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View Full Version : My puppy is in surgery because of my BSL hair!



rosaacicularis
April 29th, 2014, 10:49 PM
So, after four days of suffering, vomiting, and weight-loss, my poor puppy just wrapped up surgery to remove a $4,000, 1"x10" clump of hair (and rocks, and gunk) from his intestines. :puke: He is not in the clear yet. Stout's intestine became infected, and there is a small hole that the vet could not find that caused him to become septic. The vet said that the rocks and gunk would have passed if not for the massive amount of hair he ingested. The prognosis started out dire, and we expected him to die on the table, but the conditions have improved to the warm side of poor.

I don't even know where he found that much hair! My husband and I both have BSL hair, and he has a beard. It's just weird though, because we don't shed a lot, and there has never been a lot of hair on the floor (even pre-puppy). This puppy must have just been vacuuming up every single strand since he arrived and stockpiling it in there. It's pretty awful. If he lives to come home, do we have to cut our hair just to keep the crazy pooch alive? I feel like I have to cut it all off if he makes it through, but geez. Have any of you caused harm to another with your long hair? Do you have any ideas to help me keep it without causing the same issue in the future? I already wear it up almost every waking hour, but my husband doesn't.

(Disclaimer if I sound insensitive. I cope by indulging in practical details. My crying and whatnot is on pause for now. If you want to marvel at the slightly gross, offending clump of hair - http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i214/rosaacicularis/20140429_194458.jpeg) Also, a picture of healthy, pre-hairclump Stout pup for good measure. If this is too pet related to be in the Mane Forum, sorry! I felt it had a place here due to my hair questions, but feel free to redirect me.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i214/rosaacicularis/aa.jpg

Stormynights
April 29th, 2014, 10:55 PM
Maybe you could wear a snood at home. I hope your poor puppy gets better quickly. He is so adorable.

Hele
April 29th, 2014, 11:24 PM
aww, he's a cutie! I have two long haired cats that eat hair if they get a chance, both theirs' and mine. When i brush them they'll eat their hair off the brush if given the chance. I also used to have a cat that would eat bath mats. Of course being cats they normally just throw it up at some point though. I have hardwood floors and run those swiffer dry sweep cloths over them daily, that's the best i can come up with. I'm sorry that happened, it's sounds your dog will eat anything so if it wasn't your hair it would just be something else so don't be too hard on yourself. :grouphug: Too bad we don't know what's going through their minds when they eat such things!

molljo
April 29th, 2014, 11:49 PM
All the love and good thoughts to your poor baby! I don't have any good suggestions, just sympathy.

eva888
April 29th, 2014, 11:58 PM
I hope he recovers quickly and is alright. I'm so sorry to hear about your puppy. Don't blame yourself - some dogs just eat everything they see.

I don't think that you need to cut your hair. I would start first by making sure that he has tons of physical and mental stimulation, as dogs' tendencies are exaggerated when they're bored. Teach him "drop it" and "leave it" when you're on walks so he learns not to eat everything, and hope for the best.

I also wonder if there's something you could add to his diet to get things "moving" from time to time.

*Hug*

xoChesleyy
April 30th, 2014, 12:10 AM
I am terribly sorry. I wish the best for you and that your baby recovers soon! My dog is the same exact way- He will eat whatever he can find. Once while I wasn't at home, he managed to rip up and eat a piece of floor tile and the toilet handle.. I was not a happy camper, needless to say.. But I was really happy that he was alright. Dogs will eat anything! What happened was not your fault in the slightest.

The only suggestion that I know of is maybe it would help if your hubby is willing to keep his hair in an updo as well while you two are at home? Again, I hope he makes a quick recovery. :heartbeat

Flor
April 30th, 2014, 12:42 AM
I hope your puppy gets well soon!

As for hair, unless you're willing to cut it really short, I'm talking pixie length here, it won't solve the problem. I second what everyone else said - wearing it up or in a braid at home, only brushing it in one designated room or bathroom (and not letting the puppy there), cleaning the floors frequently. I also don't think I shed a lot, but when I clean the floors with those dust sweep things, they tell a different story.

