Blogs / Fetch / Winter 2010 / Ruh-Roh June is in Trouble

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Fetch

For the Love of Pets

Ruh-Roh June is in Trouble

The scene.

The pantry where the dog food is located.
Barricades include: Two kitchen chairs and a child lock on the doors.
Inside the pantry is another obstacle: Two stacked Tupperware drawers.

The crime.

I came home and saw the chairs moved away from the pantry, doors ajar, drawer open, plastic pieces all over the floor and ALL of her food eaten. (In hindsight I should have been happy she didn’t eat the plastic.)

June is my buddy. We ride in the car together, run/hike/walk together; she comes to work with me every day. Immediately I thought, why does she do this to me? I guess I'm one of the irrational dog owners that actually thinks my dog does something to spite me. She just wanted the food, right?

I know that now, but the moment I said June’s most feared words—‘BAD DOG!’—that’s all it took. She peed, then came the dry heaving. It was if an alien had taken over my sweet June and was trying to exit through her throat. I rubbed her belly and tried to calm her down. I opened her mouth and gave her some hydrogen peroxide. (I’ve read that if you give a dog one teaspoon per 10 lbs of body weight it will induce vomit.) This didn’t work. I didn't know what to do.

The next morning, I woke up worried about June and wondered where she was. I found her outside (we have a doggie door), cold and shaking. I also found that she had dug about 20 holes in the yard. (panic?!) I thought of calling the vet because she was shaking so badly and was out of sorts, but decided against it and to just keep an eye on her all day and not leave her side. I didn’t feed or allow her too much water. She spent most of the day in the house and later punished herself in her kennel.

Clearly she didn’t feel well (who would after eating a bag of dog food?) and was sad. My heart broke for her. (I have eaten a whole box of Girl Scout Cookies, only to feel terrible an hour later.) I’m sure there is a part of her that thought ‘why did I do this?' She was still not her chipper self the next day, but she wasn’t hiding in her kennel anymore.

I have to say as a dog lover, sitter and avid reader of dog training/behavior books, I have decided to take my own advice. I have removed the food from the pantry all together. We don’t have a lot of options so right now the food is on top of the refrigerator in an airtight, locked container. We’ll see how this goes.

What to do.

It begs a question though, what do you do if your pet consumes too much of his/her food?

I found my answers at the local vet:
1. If the vomit is brownish colored, it is coming from the stomach. It could mean blood and you should call the vet immediately. Don’t let your dog re-ingest the vomit.
2. Hold off food for 36 hours to give the gastrointestinal system a rest. Water is fine but don't give them too much. If you don’t understand why, put your dog's food in a bowl, add water and watch it expand!
3. After the 36 hours, offer your pet small amounts of bland food. If he/she can’t hold it down or seems to be acting worse, call the vet.

Don’t take this lightly, but don't panic—it can be a serious situation. Dogs can get "bloat" which is a term for the stomach flipping over, causing suffocation and death within hours.

Can you relate?

Nothing stands in the way of June and her food. She is an addict. She will beg, borrow and steal for food. The second we leave the house she springs into action and gets to work on opening the pantry doors. Have you read the book or seen the movie Marley & Me?
I can really relate to Marley’s household disasters. I especially appreciate the family’s love for Marley.

If you have a funny or similar story, I would love to hear it. We are currently only a dog and chicken show—tell me about your pets! Email me at fetch@sunvalleymag.com