My dog ate wood and plastic. When to worry about obstruction?

Question

My dog ate what I think is like a 3inch thinner piece of plywood on Thursday. He was put on a soft diet, he has had 3 bowl movements since then and I haven’t seen the wood. Will I be able to see it and should I be concerned ( he also may have just ate a few chunks of a plastic bowl today) my vet is closed until Monday. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | unneutered | 4 months and 24 days old | 31 lbs

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

You may be able to see it in the stool if the pieces are big enough. I'd expect that you would have seen it by now if you thoroughly checked the stool, but it's possible that it will take a few more days for it to pass. This is definitely a concern for causing an obstruction in the stomach or intestines, but there's nothing there's not much that can be done for this now. The only option is waiting to see if it passes OK. Normal GI transit time is 3-5 days for such things. During this time you would just be waiting to see if he has any signs of an obstruction. Signs of an obstructions are vomiting, not defecating, acting very painful/depressed and a decrease in appetite. If you notice these signs, then Finn would need to go to the vet immediately for emergency surgery. I hope that helps and all is well with Finn.

My dog ate wood and plastic. When to worry about obstruction?

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