It wasn't your fault though! I hope everything works out :)

Night_Kitten
April 30th, 2014, 02:55 AM
I hope your puppy gets through it and gets well soon :grouphug:

I never had a similar issue (never had a dog, only cats), so not talking from experience, but I second the wearing hair up while at home and doing the hair in a room the puppy has no access to idea :)

spirals
April 30th, 2014, 03:24 AM
It's so not your fault. Dogs will eat anything, even garbage and maxi pads. They're disgusting, yet we love them. It's just one of those crazy things that's no one's fault. Please don't beat yourself up.

Bagginslover
April 30th, 2014, 03:36 AM
He looks like quite a young pup, how long have you had him? Did his breedher have long hair by any chance? I ask as that is a LOT of hair for a short period of time, that much (it looks like a dense matted chunk) would take me 6 months+ to shed out in my brush, let alone fall out onto the floor!

I don't think this was your fault at all, and evenif it were all your hair, you weren't to know he'd eat it all. Do cut, just be more careful about where your sheds end up.
Hope he's OK (((hugs)))

embee
April 30th, 2014, 05:15 AM
DS has a cat that needed surgery for unraveling and eating thread/string from the end of a blanket. There's not way to stop them if they're determined to eat this stuff.

Question: What do you do with your shed hairs when you clean out your brush? If you put them into the trash, does the trashcan have a lid? Do not flush them, or your plumbing will have the same problem as your puppy! :(

Kherome
April 30th, 2014, 05:23 AM
People often say they don't shed that much. To me, what that means is "I just don't realize I shed like everyone else." Those hairs are sneaky and they slither out like ninjas. I know my dogs have occasionally had a stringer poop from getting some hair. They play with toys and such on the floor where those hairs often end up, and even if they aren't trying to, they eat them sometimes. For us, we vacuum every single day. Not much you can do except watch the dog. Where did he get the rocks? If you saw him eat them, then I probably would have tried peroxide immediately as that is what my vet told me. (I had a dog that once broke out of her kennel and ate kitchen floor tile on the 4th of July from fireworks) If you didn't see it, you've got to watch him more closely. Puppies should be kenneled or watched like a hawk until they get older and smarter. They can do a lot of harm to themselves when they are little! (ETA I just want to be clear I am not saying this is your fault! Puppies are stupid, it happens.)

This does bring up an interesting point though. Our hair can be harmful to critters. This winter we took a trip to Hawaii. While there I noticed a small bird flopping on the ground unable to walk. I was able to catch him pretty easily as he was exhausted. I turned him over and lo and behold, his one foot was all tied up with tangled human hair. I can only guess someone ran their hand through their hair and pulled out and dropped some sheds that he wandered through. Anyway, his foot was swollen and one toe had already fallen off. Others were going to. We used a nail scissor to cut the hair off his foot and immediately he was able to walk, though not as normal. I think the foot will heal and he'll do ok with the missing toe (or two). But it's a caveat to us long hairs...be careful with those sheds and try not to drop them just anywhere!

Kherome
April 30th, 2014, 05:23 AM
DS has a cat that needed surgery for unraveling and eating thread/string from the end of a blanket. There's not way to stop them if they're determined to eat this stuff.

Question: What do you do with your shed hairs when you clean out your brush? If you put them into the trash, does the trashcan have a lid? Do not flush them, or your plumbing will have the same problem as your puppy! :(

I wrap my shed ball in TP and trash it. The can does have a lid.

Rosa Harris
April 30th, 2014, 05:37 AM
A sweet wishes and healing energy for the pup baby.

I'd really suspect he got it before you got him - it just looks like a hug just pulled out of nasty never cleaned brush clump to me. Infections also take a while to develop - especially to the extent that they cause a hole to erode in the intestinal wall. If he did not get it from the breeder's home then perhaps he found it on a walk or if you let him out alone? The most I have had is my kitty baby getting stringy-poos from eating one hair.

momschicklets
April 30th, 2014, 05:53 AM
:( Aww I just love dogs and am so sorry he (and you!) are going through this. I don't have a lot of advice except maybe vacuum the floor every single day to collect hair. Sending my ((((hugs)))) and let us know how he is doing. He is just adorable.

torrilin
April 30th, 2014, 06:58 AM
Most dogs don't eat rocks and so forth. It can be a sign of dietary deficiency when they do (just like humans!). They're omnivores like us, so they eat a lot of different stuff and they need a lot of different nutrients for a healthy diet. The big difference is they don't have anywhere near as much intestines as we do. We have a really long intestine, and that means we can get nutrients out of stuff that a lot of other animals can't. More time for our digestive enzymes and intestinal bacteria to work on it. Dogs don't have that, so some things humans eat aren't necessarily good for them. Grains are often a problem.

