My dog ate wood and paint. Should I worry? What symptoms to watch for?

Oh no, that was naughty of Chloe! At this point, all you can do is monitor her. It wouldn't be recommended to induce her to vomit, as the wood could get caught in her esophagus or damage it on it's way out. The wood could cause some damage to her GI tract as it passes through and/or could cause an obstruction. Monitor her for vomiting, diarrhea, bloody feces, anorexia, blood in the vomit, lethargy, or constipation. Should you see any of those signs, I would take Chloe into a vet right away.

She will likely be unaffected, particularly if she chewed the wood into small pieces first. If she swallowed a large piece there would be potential for stomach upset or gastrointestinal obstruction. I would monitor her and call your vet if she vomits, develops diarrhea or has a decrease in appetite.

If she chewed them up into tiny pieces, she will likely pass them. Monitor for lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite or abdominal pain. These are symptoms that should be addressed by your veterinarian.

One additional thought to add to Dr. Melanie's excellent advice: lead-based paint fragments would show up on an x-ray, so if you are unable to verify the age and thus suspected lead-content of the paint that Thor ate, you could take him into your vet for a set of abdominal xrays, which should confirm the presence of lead, if it's there.

Thank you for using Boop by Petco! It looks like Hachi has been chewing on a wooden post, but it does not appear that a large chunk is missing. While it is unlikely to cause an intestinal obstruction, the splinters from the wood may get lodged in his gums. I recommend keeping a close eye on Hachi for signs such as lethargy, loss of appetite, or vomiting as these may be signs of an obstruction. You can prevent Hachi from chewing furniture by making sure he has plenty of teething toys available and by appropriately disciplining him when he does chew on the furniture. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

It can take up to a couple of days to see problems from a foreign body if one was going to occur, but given that Snowball ate a very small paint chip, I doubt that will happen. I'd also expect to see some GI upset by now. It's great that she is eating, drinking, and behaving normally, and I wouldn't be too worried about her. In all likelihood, she will be just fine. I hope this helps!

Looks like you have a rambunctious, trouble-making puppy on your hands! Depending on the size of the piece of wood, you may or may not have a problem coming soon. Gastrointestinal foreign bodies can definitely occur when something gets stuck, or worse, if the wood penetrates the intestinal wall. The urine-soaked paper and tiny beads are much more likely to simply pass through naturally. Continue to monitor for any signs of GI upset like vomiting, diarrhea, or inappetence. With any luck, the wood will pass on its own. If it does, don't be surprised if you see some blood in the stool due to irritation of the GI tract.

When dogs eat wood it can cause a lot of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and possibly an obstruction. I am not sure why you think it is stuck but if he is vomiting and having diarrhea than he should be examined by a vet for treatment. Your vet can take an abdominal x-ray to look for abnormalities and then decide the best way to treat. If there is an obstruction than he would need surgery to remove the foreign material. If there is no evidence of an obstruction than your vet can prescribe medications to help with any gastrointestinal issues.

Dry wall ingestion may cause gastrointestinal upset. If a large enough quantity is ingested, it may pose a risk of obstruction. Monitor for vomiting​, diarrhea, loss of appetite, lethargy or abdominal pain. Seek veterinary attention if any of these symptoms develop.

If Jordy did eat the dry wall by biggest concern would be possible obstruction if he swallowed a big piece instead of chewing it. However, as you know dry wall really crumbles and I suspect you would see evidence on the floor or in/ around his mouth if he has been messing around with it. I would monitor him for any signs of nausea or Vomiting. On the other hand you could be very proactive and have him seen at an ER today and have them induce vomiting to see if he vomits anything out. This may be a bit overkill since we don’t even know if it was ingested, but it is certainly an option. Best of luck and I hope he does well. Thank you for using Pet Coach.