What You Should Do If Your Dog Eats A Tampon

dog with tennis ball

Suspecting that your dog ate one of your tampons? Or do you know for a fact that your pup managed to find their way to one of your lady items and decided to give it a try and see if it’s edible or not?

If you know for a fact that your dog ate used tampon of yours, or are at the very least suspecting that they’ve done so, there’s some important information you should know about and stay on the lookout for if your pooch’s health and well being is a priority of yours.

But, before we explain everything you need to know about why it is that canines are attracted to eating items like tampons, let’s let you in on what you need to do NOW if you suspect (or know for a fact) that your dog has managed to do so already.

What Do I Do If My Dog Ate A Tampon?

Before you do anything about this, you should first make sure that you don’t panic or show any signs of panicking to your dog, as this will only make the situation much worse than it really is for both of you.

Calm down, take a deep breath, and know that canines eating foreign bodies like tampons is a common thing that happens all the time, and there is a fix for such accidents.

Gathering Information

The first thing you have to do is gather as much information as possible to pass over to your veterinarian when you contact them for help, because they will be asking you questions.

black puppy in grass

An example question your veterinarian will almost always ask you is, how many tampons did your dog eat?

So, whether you need to count wrappers to get that answer or recall from memory how many you had used and put in the trash can before your pet made their way into it, answering such questions will greatly help your veterinarian in assessing the severity of the situation.

Symptoms

The following is a list of some of the most common symptoms you have to stay on the lookout for that indicate there’s something wrong with your dog if they did indeed eat one of your tampons and it was enough to get them sick.

Nausea & Vomiting: Pay close attention to this one, as there’s a very big difference between recurring vomiting when your dog eats a tampon and one time vomiting.

If your canine vomits one time, during which you visibly see that their body pushed out the tampon that was swallowed, then things are most probably solved if your dog doesn’t vomit anymore, as the foreign body was vomited out.

However, if you notice that your canine is now vomiting recurrently, whether they’re vomiting multiple times and the tampon has still not been pushed out of the system or they’re vomiting multiple times after their body got rid of the tampon, you should notify your veterinarian about this immediately.

Stool problems (Mainly constipation and sometimes diarrhea).

If your dog doesn’t defecate in 72 hours, notify your veterinarian about this immediately, as it’s very likely that the piece of tampon they swallowed is causing a blockage in their digestive tract.

vet with dog

Signs of being in pain (most often stomach pain)

Bloating

Unwillingness to eat their food like they normally used to do

If you notice any of these symptoms in your dog, this more often than not means that the tampon they ingested (whether whole or only part of it) has managed to cause some sort of negative reaction in their body, one that needs veterinary intervention in order to keep them safe.

So, if you notice any of the above symptoms in your dog, notify your veterinarian on the spot so they tell you what next steps must be taken to ensure the safety of your pooch.

Your veterinarian will then run a few tests to determine where the tampon now is in your dog’s system, after which they will most likely choose to properly induce vomiting in your pet so that their system pushes out this foreign body.

Do not attempt to induce vomiting in your dog to get rid of the tampon yourself at home, as there’s a fairly high chance that you end up doing it wrong and worsen the situation.

Leave it up to a veterinarian who knows exactly what they’re doing, or at the very least have them walk you through the process very clearly over the phone while you do it at home, if you want to do it that way.

In some of the more severe cases, your veterinarian may deem it necessary to perform surgical intervention to remove the tampon from inside your dog’s body to prevent it from causing any further health complications.

You should remain actively monitoring for these symptoms (and any other ones you notice appear out of the blue) for a period of around 24 hours to 48 hours after you suspect (or know for a fact) that your dog has managed to eat part/all of a tampon.

If you’re actively monitoring for symptoms that clearly show something’s wrong with your dog and don’t come across any for the next few days, then there’s always the possibility that it didn’t pose too much of a problem to your dog’s system and they were successfully able to get rid of it on their own via defecation.

Why Do Dogs Eat Tampons?

Not exactly the most common of questions you hear a pet owner ask nowadays, huh? But, it’s a fascinating subject, nevertheless, and you should know about it!

dog with tongue out

Generally speaking, canines have very strong sense of smell, much stronger than the ones we humans have anyways.

And, combine that with the strong (and unusual) smell that bloody discharge of any kind leaves around – you know what that leads to!

Your puppy will keep sniffing around until they find where that “strong smell” (to them, at least, not to you and I) is coming from, and when their nose leads them to the trash can where you disposed of your used tampon, there’s no telling what they decide to do from there.

Why Is It A Bad Thing If My Dog Eats Tampons?

Gastrointestinal Blockage: First and foremost, a tampon (just as many other household items your dog may decide they want to try to swallow) pose great threat in the form of gastrointestinal blockage.

Tampons are simply indigestible material. Because foreign bodies like this that get into your dog’s system can’t be digested and broken down, they may end up needing to be surgically removed to treat this gastrointestinal blockage.

How Can I Prevent My Dog From Eating My Tampon?

Since this is a frequent item that you regularly make use of and dispose of in the trash, one of the first solutions that come to mind is getting a dog proof trash can for the house, in which you dispose of this item.

This way, even if your canine’s sense of smell (and curiosity) manages to lead them to where you’ve disposed of your used tampon, they’ll have an incredibly time getting access to what’s inside of the trash can and will ultimately give up and look for something else to do.

Besides investing in a dog proof trash can to really make it hard for them to get access to any used tampons disposed of inside, the following is a list of tips you should always keep in mind in order to keep your dog’s concentration on other things in life.

Healthy Diet: Are you sure your canine is eating a high quality diet that’s meeting all their nutritional needs? One of the main reasons why dogs go around eating stuff they’re not supposed to, such as grass in your backyard or used tampons in your trash can, is because they’re not being given a high quality diet to eat and are experiencing nutritional deficiencies.

A Tired Dog Is A Good Dog: As the saying goes, “a tired dog is a good dog”. This is why you’ll want to always make sure that you’re giving your dog all the necessary exercise and physical activity they need to stay happy (and tired), because a well exercised pup is one that won’t have the urge to even think about exhibiting behavioral problems that get them in trouble.

Fun: Also make sure that you’re giving your dog access to means for having fun. Whether that be toys they can play with on their own, interactive toys that allow you to also hop in on the fun, adequate space in a backyard for them to stay on the move and just enjoy themselves, etc ..

Watch this video to see some tricks that keep your dog entertained!

All of these are means for your dog to have fun and remain occupied throughout the day, and will take their mind off any bad behavior that may occur to them when they’re bored and feel like they’ve got nothing better to do.

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