Dog Ate a Sock but is Acting Normal? It is true when we say that dogs are like kids. They are adorable and will put anything in their mouths. It gets concerning when your dog has a knack for eating things it should not. Swallowing socks and other garments is a health hazard for dogs and can cause complications if not treated on time.
Toddlers get a sense of safety measures when they grow up, but adult dogs continue this habit of chewing and swallowing inedible things. In this article, we look at how eating a sock and swallowing it might affect your dog’s health even when it is acting normal.
Why Do Dogs Eat Socks?
Socks are not the best snack choices. They don’t taste great and cover people’s feet, but what attracts dogs to chew them and swallow them in the process. One theory to explain this behavior is resource guarding, in which a dog might get attached to your sock and consider it his property. The dog considers your dog a valuable item. It can swallow the sock while guarding it.
Another reason might be that your dog is attracted to the sock’s smell, which is what causes it to swallow the sock. It can also be a part of their behavior, and they are inherent ‘sock-eaters.’
Dogs can get lonely easily in the absence of their owners and can chew and swallow stuff due to anxiety. Whatever the case may be, a swallow is dangerous to the dog’s health and must be removed from its system.
Here’s What Happens When Your Dog Eats A Sock
Socks are made up of cotton, and cotton is chiefly made of cellulose. Cellulose remain undigested by the dog’s stomach. You might think that soft cotton or polyester sock will not harm your dog, but they can cause periodic problems. The sock is a harmful ‘foreign object’ and needs to be removed as soon as possible.
Your dog might throw up the sock right away or take a couple of days to do so. However, the sock can remain inside the digestive tract and irritate the stomach and intestine lining, causing digestive problems. The sock will absorb moisture from the dog’s body and swell up. The intestines might get clogged and obstruct the passage of food and water.
If the size of the swallowed sock is small, the sock might get passed through the stool. Therefore, you should monitor your dog’s poop if you think that your dog has swallowed the sock and has not vomited yet. Apart from causing digestive problems, the swallowed sock can pose difficulty breathing and cause choking in dogs.
How To Tell If Your Dog Has Eaten A Sock?
You might not get the cue that something is stuck in the dog’s digestive tract or if your dog has swallowed the sock or not. Initially, your dog might now show any symptoms and keep acting normal because either the size of the sock is too small or it hasn’t caused any obstructions yet.
However, your dog might be showing some signs and symptoms like:
- Vomiting or trying and failing to regurgitate something
- Eating less or leaving the food bowl full
- Panting and increased breathing rate
- Diarrhea, constipation, and straining to poop but no avail
- Drooling excessively
- Loss of weight in the long run
If your dog is showing these symptoms, something obstructs the movement of food and causes digestive problems. You need to contact the vet right away. The vet carries out an x-ray exam and tries to figure out if a foreign object is stuck inside the gut. However, this process is not effective every time because sometimes it is really hard to tell if something is stuck inside the stomach or intestines.
To make sure, the vet might choose to use an endoscope to visualize the digestive tract’s insides and confirm if a sock is disturbing the passage of food and water.
Dog Ate A Sock But Is Acting Normal
If you are sure that your dog ate a sock, you should contact or visit the vet right away. Initially, your dog might act normal, but it can cause problems later. Your dog might start trying to regurgitate after some time, but you should keep calm and not panic. Remove any other objects or garments like socks, underwear, or anything that can be ingested. Two socks in your dog’s system are worse than a single one.
Your vet might give your dog vomit-inducing medicine to force the sock out of the digestive tract. Do not try to give your dog anything homemade to induce vomiting because it might be poisonous or cause complications. The vet can also remove it by reaching down the site where the sock is by using an endoscope.
Surgery- the last resort
There is a direct correlation between the time of ingestion and treatment. If the ingestion is reported on time, the sock can be removed by induced vomiting or through endoscopy. However, if the sock obstructs the gut, surgery remains the most suitable option to remove the foreign object. The whole process is done under general anesthetic, and the type of surgery depends on the location of the sock and for how long the sock has been present inside the digestive system.
It will take a few weeks for the dog to completely recover from the surgery and regain full health and strength. Complications can occur in major surgeries that involve removing a section or part of the bowel. The sooner the sock is removed from the system, the better it is for the dog.
Conclusion
Dog Ate a Sock but is Acting Normal? If you think your dog has swallowed a sock, you should get it treated as soon as possible to avoid any complications or spend a hefty sum on surgery. Provide your dog with safe toys to chew on and keep your socks away from the reach of the dog.