A cautionary tale

from Liesel Thorner

Unfortunately, Marcy (Tolutim Evensong) has undergone an emergency operation to remove an obstruction from her gut. She is doing ok at the moment, but we are taking every day as it comes, since abdominal surgery is very risky because there can be quite a few complications.

Marcy had manage to get hold of one of my socks and somehow eaten it whole. I very rarely let her out of my sight and when I do it is only for a minute. This however was more than the amount of time it takes to gulp down a sock!

Marcy had her tea on Wednesday night and it must have been after this that she managed to put away the sock. It wasn’t until the morning that she started to vomit bile, and was doing so with a deep stomach wretch which I thought was unusual.

We took her straight into the vet who felt around and thought that certain parts of her gut felt very gassy and tight. They x-rayed her and discovered a large blockage.

Luckily we had caught it early and the gut was still healthy.

A tip … if your dog is vomitting continuously and very deeply, don’t leave it too long before you check with the vet. Getting at a blockage early can save a life.

Please please take head, no matter how well you think you are watching your puppy, they are always able to find something. They are crafty thieves. Marcy had taken the sock off the kitchen table. I had put the washing on there after bringing it from the line. If they manage to get hold of something they shouldn’t have, they hide it in their mouths and gulp when they hear someone coming.

Even the things that one thinks are ok for the pups because they are supposed to be toys can cause problems. Never let them play unsupervised.

I will keep you all informed on her progress. Puppies are crafty and fast, re-evaluate your home and make sure it really is puppy proof – I thought mine was, I was wrong.

12 thoughts on “A cautionary tale”

  1. Sorry to hear about Marcy – we do have the same trouble with Bella she tries to eat anything she can get. We all wish Marcy a speedy recovery and are thinking of you at what must be an awfully worrying time. Helen & family x

  2. Hope Marcy is feeling better soon. Lacie is just the same, her favourite is grass and soil, our garden looks like we have been invaded by moles! Will look on web site to check her progress. Take care, Love Clare and family xx

  3. Thank you all for you kind thoughts. Marcy is still do fine so far. She is having cage rest, but the occasional snooze in the sofa with me when she won’t settle in the cage. She is being walked on a lead in the garden so she can do her business without getting herself into trouble. Would you believe she’s grabbing at sticks and grass and trying to eat them. I wish these animals could understand why they have been through major surgery, then they might stop eating things that do them harm!!!
    She’s trying to play with Molly (who is being naughty and encouraging her) but with her being on the lead I am able to control what she does so haven’t had any issues stopping that.
    She is having small meals, about 6 a day. So every 2 and a half to 3 hours. This is to try to avoid any leakage from her internal wounds.
    Well I will keep you updated, but so far so good.

    Liesel xx

  4. It appears that this litter has become a bunch of thieves, DV is always cruising the table tops, even when we are sitting there. Often she is looking for what we are eating.

    But this points out the problem Liesel has had. Everything has to change with a puppy around. They want to try everything on (or should I say in?), so everything has to be locked away, unless you don’t care if it is destroyed. (I heard this somewhere, can’t remember where.)

    That is all very well if they just chew to destroy, what if they do as Marcy has done? Everything needs to be put away that is puppy-sized — socks, tv remotes, cell phones, wallets, homework, the list goes on just use your imagination.

    When they get older and they have not been cured of these bad habits. You have to lock everything away. We even know of a christmass turkey that never made it to the oven on the day because the dog ate the whole thing.

    Apart from your own disappointment of not being able to use your tv, call your friends, pay for your drinks at the pub or have a roast dinner. These items can cause life-threatening illness/injury, as Marcy’s tale affirms.

  5. Marcy is a pretty puppy and i am really sorry that she ate a sock. I hope she is ok because i don’t like hearing puppies being poorly. From George:-]

  6. Well we are a week on and Marcy is doing well. Very well in fact. She had her check up on Monday and the vet was very pleased with her. She did however chew up the rubber non slip ring that was on her water bowl in her cage this week. (She is still on cage rest and will be for a while if she doesn’t stop chewing stuff up!!) We thought she had eaten aboout three inches of it, so have been checking to make sure it has come through. However caught her last night running round with something in her mouth, and it was the last bit of the rubber that she had obviously lost at the time of initial chewing and found last night. Don’t know where it had been cos we searched everywhere for it!!!!
    I will be pleased when she has her stiches out on Monday as she is starting to romp around again even though we try to dicourage it, and of course the romping is pulling the stiches a bit.

    Yesterday she managed to get out of the back door without her lead on, she was straight into the garden and encouraging Molly to chase her and vise versa. Have you ever tried catching a couple of Dallies while they are going at full pelt – not easy. Ordinary treats didn’t work!! Next time will make sure I have a couple of chickens under my arms!!!LOL!!
    As you can tell the dogs are keeping us busy!!!

    Well will sign off for now, hope all your charges are being good for you, would love to hear some updates on them all.

    Take care

    Liesel xx

  7. So glad to hear that Marcy is on the mend. I think we need to sew up their mouths until they learn not to chew!! Lacie is a cross breed with a cow – she likes nothing better than to graze out on the lawn. She knows its naughty because she only does it when she thinks you can’t see her and when she gets caught red handed she runs around the garden 100mph.
    Take care, Clare and family xx

    1. I know what you mean Clare, Marcy is a grass grazer too!!! Does Lacy have a look in her eye, right before she is about to do something naughty? Marcy does, its like you can see her thinking, just for a split second!! LOL!! xx

      1. Yes she does, she has a little twinkle in her eye, and you know shes looking for trouble! Sometimes I think she does does it for attention though. If I’m busy round the house, she chooses to do something naughty just to get you to chase her round which she thinks is a great game. ( and I thought it was kids that were tinkers-we now have an extra tinker in the family!!)
        Clare xx

  8. I couldn’t find this article when Stilman sent the email saying it was up, so I’ve only just read it today. It must have been such a worry for you, Liesel. I’m glad Marcy is on the mend and hopefully the stitches will be out by now.

    Willow is a thief, too – it must be an E-litter thing. She’s also a Counter Cruiser. And a Miner (as the holes in our garden will attest). She has learnt that the trampoline is a good place to hide under because as soon as ‘Mum’ gets under there to grab her, she’s sneaked out the opposite side. She thinks it’s a great game. I’m not convinced…

Leave a Reply

tolutim Proudly powered by Stilman Davis's use of WordPress