Sticks & Stones May Break Your Bones…and Seriously Injure Your Dog

Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my five funny dogs, Poppy, Bailey, Kodah, Ned, and Fred.

I’m probably showing my age here, but I remember if I ever came home from school, crying about what some horrible person had said to me, my mother would always tell me to say the same thing: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

Honestly, it’s like she wanted me to get bullied.

Of course, we all know now that it’s usually the name-calling that does the most damage to children, but it is the sticks and stones that can really hurt your dog.

It’s All Fun and Games…

How many times have you watched a dog gleefully chase a stick that has been thrown by their owner? Or seen a dog that, for some unknown reason, enjoys carrying and chewing stones? These very common and seemingly innocent activities can have serious consequences for your pet.

Show me a vet who hasn’t had to treat a stick injury, and I’ll show you a vet who has only been on the job a few months. And you don’t have to look very far to find a story about a dog that’s ended up in surgery for eating a stone…or in this case, 2.6 lbs of them! You might think I’m being a bit of an alarmist, but trust me, this advice could save you thousands of dollars in vet bills, and maybe even save your dog’s life.

In my time in clinical practice, I have personally treated around:

• 15 dogs with fractured teeth from chewing stones
• 10 dogs with intestinal blockages caused by stones
• 5 dogs with stone and gravel constipation
• 5 dogs with mouth injuries from sticks
• 3 dogs with penetrating stick injuries
• 2 dogs with sticks wedged in the top of their mouth
• hundreds of dogs with severely worn teeth from chewing stones

of these,

• Dozens required dental surgery
• 7 required abdominal surgery
• 3 required sedation and enema
• 3 required surgical exploration
• 2 needed a specialist referral
• 1 died

Not one of these dog’s owners were cruel, neglectful, or guilty of mistreatment. They just underestimated, or didn’t realize, what could go wrong.

Sticks…

Let’s face it, when a dog is racing after a stick, they’re not thinking to themselves:

“Right, now I want to catch this stick, but I need to make sure I grab it on the side so it doesn’t poke me in the mouth, and be really careful I don’t fumble and land on it, in case it ends up in my chest.”

They’re thinking:

“Stiiiiiiiiick! Get it! Get it! Faster! Get it!”

…or something along those lines!

We can’t expect our dogs to anticipate and avoid all the ways this game can go wrong, particularly if we aren’t, either. No one expects their dog to become impaled during a simple game of fetch, but it does happen.

…and Stones

I had one patient, many years ago, that had been opened up six times to remove stones, as well as some other inedible items. Yes, six. She was a lovely dog with a lovely owner; she just could not be left unsupervised. In the end, she had to wear a cage muzzle virtually 24/7 (it was either that or install a zip!).

Apart from being the potential cause of a surgical emergency, stones are also a common cause of broken and severely worn teeth.

You might be surprised to learn that the trusty tennis ball is also a major culprit when it comes to wearing down teeth, so you might want to think again before letting your dog carry them around and chew on them for hours.

Solutions

I’m the first to admit that stopping dogs from picking up and chewing stones can be a really tough one – we can’t watch them every minute of every day. For the dogs that are completely addicted to the habit, it may be worth going down the route of muzzle training. It’s not an ideal solution, but it beats having them wear their teeth down to the gum, ending up under the surgeon’s knife, or worse.

Most of the time, dogs chew sticks and stones (and other objects) out of boredom, so it can just be a matter of finding the right substitute, which may take some time. Too often, people offer their stone-chewers a chew toy and give up when their dog rejects it. You only have to spend a few minutes in the pet store or online to realize that there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of different types of chew toys out there, so it may just be a matter of finding the right one.

Kodah and Fred are obsessed with this type of flavored chew toy, but the Labradors aren’t the slightest bit interested (fortunately, their days of chewing inappropriate things are behind them). And for dogs that love to chase a stick, dog toy manufacturers have got you covered too.

No Excuses

You might think I’m being dramatic, but I can tell you firsthand that we see dogs daily for injuries related to chasing sticks and chewing stones. Your dog might not take to the first stick or stone substitute you try, but believe me, it’s worth persevering. I don’t want to see your dog on my operating table.