Small Dog Choked on Rawhide Dog Chew

by Kristen
(MA)

My dog Dexter a two year old (Maltese/Yorkie mix) was chewing on a small rawhide with knots on each end.

When he had gotten to the end of the rawhide, I don't think there was enough for him to hold onto and he ended up swallowing large piece. He started to gag and have shallow breathing. It seemed that the piece was slowly going farther back into his throat.

My husband and I were assisting him the best we could by holding him up straight keeping his head up to keep his airway as open as possible.

We had read previously about the doggy heimlich maneuver, so we did that a few times. His skin was so tight around his bones and it looked like all the air had been sucked out of his stomach. He was breathing out, but couldn't breath in.

Then he started to fall over a little bit. We continued the heimlich maneuver then opened his mouth and put our fingers in slightly to see if we could feel the obstruction.

Well, this ended up doing the trick because it seemed to trigger his gag reflex and he started to through up and threw the whole piece up. It was definitely a very scary situation for all of us.

My husband remained very calm which was great because I think staying calm in these situations makes a huge difference.

I was definitely freaking out a bit, but we managed to get through it. Right after the piece rawhide dog chew was removed, he sat for about 30 seconds got some water and returned to his normal activities. He ran around the house, ate his dinner and played!

So all is well. Just wanted to share my story for other people that may have a similar situation happen to them. Remain calm and just work on getting whatever is stuck removed. Of course call the vet if necessary too!