A couple nights ago, I awoke in the middle of the night to that one sound that no dog owner can ignore: that lurching sound of an impending vomit. I leapt out of bed and saw my younger dog, Woody, standing near my bed, trembling. He looked exactly like a toddler who woke up feeling crummy and sought out his mom so he could barf in front of her. Well, that’s exactly what he did do; he and my older dog Otto always sleep in the living room.
“Oh, puppy,” I said. “What happened?” I grabbed my phone and smashed buttons on it, trying to find the flashlight option through bleary eyes. I scanned the room with the light but couldn’t see any actual puddles of vomit, so I got up and walked him outside, in case he had to throw up some more. He walked out onto the lawn and peed, went to the outside water bucket and drank a little water, and then came back inside. No more trembling. He settled back onto the couch and I went back to bed.
In the morning, with clearer eyes, I found the vomit. It was, of course, on one of the only two rugs in the house, an antique Persian carpet runner in my bedroom. In the weak beam of my phone flashlight, I couldn’t differentiate between the pattern in the rug and the small (now mostly dried) puddle. There was some slimy stuff that was most certainly just digestive juices, bits of nearly digested kibble, and . . . a blob of something. I used some paper towel to pick it up, examining the blob closely.
A mystery from the depths…of Woody
At first I thought it was a piece of bone or glass, but it was soft, with rounded edges. It was rubbery – if not actual rubber. I took it to the kitchen sink and rinsed it off. It was for sure a hunk of something rubbery and opaque. I could make out some molded edges.
If this happened two or more years ago, I wouldn’t have even blinked. Woody chewed up lots of things when he was a puppy and adolescent dog, and he vomited up everything that was indigestible, usually within a day or two. I had a few surprises – as when he vomited up a piece of something I hadn’t even known was missing – but mostly I was able to say, “Ah, that’s a piece of that old Kong toy,” or “Finally, that chunk of the flying disk he ruined.”
But this time? He hasn’t chewed up anything for ages and ages. I can’t even remember the last time he chewed up a toy or a forbidden item. And I don’t at all recall any toy that we have ever had that was this particular color, a sort of a slightly translucent, light root-beer-bottle brown.
Could this thing have been in there for months or years? Is that even possible? Perhaps, once upon a time, it was colorful and had sharp edges from being chewed up, and it has lost color and gained smooth edges from marinating in digestive juices for years?
This was the theory proposed by my husband, anyway. “What are you talking about, he never chews up anything anymore?” he asked me, incredulous. “He chews up his Squeak balls all the time!”
On the hunt for damaged toys
That is not exactly correct. Both of my dogs like to chew on their favorite toy, the Planet Dog Squeak Ball, like they are chewing bubblegum. The Squeak appears to be the perfect texture, or offers the perfect amount of resistance for their jaws. But I don’t think either dog is exactly bent on destroying the Squeak balls; they just chew the balls so much, that eventually, the balls crack and start to fall apart. And when they start to fall apart, then one of the dogs (usually Otto) will lay down with the ball and chew it up into bits. It’s a process that takes months, but that goes fast at the end.
To test my husband’s theory, I hunted around the property, looking for all the Squeak balls in various stages of repair. I did actually find one that had a missing chunk that was vaguely the same shape as the perplexing lump from Woody’s midnight misadventure. But, no: It wasn’t a credible match. The baffling item is about twice as thick as the “walls” of the Squeak.
So the mystery lives on. What is that thing? How long has it been in there? Where did it come from? Is there more in there? I might never know.
Dogs!!
My guess was nylabone also! I guess some people live in a perfect world where accidents don’t happen with their pets. I have had a towel eater which led to surgery. The second time she was too old for surgery and she lived on cod liver oil to try (and hope) to pass it. Luckily it did. She also ate all my cash from my desk. I was relieved to find it in her poop as opposed to thinking someone had been in the house. Once, I had to pull a raw hide from her butt when she swallowed it whole so I couldn’t take it from her when I was worried she would swallow it.. Another dog who ransacked a brand new cat food bag and ate half of it before I caught her. She also got her head stuck in the flip top garbage can and came to me to get the thing off her head. Then there’s the stolen chocolate cupcakes off of the counter or the tri-tip running through the house to avoid capture! With the talk of crates for containment I tried a wire crate with my current rescue who proceeded to trash the crate wires, push the crate tray out of the crate, grab onto the living room carpet and pull 1/2 of the carpet into the crate with her and no soft toy is safe with her. She has to be in a heavy vari-kennel with a cheesed up kong toy for entertainment or her panic attacks kick in. Stuff happens with dogs no matter how vigilant we try to be.
Was interesting to read all the things dogs have eaten and how long they can remain in the stomach. Hope Nancy lets us know what that mystery object is if she ever figures it out.
I feel like you have been picking thru my dogs leftovers! My one dog pooped this very similar object months ago….
The ONLY thing I came up with is those rubbery Nylabones… it’s a rubbery texture as gross as it was I washed it w gloves on and short of microscope…
Looked it over and bent it …
Then I went in toy box and thru all their goodies and they have not had one of those in YEARS so I figured on 1st dog maybe it was something he got 2yrs prior to me adopting that got ‘stuck’ along the way and finally worked it’s way out…. then….
my OTHER did the same! Even took by my local vet to just ask their thoughts….
No one had a clue….
Until i got then new Benebones and read he package… so for my 2….
I THINK it’s from their Benabones- it’s made to be somewhat edible meaning if they eat a piece or 2…. but I think once inside the stomach juices it softens as its supposed to…. that is the only toy they have had and I am a hawk with anything they have…
Hope you get your answer to what it is and maybe my clue helped 🙂
I was just going to message you and ask if it was a Benebone. We received 2 as gifts but they only come out under supervision. I think it looks like it. I also thought about the nylabone too.
