Amy in NY Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I left a large glass bowl on the counter tonight with macaroni in it. My large mutt (bull-mastiff mix) managed to knock the bowl onto the kitchen floor and ate some of it while we were out. We are not sure how much he ate but there was a thin amount of blood smeared on the kitchen floor so I know the dog ate some of the macaroni and glass. He has drank water but doesn't want to eat food which is very unusual for him. I did a quick google search and read that I am supposed to give him some bread to cushion the sharpness of the glass. Is this true? Is there anything else I can do? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 bread is good... but I'd get the poor guy to a vet as soon as I was able. Glass through the intestinal tract doesn't sound like a lot of fun. It wouldn't hurt to keep him calm and away from kids... this breed has a nasty track record for turning if they don't feel well, and they are capable of doing HUGE damage. Hang in there, mom! Sounds like you make really good macaroni! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I'd call your local vet - or whomever is on call for emergencies - asap and ask them what to do, you may need to bring the dog in for treatment. Poor doggie!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Call an emergency vet immediately. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 We had an elderly dog who ate glass when a cake pan I was using burst (I won't mention that I took it from the oven and put it directly in the REFRIGERATOR...). He never had a problem with the glass he ate. However, he was a medium sized dog and not a bull mastiff sized dog, so that could mean a big difference in how much glass was eaten and how large the chunks were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I second the bread and call a vet immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 The blood you saw could be just from a cut on the tongue but I'd take the dog in for an x-ray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Sherry Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Besides calling a vet immediately, I think it may be a good idea to try to piece together the glass dish that broke to see how much of it may be missing. But you may not have time if the vet advises you to bring your dog in right away for an x-ray. Does glass show up on an x-ray ? I've heard that Lego pieces do not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Amy! I'm sorry I didn't see this until this morning. Always go to my social group (Ask the Vet) or PM me! Chances are he'll be fine unless he swallowed a big chunk. I hope you tried the bread. Glass will not show up on an x-ray, and it probably wouldn't show up on an ultrasound either because there is so much gas in the intestine that it is usually difficult to see things in the lumen of the gut. I would definitely have him seen. The concern is not obstruction but actually lacerating the gut in some way. If he seems "normal" I would still have him on broad spectrum antibiotics as he may get some inflammation in the gut and you don't want harmful bacteria from the gut translocating to his bloodstream and causing a sepsis. If his stool gets just some specks of blood here and there that may be all you see unless you actually find the glass. If there is more than just a little blood in the stool or he gets a bad diarrhea he needs to be rechecked immediately. Worse case scenario he goes to surgery but even then to find every glass fragment would be very challenging. Thankfully he is a big guy and will probably pass everything fine. Piecing the bowl back together is a great idea if you can do it. And buy some metal bowls. Keep us updated! Soph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NY Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 He does seem fine this morning. We think the blood may have been from a paw b/c I found a fine smear on some laundry on the kitchen floor. He didn't want to eat anything last night but I'll try bread this morning. As for the glass bowl, the type I have shatters into small ice chip size chunks so it would have been very easy for him to swallow some. I let the dog sleep in bed with us - big no, no, I know - just to keep him close in case anything happened. The night was uneventful and he is outside running around right now. I will take him to the vet tomorrow to get him on some antibx and will monitor his stool & eating habits today to see if I can gauge how his tummy feels. Thank you so much and I'll let you know how tomorrow goes. Enjoy your day and I will definitely invest in some metal bowls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Hey Sophie, does it depend on the xray equipment? Because I personally know people whose dogs have been xrayed and the glass did show. There is this online account too: http://www.sealander.com/Hoover.html in which the dog is xrayed multiple times to see how the glass is progressing There was a study published in pediatrics that glass in the hand will show on normal xrays so long as bone is not superimposed. And I know I've read a forensic expert saying glass will show in the intestinal tract so long as a 'high contrast' developing process is used. So I'm wondering if it has to do with the sophistication of the avail equipment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Good questions about glass. I think glass will show up easily in on an x-ray in a skin wound (where they are usually found). Because of ingesta and different superimposed structures in the abdomen I consider glass to be less radiodense than say a piece of bone lodged in the gut. Also if the gut has perforated because of the glass and there is peritonitis with fluid now building up in the abdomen there will be loss of contrast and even normal structures will be unidentifiable. The dogs that I have seen (and it is rare to find one that ate glass) nothing showed up on the radiograph yet small shards of glass were passed in the stool later. I would think barium would definitely light up a larger piece of glass. As for the differences in available technology we know digital radiography is far superior to standard radiographs and this may account for glass showing up better in some rads than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Thanks for that explanation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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