Bones have been a part of a dog’s diet for ages. Dogs whose ancestors were wolves used to hunt the prey and eat the animal completely including its flesh, blood, and even its bones.
So in many cases, bones, especially the raw ones are usually safe for dogs to eat, as your dog’s digestive system has the ability to digest them.
But sometimes problems arise when your dog eats these bones. Issues such as obstruction, choking, internal bleeding, vomiting, and diarrhea may occur.
Diarrhea is one common issue many dog owners complain about after their dogs have eaten any kind of chicken bones. And many of them seem worried because of this issue.
My dog ate chicken bones and has diarrhea- What to do now?
This is the common question that i hear from dog owners.
As i already told you, in the first place, chicken bones may not harm your dog usually.
The issues that occur depend upon various factors. Factors such as the number of bones your dog has eaten, type of bones, size of the bones, and even the size of your dog.
The risk factor also depends upon other factors such as whether the eaten bones are cooked or raw.
You might be worried when your dog has diarrhea after eating chicken bone. Although not harmful in every case, you need to be a bit careful when your dog has eaten chicken bones and has diarrhea.
3 steps to do after your dog ate chicken bones
1. Do not panic
You love your dog and you might be worried if something happens to it. But it is important for you to stay calm. Because panicking would not help in any way and it would further make your dog anxious and worried.
You might have had all the information in your head that chicken bones are dangerous to your dog and that is the main reason why you are in a state of panic.
As i already told you, ingestion of chicken bones could be harmful in some cases, but it is not hazardous every time as your dog’s stomach has the ability to digest them. So, do not panic.
2. Observe your dog carefully
I remember, once my first dog had small diarrhea after eating chicken bones. It had loose diarrhea once, but it seemed to be fine after pooping some liquid and solid. Later it became normal, drank some water and went to bed. It was fine then.
In my dog’s case, it had diarrhea because of the change in its diet and the bones did not harm him in any way.
So it is important to observe for any kind of other symptoms when your dog has diarrhea. You also need the observe your dog’s poop.
You need to be a little more cautious and observe whether it has any blood in it.
Along with symptoms such as bloody diarrhea, look for other symptoms such as vomiting, tightness in the abdomen, abdominal pain, lethargy, and troubled breathing.
Sometimes your dog might not exhibit all of these symptoms. It might exhibit a combination of these symptoms or just one of them might be your dog’s symptom.
But if your dog does not show any of these symptoms, and seems to be active and normal, there is no necessary for you to worry. But it is advisable to keep an eye on your dog for at least 24 hours after your dog eats those bones.
3. Call your vet
This should be your immediate step if you notice any unusual symptoms in your dog.
Any unusual symptoms such as choking, coughing, tightness in the abdomen, lethargy, straining to defecate, excessive licking of lips, anxious body language, or excess thirst should not be neglected at all.
Some symptoms such as choking may indicate serious issues such as blockage either in the windpipe or the other airways. In such cases, your dog might behave like coughing up something.
If you observe any such unusual symptoms, contact your vet as soon as possible. Sometimes it could be a potentially dangerous problem for your dog.
4. Do not try home remedies
You might have heard of home remedies such as inducing vomiting whenever your dog eats something that shouldn’t be eaten.
Doing things such as inducing vomiting can do more harm than help in cases of your dog eating chicken bones.
The chicken bones which might be broken and has sharp edges could cause severe damage to your dog’s esophagus if the bones with sharp edges travel upwards towards the mouth.
Hence it is not advised to follow such procedures in cases if your dog eats chicken bones.
What if your dog has diarrhea with blood?
“My dog ate chicken bones and has diarrhea with blood”. This is another thing that i hear from dog parents after their dogs have swallowed chicken bones.
But why does the poop contain blood?
If any of the bones that your dog has swallowed has sharp edges, it might cause rupture or damage to its digestive system internally.
When your dog eats chicken bones and if does not get digested and if it does not pass through its digestive system properly, there can be a chance of visibility of blood in your dog’s poop.
If you notice any kind of fresh red blood, it might be due to injury in the lower digestive tract.
But if diarrhea contains blood that is black in color, it might indicate an injury in the stomach or the upper intestine.
In this case, the blood usually looks black in color like tar. The color looks tarry and black as the blood is not fresh and has been digested and made its way all through the small intestine.
What to do now?
Blood in poop is not a good sign. It is an indication that your dog is facing some internal issues such as bleeding inside its body. Hence it is important to be cautious and contact your vet as soon as possible depending on the condition of your dog.
Long back, my first dog had some issues and showed signs of black dark poop and my Labrador went through many complications. This should not happen to your dog.
If the blood is black or tarry in color, taking your dog to the vet to the doctor should be done immediately.
Actually, the reasons for blood in poop could be many. It could be due to an intestinal blockage and damage, intestinal perforation, or some bone splinters that could have made small injuries and small cuts while the food is traveling through the intestine.
Depending upon the issue that is causing blood in your dog’s poop, the next course of action to be taken depends. Because of the above various issues, there could be mild or severe irritation, and your dog’s poop might contain some fresh blood or dark digested blood along with its normal poop.
It is not always necessary to get too worried after looking at the blood in your dog’s stool. If the blood is excess in amount or if it is black and tarry, or if your dog exhibits any kind of lethargy, uneasiness, and change in its behavior, you should contact your vet immediately.