Just got back from Vet Emerg.

[DogPaddle]

I give Kavik and Zaphod shank bones - the love them, the chew the marrow out . . . completely - smooth and clean. As Zaphod has gotten bigger I have gotten bigger and bigger bones for him - don't want him swallowing them whole. As it turns out the last one was too big . . . you see after they eat out the marrow the bone is a ring. The vet had to sedate Zaphod and grind part of the shank bone away to remove it - HE GOT THE DARN THING STUCK BEHIND HIS LOWER CANINES, ENCIRCLING HIS LOWER JAW! :o :roll: Only Zaphod could do something so . . . boneheaded! :D The vet says they see 8-10 of these per year although usually with the circular bones from ham steaks and with smaller dogs but only two times have they seen one wedged worse than this and they had to use a wire saw to remove the bone from the completely sedated dog. Zaphod only had to be zombied up for them to remove it. It was wedged so bad it cut his gum and I had to keep moving it to ensure he got circulation to his lower "lip" correctly. :shake:
Ah well he is home now and aside from being a bit dopey he is fine and sleeping it off. :sleep2: :angel:
:lol:
One good thing came of it - I can be a bit more assured of his temperment. Although he was in discomfort and seemed willing to do himself injury trying to remove the bone he wouldn't bite us or the vet when we stuck our hands in his mouth or tried yanking on the bone. :kciuki: He even greeted the vet tech at the desk pleasantly - in fact it was a calmest vet visit yet . . . go figure. :wink:

[ellieangel]

Poor Zaphod :(
Wasn't he a good boy though !
It's funny but Rio is a terribly nervous dog but when I take him to the vets he jumps up at the reception desk and wags his tail waiting for a stroke !!
He isn't as calm when we get in to the vet though :-?
Glad he is ok :wink:

[Malamum]

Oh no- poor Zaphod. :( Glad he is now ok.

[behle]

Poor Zaphod! :( I'm happy to hear he is past his crisis and was very good at the vets....good dog! :D It's crazy how something as simple as a good chew on a bone can lead to such expense and worry... :roll:

[bk_blue]

Ohhh poor Zaphod. Glad he is ok now though! I am sure he won't be doing that little trick again in a hurry. 8) One of the reasons I buy bigger bones for BK is he tries to stuff smaller bones in his mouth (shanks, necks etc) and swallow them whole-so far he hasn't quite succeeded. :-?

[courtnek]

Glad he's better now.

Y'know, I may sound nuts, but I honestly think they know when they are in serious trouble and someone is trying to help them. Altho most visits to the vet get them poked, prodded and injected, I still think they know when there is a real problem and someone is trying to help them. They must know their own limitations, and must realize that we ar capable of helping, or else why would they be so calm and well behaved in a situatin that ordinarily would make them nervous and edgy? The only exception I can
think of is real pain, then they can be dangerous, but pain causes an adrenaline surge too.....My Golden used to shake his head so bad he would burst blood vessels in his ears. Not painful, but I imagine somewhat uncomfortable, since he would then scratch at them. He never had ear mites or anything, the vet said floppy eared dogs just do that....

I would take him in every few years when one would develop, and they would tranquilize him, slice and drain them, and put bandages on them.
He never seemed to mind those visits, but he would get cranky and edgy when it was shot time.....go figure?

[mouseatthebusstop]

Poor Zaphod ---- but what a good boy to behave himself in the vets :)

[Rowie-the-Pooh]

Poor Zaphod! :cry: What a good boy though!

One of the many reasons I don't like bones. I just stay away from all bones, I can't trust Rowie with a bone-ever!

I'm so glad he's okay now! :wink:

[Carolk9s]

Glad to hear Zaphod is ok! A big pat on his head for being such a good dog.
This happened to our old family dog Pepper. I remember my father working it off his jaw and my mother saying 'be careful! don't break his jaw or teeth! are you sure you know what you're doing?' Luckily, Dad managed to get it off Pepper.
I worry about that too, I still give my dogs these bones, I want them too big to swallow and too small to fit over lower canines. I used to be able to get them about 6-8 inches long but they are no longer carried locally. The only downside to the longer ones is that I would have to scrape out the fat and marrow from the center where the dogs could not reach.

[Guest Anonymous]

awww poor guy hope he's back to normal soon! ( no more bones!!! )

[DogPaddle]

Well he is almost back to normal. Ever since the vet emerg. he has been more affectionate and more interested in what I am doing, he watches me more - not a bad change but strange. Anyway I will certainly be picking different bones now, I don't have the extra money to be visiting the nice people at the After Hours Clinic on a regular basis. :lol: