Dog with ruptured intestine

mosi

My little terrier had surgery on Friday that removed a rubbery object (like a balloon, but hard to tell) from his intestine. The object had ruptured his gut, but had also plugged the hole, thus saving him from peritonitis. He had been quite ill for two weeks, and had been back and forward to the vet for antibiotics, bloods, scan etc.
Obviously, I have been racking my brains about how/when he ate this object. He is a monkey for picking up food items on the street when out walking on the lead, yet has never seemed interested in eating non food items. We are vigilant about this, and he is only allowed off the lead when we bring him out to the countryside. At home, the place is pretty much dog proof and he has no access to bins etc.
I got him as a rescue six months ago, and know that he was repeatedly allowed to stray in his old home. I am wondering if this object may have been in his system all this time. When I got him first, he had to go to the vet straight away with a tummy bug that was diagnosed as gastroenteritis. He recovered from that and has been very healthy and happy all this time. However, he has always had a peculiar way of going to the toilet, preferring to rest his hindlegs up in the air on a bush, step etc. He has also been a very picky eater, preferring very soft dog food such as the Cesar pouches. Also, he would sometimes vomit every couple of weeks or so, but would show no other ill effects. I always put this down to him having an extra sensitive tummy and the vet was not too concerned. It had, however, been hard to keep weight on him.
Does this all sound as though the offending object had been inside him all along, but only recently caused the rupture? Is this possible?
I am not trying to pass the blame/alleviate guilt, but I have kept such a close eye on him in this regard, and think that it is more likely that it may have happened when he was allowed to roam unsupervised.
I will be asking the vet about this tomorrow, but would appreciate any thoughts or experiences of this here.
BTW, he is doing well after the surgery, although not out of the woods yet. The vet told me today that he may even be allowed home tomorrow:)

Discodog

It might be possible but I would of thought it extremely unlikely. The Vet should have a good idea by the state of the item & the condition of the perforation/rupture.

mosi

I spoke to the vet and, although hard to tell when exactly he swallowed the offending item, it is possible that it was in his stomach for quite a long time before getting to the intestine and causing the problem.

I have made one interesting observation however since the hairy baby came home a week ago. Since we got him, he has been an extremely fussy eater. He would not go near dry food that wasn't mixed up with wet food, and even then he would only touch the Cesar pouches. He would often ignore his breakfast and it was quite difficult to keep the weight on him. Since the op though, this fussiness has gone and has been replaced with a huge appetite and a fondness for any dog food, either dry or wet!

tk123

mosi wrote: »

Since the op though, this fussiness has gone and has been replaced with a huge appetite and a fondness for any dog food, either dry or wet!

Hospital food op :pac::pac: I'm glad he's ok!