# How can you tell if dog has a puncture from bone?



## JerzeyGSD

Man, I'm suddenly posting on this forum a _lot_! Just a quick question for future reference (although, hopefully, this is information I will never need to know):

How can you tell if a dog has suffered a puncture from a bone somewhere on the inside? I know that this is a rare occurance with raw bones but I just want to know what to watch out for just incase. 

I saw on an episode of Rob & Big that, when their dog went into the trash and ate (cooked) chicken bones, he was very lethargic (uninterested in his owners when they tried to talk to him and call him over) and kind of unable to walk, swaying from side to side and such. Although, I don't think it punctured him... he was just unable to digest and pass them and ended up having a seizure later on (while under the care of the vet) from all of the effort. Would it look similiar to this?


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## Lauri & The Gang

The probably first sign would be food refusal (in most dogs). If they can't pass something out they won't want to bring more in.

When my guys turn their nose up at their food I know something is SERIOUSLY wrong.


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## Maedchen

or having dark blood in their poop, I'd guess


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## 3K9Mom

If a dog (or person) has a puncture (perforation) anywhere in their GI tract, you'll know it. The lower it occurs, the more obvious and quickly you'll notice the symptoms

Once it leaves our stomachs, food becomes *waste* pretty quickly, and that's quite toxic. If it's allowed to start seeping into the rest of the body you'll get sick fast. Often, it will start as an infection at the perforation site. But that depends also on the size of the perforation. If you have waste leaking in to your abdominal cavity, you'll get very sick. Vomiting, fever, chills, severe abdominal pain, blood in stools, etc. 

For smaller perforations, your dog will still act like he's sick, although not as acutely. Lethargic, nausea, doesn't feel good, that sort of stuff. You'll likely still see blood in stools. 

The longer we wait, the worse the complications can be. Sepsis is very serious. Also, the dog can lose whole sections of his bowel or stomach. 

But raw bone tends to be soft and digests rather easily, so most of the bone we feed our dogs is very safe. Avoid any bone that looks really sharp, pointed and hard. Obviously, no cooked bone. 

I also avoid bone that is saw-cut which gives it an unnatural sharp edge; often beef femur bones are saw cut. If your dog gnaws on these, great. If he eats these in chunks, you may want to avoid giving them to him.


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## JerzeyGSD

That was very specific, 3K9Mom! Thank you for the great information.


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## 3K9Mom

> Originally Posted By: Maedchenor having dark blood in their poop, I'd guess


A little guide to stools and blood color, from my favorite website Studying Stools :



> Quote:
> 3. Blood in the stool (Hematochezia) - the passage of red, or maroon- colored stools. Red or "frank" blood in the stool could be caused by hemorrhoids. Bloody stools can also be seen in amebiasis, anal fissures, or colorectal cancer. Bright red bleeding with bowel movements may be due to hemorrhoids; however, other conditions such as colonic polyps or tumors, diverticulosis, and abnormal small vessels called AVMs also may cause bleeding. Unusually, the bleeding is coming from the upper intestine or stomach. Bleeding such as you describe usually is evaluated by colonoscopy. Blood, as seen in the stool, can originate anywhere along the intestinal tract. A black stool usually means that the blood is coming from the upper part of the GI tract. At least 6 Tablespoons (or 200 milliliters) of blood must have been lost in order to cause passage of melena. Maroon-colored stools or bright red blood usually suggest that the blood is coming from large bowel or rectum. However, sometimes can be caused by massive upper GI tract bleeding. Some upper GI causes of bloody stools can also cause vomiting blood such as in peptic ulcer disease. The color of the stool can suggest the location of the bleeding however this is not reliable. A definitive diagnosis will require radiographic and/or endoscopic investigation.
> 
> Black color –
> - bleeding ulcer
> - gastritis
> - esophageal varices
> - a tear in the esophagus from violent vomiting
> 
> Maroon color –
> - all the causes of black color stool
> - diverticular bleeding
> - vascular malformation
> - intestinal infection (such as bacterial enterocolitis)
> - inflammatory bowel disease
> - tumor
> - colon polyps or colon cancer
> 
> Bright red color -
> - all the causes of black or maroon color stool
> - hemorrhoids
> - anal fissures ("cracks" in the anal area)



I think it's a really idea to into the habit of always taking a peak at poop when it's fresh. After all, when blood hits fresh air, it turns brown and isn't recognizable after a few minutes. For me, even though we have a yard, and it's cold (and usually raining), I walk out with my kids in the morning and pick up after them as soon as they go. After reading that list of what *could* go wrong







, you can see that this gives me a quick dose of peace of mind, and it keeps the yard nice and clean!


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## JerzeyGSD

I guess I should start bringing a flashlight out with me at night so I can, um, inspect.


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## 3K9Mom

You can probably just do it during daylight hours!

(although a flashlight is good so you don't end up "inspecting" the soles of your shoes! )


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## JerzeyGSD

> Originally Posted By: 3K9Mom
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> You can probably just do it during daylight hours!
> 
> (although a flashlight is good so you don't end up "inspecting" the soles of your shoes! )


Oh, well. I feed Jerzey her raw at night so... haha, I don't know I figured it would be better to inspect her raw poop than kibble poop? *Shrugs*


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