and if you do see any of those signs, take her into a vet right away. Hopefully, however, she will be just fine. Best of luck!

Poor Nuala! If you think she may have swallowed some string from her toy, I would be very concerned that she might have an intestinal blockage - vomiting, not eating, acting lethargic, and not having regular bowel movements are all common signs of this problem. If she does have a blockage, this is a life-threatening emergency that will require immediate surgery to remove the obstruction, so I would recommend taking her to an emergency clinic tonight to be seen. The veterinarian there can examine her and take some x-rays to help determine if there is a blockage present, and will get her into surgery to remove it if a problem is found.

If the string came out very easily without having to pull hard, it may be OK. If you had to put a lot of tension when pulling it, there is a chance the string could have cut the esophagus. Watch closely for vomiting (especially with blood), gagging, difficulty swallowing or decreased appetite. Also watch for black, tarry stools. This is a sign of bleeding in the esophagus, stomach or small intestines. If any of these symptoms are seen, I would take her to a veterinarian immediately. They may want to do blood work, x-rays, or even use a scope to evaluate the esophagus for injuries.

You can ask as many questions you like! I would take her into a vet to be safe, as these strings can often get caught in a cat's mouth around the tongue. The other problem with strings is that they can cause a linear foreign body. If you can get her into a vet now to induce vomiting, then you can prevent an obstruction from happening. The vet can also check her mouth to see if it's stuck in there.