We bet that your pet eating the food items they’re not supposed to be an everyday thing you must be going through. You start your day with, “pepper, let go off the cushion” or “pepper, let go of the box”.
Your furry companion, unfortunately, does not know what is right and wrong for him. The reason behind your dog eating balloons could be that the curiosity in him to explore things around your dog makes them do such activities. To handle such a situation you should know the answer to my dog ate a balloon, what to do now?
If you find out about your dog that has eaten a balloon quickly, you are just in time to stop the situation from getting worse. But otherwise, if your dog has already eaten the balloon and you get to know about it after a few hours you need to contact your vet immediately. Keep an eye on your dog. Whether or not they show any signs of discomfort you must consult your vet or at least take your doggo for a checkup.
What is the right thing to do if my Dog ate a balloon?
The first correct thing to do is call up your vet immediately and seek advice from them. They might ask you to induce vomiting, but depending on the situation. No one other than your veterinarian knows your dog the best! So leave it into their hands to deal with the particular situation, they’ll do it the best.
Usually, it is known to be two hours as the time period after your dog eats a balloon wherein you can easily intervene and make the situation better. If the time exceeds that limit then the balloon your dog just ate has already reached the intestines. What happens now? You cannot do anything further other than waiting for them to take the balloon out through its feces.
If you live somewhere close by to your vet’s studio then do not hesitate to take your dog there. Now that you know your vet may suggest inducing vomiting do not readily sit to that. Only if your vet suggests you do that only then you should do it. Since you cannot always induce vomiting.
How Should You Induce Vomiting in Your Dog?
We have mentioned this before in the case of melatonin but we are going to mention this again and tell you that you should induce vomiting in your dog only if your veterinarian has suggested doing so. Please note that you cannot induce vomiting in all cases since your pet needs to be aware as well as there shouldn’t be any other medical conditions to look after that will worsen the entire situation. So please speak to your vet first.
- Give your pet a tiny amount of food since it’ll help in making them vomit. The food you will feed your dog will also act as a line most probably since it passes through the system of your dog.
- 3% hydrogen peroxide is what you will have to give your dog with a needless plastic syringe. Usually, you should give 1ml per pound of dog weight. But in any case, even if your dog weighs more than 45 pounds, you should not give them 45ml at once. Again, make sure to speak to your vet before you take this step.
- Vomiting should occur in the next 15 minutes in your pet. What if it doesn’t? Give them another dose. If your dog still does not end up vomiting then just call your vet.
- Collect a sample of whether or not you find the balloon in the vomit of your dog.
- You can also take your dog for a check-up to your vet and show them the sample you collected.
Now, if your dog does manage to vomit then look for the balloon. Make sure you clean the area really well with the correct precautions since the puke contains a substance that is not good for the health of humans. And if your dog does not happen to vomit after all the effort then straightaway contact your vet.
What if your dog already digested the balloon?
If you spend time beyond the two-hour time limit of making a change in the situation then it is likely to be possible that the balloon your dog ate had passed through the intestines and stomach. What should you do in times like these? The best thing you can do right now is look out for anomalies. Further below are some bad signs you should look out for after your dog ate a balloon. They are as follows:
- Drooling – This sign is seen right after they have eaten the item or it can mean that the item is stuck in their esophagus and drooling is a sign of intoxication.
- Vomiting – Vomiting usually occurs after the ingestion process. If your dog does vomit then take it as a good sign since it means that the balloon is finally going to get out of your dog’s body. But in case you notice that your dog starts vomiting after days or weeks after the incident took place then there might be something wrong. Even if you do not see any signs of rubber in your dog’s vomit, you should worry.
- Lack Of Appetite – This is always a bad sign no matter what the situation is. Your dog loses its appetite when there is something stuck in its stomach or intestines and isn’t allowing them to eat.
- Lethargy – Lethargy usually indicates that there are much more serious problems like muscle soreness, anemia, or some type of infection inside the body of your dog which is not allowing them to be as active as before.
- Abdominal Pain – When your dog feels some type of discomfort in its intentions abdominal pain comes into the picture.
There may be certain times where your dog may not show any signs of discomfort at the start but may show them later after days or weeks of eating a balloon. Whatever they ingested may tend to appear after days or weeks. You do not have to stress about it.
Why do dogs eat balloons?
Dogs have a habit of wanting to eat anything and everything that they see around them due to the curiosity that builds up in them. It is their way of exploring the world. They may not know what is wrong or right for them to do or eat, unknowingly they may take actions in our presence or not.
Always remember that if your dog has swallowed anything that belongs to the plastic, rubber materials, or even sticks for that matter just once you do not have to worry about it since it’s something that tends to happen. But you need to make sure that the same does not get repeated.
However, if such situations keep coming by repeatedly in the life of your dog then there might be symptoms of various other issues like pica.
What is Pica?
Pica is a condition in dogs that tends to make them want to eat non-food items. This condition is obviously very dangerous for the health of your dog since it allows them to eat anything around them however unhealthy it is. It may lead to life-threatening situations.
Let’s tell you about the causes of pica in dogs. They can be divided into psychological as well as physical causes. The psychological causes are:
- Depression
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Lack of attention
- Frustration
- Lack of stimulation
Physical causes of pica in dogs are:
- Anemia
- Stomach Timor
- Bowel inflammation
- Infections
- Diabetes
- Malnutrition
Conclusion
Things like your dog eating food items they are not supposed to eat can easily be avoided by keeping non-food stuff that your dog may most likely want to eat away from your dog. Keep a close eye on your dog whenever you can, whenever they are around you. Keep a safe and good environment around your furry friend.
If your dog loves chewing on stuff way too much then we suggest you should look for dog safe toys to give them to chew on. At least these things won’t be chewed apart and filled down their throats.