|
Up until last week I had always reassured many owners,
for it is a common enquiry, that allowing your pet dog to
graze grass does no harm. It is my opinion that dogs must
derive some pleasure from this experience or they simply
wouldn't bother.
Often, but not always, the grass consumed is then regurgitated,
probably due to irritation of the gastric mucosa by the
fibrous ball which remains after mastication. The domestic
dog, just like his ancestors, is designed to vomit very
easily. This process acts as a safety mechanism due to their
scavenging nature allowing them to rid themselves of any
decomposed material which could be hazardous.
Some people believe, mistakenly I think, that dogs eat
grass as method of making themselves sick. The notion that
dogs are capable of self medication in an effort to purge
is unlikely.
Max decided one day that he would have a particularly good
portion of grass. Rather than being sick at this point the
fibrous remains formed into a large mass which sank to the
pit of his stomach.
Small strands from the fibrous ball started to be digested
and moved through into the small intestine. Unfortunately,
the large mass remaining was unable to follow and acted
as an anchor. A tug of war began between his stomach and
his small bowel. The small intestine whilst labouring extremely
hard was unable to dislodge the fibrous ball of grass.
Just like a thin rope cutting through your hand when pulling,
the tough strand of grass began slicing through Max's bowel.........not
a pleasant experience at all.
Fortunately, I was able to diagnose the problem with x-rays
and after several hours of surgery the offending material
was removed through several surgical incisions.Luckily for
Max, and unluckily for the criminal fraternity, he is well
on the road to recovery although I gather he is considering
a different recreational pastime!
Terry
Dunne BVMS, Cert SAO, MRCVS
Back
to "Interesting Cases"
If you wish to print or save this page it
is available in PDF format here
|
