Dogs have long been associated with sticks and bones. Who doesn’t feel a bout of joy when looking at a smiley dog running and enjoying their new-found treasure? I certainly do! However, stick-chewing, like many good things in life, comes with a dark side too. It can turn a happy play in the park into a catastrophic and expensive trip to the vets.

So, what is the verdict? Should we allow our dogs to chew sticks? Are the concerns and potential consequences of this habit theoretical and the result of an excessive “securitisation” of society? Or is it justified to rob our dogs of some freedom to protect them against the potential damage chewing sticks can cause? Maybe there is a balance…

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What is the worse-case scenario?

Stick-injuries are a common reason for patient presentation at the vets. Its severity ranges from mild (for example, bruising) to potentially life-threatening (for example, if it penetrates an artery and causes severe haemorrhage). 

Sticks can penetrate dogs’ bodies virtually everywhere, from the mouth to the oesophagus, upper airways, trachea, lungs, blood vessels. This uncertainty warrants an array of diagnostic tests, such as X-rays or a CT scan to try and identify the extent of the injury and exclude lung penetration, endoscopy to look at possible tears in the digestive tract or surgical exploration to try to control infection and identify and remove stick fragments. 

Even if there are is no major damage, the presence of a foreign body, regardless of its size, will always be problematic and result in abscess formation, which can be very simple to resolve if its location is superficial (for example in the cheek) or very tricky if it is located more deeply in the body or close to vital structures (for example, in the chest). 

Regardless of the nature of the injury, the dog affected will most certainly experience pain and local swelling, and may eventually have difficulties eating, possible airway obstruction (choking), bleeding, tongue injuries, potential large tears in the mouth or oesophagus that allow food to escape outside the digestive tract and cause infection, which can extend to the chest and result in a chest infection too. 

What can you do if your dog has a stick injury?

Contact your vets immediately and do not try to remove the stick yourself. Although some times this would resolve the problem and have no negative implications for your pet, sticks can be much longer than they appear on the outside and if they penetrate a vital structure there are better chances of reversing the damages caused by the sticks with rapid access to trained staff and adequate facilities, for example to induce general anaesthesia and control haemorrhage should this occur. Furthermore, your dog will be painful and benefit from the administration of injectable pain relief.

To summarise:

  • Stick injuries are common and have the potential to be life-threatening.
  • Diagnostic procedures can be extensive, treatment is dependent on the nature or the injury, is not always possible and can become cost-prohibitive to a lot of pet owners.
  • Stick injuries are mostly possible to avoid and you can replace the stick for your dog’s favourite toy, which will have been designed for a fun, risk-free playing session!

So is it worth it? We don’t think so! In fact, we’d suggest a specially designed safe dog toy instead!

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