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Riley (1 year old female spayed Lab retriever)
A Round Bone Around the Jaw
Riley presented to Bay Animal Hospital in a slight predicament. While chewing on a yummy bone, something unexpected happened. The bone got trapped around the lower jaw, and wouldn't come off! To make matters worse, Riley's tongue was trapped inside of the bone. Needless to say, this made Riley quite uncomfortable and a little panicky. She was pawing at her face and bleeding a little. Her owners put her in the car and brought her to the hospital.
At the hospital, Dr. Francke gave Riley a sedative and then an anesthetic to remove the bone. The bone was wedged on quite tightly and almost needed to be sawn off, but with lots of lubrication and manipulation, the doctor managed to work the bone off of the jaw.
Riley was given a shot of pain medicine and some antibiotics, as there were some small cuts in the mouth. When she woke up, she was quite relieved to notice that the bone was gone!
At Bay Animal Hospital, we do not recommend giving your dog actual animal bones to chew on. Some of the problems we have seen from bones include: entrapment around the jaw, fractured teeth, intestines blocked with bone chips (often requiring surgery), perforated bowel (life-threatening), deep penetrating mouth wounds (sometimes even leading to tetanus), bone chips caught in between teeth (causing infections), etc. Although chewing on bones can help remove tartar from the teeth, there are safer chew toys that can do the same thing including Nylabone, Booda bones, rawhides, etc. Pigs Ears are not recommended as they are the number one cause of fractured teeth in canines.
Save your canine companion from unnecessary discomfort or injury. Save yourself from unnecessary veterinary bills. Always choose safe chew toys, not bones. Call us if you would like to ask us whether your dog's chew toys are safe.
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