My puppy ate a bully stick. What symptoms mean a quick vet visit?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Scotia. Oh no, that's not good. You did the right thing by taking her into a vet right away. Keep an eye out for more vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and a loss of appetite. If you see any of those signs, take her back into a vet right away. I hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Allie is likely going to be just fine. As long as she is eating, drinking and not lethargic / inappetant then I would just monitor her at home. If she begins to exhibit any of the above mentioned symptoms, I would get her seen by a veterinarian for an examination and to have abdominal x-rays taken to make sure that there is no intestinal obstruction from the bully stick. I would feed her a bland diet as outlined below for at least 3 days past the resolution of the vomiting. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

This is a good portion of the stick, and it could cause a problem. Watch for vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, or a loss of appetite. If you see any of those signs, take Autumn into a vet immediately. Hopefully, however, her stomach acid will dissolve it.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Georgie. Given that she is acting normally, I would not be concerned at this point in time. Keep monitoring her tonight, and if she is still normal in the morning, she should be ok. I hope this helps!

The good news is that usually corn dog sticks don’t cause too much trauma in terms of the sharp edges. Sometimes, they don’t even eat any, they just chew it. If Pax is acting great, give him a slice of bread which can stick to the sharper pieces and ease their passing. That being said, it can still cause some vomiting or diarrhea and if you see these, or if you see lethargy or any other concerning signs, it time to take Pax to your vet.

Her stomach may be upset because of eating the sticks, because of the diet change, a combination of both, there's no way to tell just from her symptoms. It may be that there is a piece of the stick still inside causing an obstruction or pain. I recommend getting her in to see your vet for an exam, possibly x-rays, right away if she starts vomiting again, develops diarrhea, continues to refuse food, and/or continues to be lethargic. If there is an obstruction or perforation somewhere in her GI tract, getting her sooner ir better than later, as this condition could require surgery.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. I would monitor Ripley for now as there are no clinical symptoms to be concerned about. What I would recommend doing would be to feed bread slices with pure canned pumpkin to help booked up the feces around the object to help prevent it from causing any punctures in the intestinal tract potentially. If you begin to see any symptoms such as vomiting, lethargy, abdominal pain, inappetence or anything else out of the ordinary I would get Ripley seen by a veterinarian sooner rather than later and have abdominal x-rays taken to see if the stick has caused any issues. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.