We had a Weim that swallowed a piece of a rubber toy in under 5 minutes and was under very close supervision…the toy was in his belly 30 days before we knew (we even pieced it back together and thought all the pieces were there). Well it was a hard lesson but we were lucky but felt horrible when we picked him up and saw all of the staples he had to get. Glad this passed from your baby!
Ugh, dogs and swallowing not-food items! I have a 9yr old cocker who was a rescue, went to someone else for 6 mo, she decided not to keep her, I took her. Dog was 30!! pounds and had been eating 6 cups of white rice a day “because she won’t eat anything else.” I put her on a kibble and green bean diet, she lost 10 pounds, and was doing pretty well – more energy, playing, her knees seemed better. One day I’m picking up poop, and say to myself, Who’s is this? It’s hard as rock. I’m squishing it, and sure enough, it WAS a rock, covered in poo. So I watch the next morning and notice it’s the rescued dog, pooping small Rocks!
I freak out and call the vets office, where everyone freaks out as well. Bring her in immediately! So I do, the vet examines her, and we can hear rocks rubbing together in her belly! immediate surgery, 52 smallish rocks removed!! Well, I have rocks around in my yard, but not one of those 52 matched anything in my yard. So they had to have been in her belly for at least the 6 months she’d been with me. Now I watch her like a hawk, she’s not allowed outside except with close supervision.
And I have another one who eats paper, anything, any kind of paper….. ugh.
WOW! What a story!
Actually, ALL these stories of objects that have been in the dogs’ tummies for months are giving me the heebie-jeebies. I have been wracking my brain and can’t think of anything missing that resembles the piece Woody threw up.
The rocks, however, reminded me of a nice piece we ran quite some time ago about pica eating: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/canine-eating-disorders/
I agree – it looks like something from outside; maybe a gasket for a piece of machinery. The color is strange but if a Kong can turn pink in a dog’s tummy, maybe that’s not the original color. The shape reminds me of something, a bite plate? Looks too small in the second photo. Good luck!
I feel for you and Otto. I had a similar mystery with my then 10 year old golden, Twizzler. We live in Atlanta where any snowfall is a major event, but during “Snowmagedon” we were all happy to be safe and warm at home…until. Twizz started pacing in relentless, unnerving circles. I was freaked out, took a video and sent it to my vet. She diagnosed it as old dog vestibular disease, most likely brought on by a very sudden and severe drop in barometric pressure. She suggested motion sickness OTC med–Bonine. I had none and this was not the time to head out to the store, so we compromised by putting a sea sick patch on his inner thigh. While waiting for it to have effect, I let him out doors ahead of the oncoming blizzard. He was still circling like a crazy dog, until he stopped on the deck and barfed up …I wasn’t sure. There was a lot of slime and bile, but a large lump in the middle. Out came the tongs and rubber gloves for extraction, rinsing and analysis. it was gray and nubbly and had been degrading, but I could not figure it out. He was LONG past chewing anything and nothing was a miss or missing. Then I remembered! I had a low country boil for my husband’s birthday—4 months earlier. The ears of corn were broken into 2 inch pieces. One of our easily amused guests was enjoying letting Twizzler eat corn on the cob with his front teeth! Just like a person! Wow! But not so wow! when Twizz grabbed the whole cob and swallowed it! For weeks I fed him pumpkin and fiber, searching my yard clean ups to see if it had passed. i was also watching him like a hawk for bowel obstruction. The final explanation from my vet; the weather brought on the manic circles, the circles cause made him dizzier and nauseous to the point of vomiting and up came the degraded corn cob that was sitting in his stomach for 4 months. Crazy, right?
To me it looks like a surgical prosthetic disc that goes in between the metal parts of a hip or knee replacement to cushion impact. Have you gone around your neighborhood to see if any of your neighbors are missing a hip or knee replacement? (The thread got so serious I couldn’t help but throw in a little levity 😉
I have been laughing for days about this one! Thanks for sharing!
My Pleasure…glad to provide days of laughter. I have goed role models…over the years all my dogs have provided unless laughter and delight! –Michael, aka Cody’s Doggie Dad
When I rescued my mini Aussie she was on medication from having swallowed a squeaker she chewed out of a toy. Fortunately the rescue had been able to remove the squeaker with out surgery but the pup had a residual cough and irritated throat which required medication. To this day she is a fierce chewer who will eat almost anything.. She is particularly fond of paper products which thankfully are dissolved by her stomach acids. She also eats rocks but thus far only those small enough to be passed. She’s never outside without me so I can watch to make sure she doesn’t swallow anything too large to be passed. But dogs are fast enough to fool any human, even a watchful one.
Hi,
I think it looks like a shoe insert, just the heel part. I also at first glance thought it was upper dentures.
When my rescue dog was a puppy he got under my bed and pulled the lining down under my box springs. He is 8 years old now. I discovered pieces of material hanging down when we moved when he was 1yr. old. If he ate any, he has never showed ill effects. He does have sensitive skin and allergies that developed when he was around 4 years old. We chalked it up to the hoove chews we gave him from China. Any comments?
Looks like a half a greenish baked stuffed pepper. Food for thought…..,or a mushroom blob. I take mushroom spore prints, as I think they’re beautiful and forgot a dried up mushroom in the bottom of s basket from my Maine gathering days, but sweet GSD Montana ate a dry one. Off to ER just in case. Mostly he’s an opportunist. Never destructive. I never leave house without putting garbage out of reach, closing bedroom doors because of meds, closing off the pantry where I store food. Woof. Try to think like my dogs. Love him at all times. Jean