# Swallowed a whole duck neck



## ktu (Mar 7, 2021)

Our 8 month old boy has been on a premade raw diet for about 2 and half weeks now. He was staying with a friend that also has a GSD, she gave the both of them duck necks and he ate it normally and had no issues.

We decided to buy a pack of duck necks for him after and he decided to swallow one whole after crunching it about 2 times instead of chewing it like the first time he had it, fast forward the next morning he pukes out the neck (it was pretty soft and broken down)

I decided to give him a slightly larger piece about 4-5 inches and he was chewing at first but then crunched and swallowed by the time I could stop him, this morning again he pukes but this time no neck just bile. He tried to puke one last time but nothing came out.

Should I be worried? Can his stomach break it down?

He ate breakfast normally this morning and pooped an hour after that, I took him out back about 20mins ago and he's running around fine and just pooped again, no diarrhea.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

He crunched with his brand new chompers at least. That would crush the bones. Deja used to do this with the last part of a turkey neck. Never an issue. I also never found bones in her poop. That was when she was young, she is now 8 years old and has lost strength in her jaws so no more whole turkey necks. I assume that duck necks are much softer than turkey necks.
To teach them to chew first I always give them a huge Tom turkey neck so they are forced to chew.
If you present your vet with this issue, you might be blamed for feeding raw. But keep an eye on his digestion and behavior. If he poops OK, you might not find bones in there since they are digested. When that poop dries out, it might turn white/chalky from the calcium.


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## ktu (Mar 7, 2021)

wolfy dog said:


> He crunched with his brand new chompers at least. That would crush the bones. Deja used to do this with the last part of a turkey neck. Never an issue. I also never found bones in her poop. That was when she was young, she is now 8 years old and has lost strength in her jaws so no more whole turkey necks. I assume that duck necks are much softer than turkey necks.
> To teach them to chew first I always give them a huge Tom turkey neck so they are forced to chew.
> If you present your vet with this issue, you might be blamed for feeding raw. But keep an eye on his digestion and behavior. If he poops OK, you might not find bones in there since they are digested. When that poop dries out, it might turn white/chalky from the calcium.


Thank you so much! I was worried about the same thing regarding our vet, he really isn't on board with a raw diet so I know mentioning it they may blame the raw and kind of use it to scare us. So far his poops have been normal pretty firm and no blood or anything and his energy levels seem to be normal as well, harder to tell for us during the day because he usually just sleeps in various spots since we are working from home and no one plays with him unless we take a break and bring him outside. I searched up raw duck necks and when they are thawed they seem to be very soft and can actually be broken by hand with just twisting it. We have been giving it to him frozen to hopefully get him to chew it a bit more. We are going to stop the necks for a few days just to make sure he isn't having any issues.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I used to give turkey necks but stopped for the same reason. Apparently, the shape is perfect for just ... swallowing hehe. If you are worried, you could always smash it before giving it with a food mallet.


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## ktu (Mar 7, 2021)

Galathiel said:


> I used to give turkey necks but stopped for the same reason. Apparently, the shape is perfect for just ... swallowing hehe. If you are worried, you could always smash it before giving it with a food mallet.


Yeah we are thinking that going forward we are going to thaw them in advance and cut them maybe into smaller pieces and feed it to him as treats throughout the day. The only reason we started was that we wanted to give him something mid day to hold him over to dinner. We found that after switching him to raw from kibble his stomach was growling hours before dinner for the first week, I read online that they need to get use to the raw since kibble has alot of fillers and makes them feel more full.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

I wouldn’t do that, they are perfectly capable of chomping whatever they need to chomp, and smaller pieces could be a choking risk.
Don’t forget, your dog is like a smaller wolf. No one sits there and cuts prey into small pieces for wolves 😃
Your dog’s teeth are designed to just make food small enough to swallow. They don’t have molars like we do, their teeth were not made for grinding. They were made for tearing. If it goes down the hatch, it’s good. If it’s not good, he will barf it up… And probably promptly eat it again LOL

I wouldn't worry if his stomach is growling, he’s getting adjusted to his new food. Don’t listen so closely. He will be fine.


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## ktu (Mar 7, 2021)

Sunflowers said:


> I wouldn’t do that, they are perfectly capable of chomping whatever they need to chomp, and smaller pieces could be a choking risk.
> Don’t forget, your dog is like a smaller wolf. No one sits there and cuts prey into small pieces for wolves 😃
> Your dog’s teeth are designed to just make food small enough to swallow. They don’t have molars like we do, their teeth were not made for grinding. They were made for tearing. If it goes down the hatch, it’s good. If it’s not good, he will barf it up… And probably promptly eat it again LOL
> 
> I wouldn't worry if his stomach is growling, he’s getting adjusted to his new food. Don’t listen so closely. He will be fine.


Haha luckily for us he hasnt tried to eat his puke yet! We were just worried there would be a blockage somewhere but so far no puking since breakfast and he has some treats as well and no diarrhea so I assume there isnt.


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## davewis (Jan 7, 2020)

In my limited experience, I have never had a problem with dogs eating raw bones. They go through the digestive tract just fine.

The problem comes up when people give cooked bones to their dogs. Raw bones are quite soft. Cooking causes the bones to become brittle. Try taking a cooked and uncooked chicken bone and snapping them in half. The raw bone often bends a lot before breaking. The break is usually irregular but not jagged. Cooked bones usually snap without bending. The exposed ends are often jagged with relatively long shards.

When brittle things break they leave sharp edges which cause all manner of problems.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

ktu said:


> We were just worried there would be a blockage


From a raw duck neck?
Unlikely.


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## DHau (Feb 24, 2007)

I would switch vets if they make you feel guilty about raw diets. Raw is really the best for dogs imo, but I am too lazy and too cheap to do it. lol


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

I wouldn't worry about a duck neck. Here's Fama eating chicken quarters whole.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Like Deja, finding the best part to start. Bo starts at the first part he can get his teeth on. So enjoyable to watch.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

Yep dogs don’t typically chew into pieces, they crush enough to swallow. Stomach acid will break it down, I wouldn’t be concerned about a blockage.
You can hold the neck if you’re concerned and teach to chew a-bit more.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Have you seen what they throw to sled dogs?


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Duck necks and chicken necks are not even worthy of chewing for larger dogs. If placed correctly, they easily slide down the esophagus.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

See?
They chomp just enough to crush the bones so that the meat can be swallowed 😁


David Winners said:


> I wouldn't worry about a duck neck. Here's Fama eating chicken quarters whole.


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