Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Chew Toys Need to be Inspected Every Day

What is with Lord Malcolm and his notorious eating habits?

I cannot tell you how distressing it is to me and to this entire household that Lord Malcolm continues to think that the world is laid out before him for his consumption.  He is very involved in classes at the Dog School taking agility, weave pole and obedience training.  He runs along with the bicycle on nice days when the wind is not too cold ( about 3 times a week in winter ).  He plays outside with his sister, Lady McKenzie.  He is home with his handler and his 2 sisters all day and very seldom left alone and kennelled for any length of time.  He gets plenty of 'at home' training and tries to learn tricks and we do try to keep his wee mind stimulated and his giant body tired. Also, we play the 'Through a Dog's Ear' Calming Music and the 'Positively' Canine Phobia Series Calming Music during the day. Interestingly, he does not chew on furniture or other household items other than a hand towel from the Master Bath, if he is left out and unattended (and no one remembers to close the bedroom door).  It seems to me, if I were a dog, I would love living here with such a spoiled and catered to lifestyle.  

So why does he eat everything that he chews?  His strong jaws can get through a black Kong (the hardest rubber dog toy) in a matter of minutes.  The dental dog chews you see in the pet stores seem safe, but not for Malcolm.  The most puzzling part is when he does chew a piece off a toy, why does he insist on swallowing it?  Other dogs I've had have been destructive chewers, but they left their evidence all over the house for you to clean up when you got home.   If you don't remember, he very nearly died not too long ago over that bit of Kong I referenced to earlier.   Here are pictures of the latest dental chew.  The blue 'ball' on the end is what held the donut like disc on.  The blue part, thankfully, came out the other end with no problem.  The disc was retrieved from his slimy throat with my hand as I noticed him trying very hard to swallow something.  As you know, he has had 2 operations and has lost 6 inches of his intestine.  He has thrown up countless bottle caps, paper towels, grocery lists and receipts, Styrofoam peanuts and some unidentifiable items.  He went through a phase of eating faeces, which he seemed to find quite enjoyable for a time.  Thankfully, we think that phase is over.  Cross your fingers and we'll keep ours crossed too!  (I probably shouldn't have said anything about that.  Maybe I've jinxed it now).

A typical 'Dental Chew' that you can buy at the local Pet Store.


This is what I pulled out of the depths of his gullet just as it was about to go down.  This certainly could have killed him by blocking his intestine.


If anyone out there has anything to offer on this subject, please make a comment.  I am willing to learn anything if I can help him with this problem.  He was the 'runt' of his litter and has always fought for his right to eat.  He's a big guy and yes, we do feed him a lot of food.  He's not hungry, believe me.
Help me if you can!  Let me know if you have experienced any of these problems.  I'm at a loss.  

Struggling with 3,
House of Hagg

1 comment:

dog food said...

Strong chewers will need supervision as all dogs do, so they don't eat too much of the chew or swallow large pieces. Trade your dog for a treat when you want to take it back. Ordering a size larger than you normally would will help the chew last longer.