I don't really think of puppies as stupid. They haven't grown their brains all the way yet, and they don't have a lot of experience with how the world works. Human babies tend to have the same problems, and for the same kinds of reasons. I'm not really good or patient with human babies, and I don't do all that well with baby dogs either. So when we got a dog, it was very important to me to get a dog who was old enough that I'd handle him or her well. It may be you did something that caused this for your little guy. It may not. It'll always be hard to tell. Definitely look at how you approach situations tho. I know I tend to get impatient or annoyed with a lot of stuff babies do. And I don't always do helpful stuff to cope. In fact, I usually do destructive stuff. So it was easy for me to figure out that no matter how cute a puppy is, I would not be good for a puppy. So I got an older rescue dog, and she and I are both really happy together. You can't change how Stout reacts to things, but you *can* change how you react.

Most dogs explore the world with their mouths. They don't have hands, and they use their mouth the way an adult human tends to use their hands. Human toddlers go through a stage like this. Also like humans, dogs smell stuff better if the item is in their mouth. Unlike humans, smell is super important to dogs. It's really important to help a dog learn what stuff is ok to mouth and sniff in detail, and what stuff isn't. Leave it is the command we use with our dog, and it really helps. She knows we're not horrible evil people who never let her smell anything... we let her smell LOTS. Leave it helps her to know when it's working time as opposed to playing time and smelling time.

lapushka
April 30th, 2014, 09:22 AM
My mom barely finds shed hair on our floors, maybe one or two strands every week - seriously. My hair is always kept up (no taking it down in the evening on the sofa), and when taken down, it's done carefully over the sink in the bathroom. The sink is where all shed hairs go, then they are cleared out with a piece of toilet paper and thrown in the bin. It's as easy as that.

YamaMaya
April 30th, 2014, 09:39 AM
There may be a way to keep your hair and your puppy. When my cats get bad hairballs I feed them that hairball lube to help them pass it. Im not sure how you could train him to stop eating things off the floor but it may be worth looking into as well.

Kimberly
April 30th, 2014, 10:57 AM
Like torrilin said, it is not normal for a dog to eat rocks and hair, and could be due to a dietary deficiency. There are plenty of people on this forum with much longer hair than the OP, and I can't recall ever reading about someone's dog getting sick from hair eating (except for the turd-trailer effect Rosa mentioned) -- it is not usual. Maybe ask the vet about dietary deficiency and behavioral problems. As someone else posted, maybe the puppy was bored and needed more chew toys. It isn't the length of your hair that is a problem -- cutting your hair won't keep your pup from eating rocks and other potentially deadly things. Good luck -- I hope Stout gets well soon!

spidermom
April 30th, 2014, 12:03 PM
It might help to limit combing/styling to one place in the house, and pick up the shed hair afterwards. Also request husband at least do a banded ponytail to reduce shedding around the house.

No dire results yet, but I have noticed that my dog ingests hair. Ick!

spidermom
April 30th, 2014, 12:08 PM
When my son was an infant, I found that one of my shed hairs had gotten wrapped so tightly around his little thigh that it was actually cutting into his skin. I have no idea how that could have happened, but I had been thinking about cutting my hair anyway, and that was the final straw. I got it cut very short within a day or 2 of discovering that.

share801
April 30th, 2014, 12:17 PM
I worry about this with my cat since cats tongues are such they cannot spit anything out!

Hope your puppy makes a full recovery!

jeanniet
April 30th, 2014, 01:51 PM
Puppies explore the world by mouthing everything, and they can and will eat all sorts of things. Dogs can also develop OCD and eating rocks is not uncommon, but I think your pup is too young for that. It's possible some or most of the hair was ingested before you got him; it can take a lot of stuff piling up before symptoms develop.

The most important thing with puppies is constant supervision. If you can't supervise, pup should be in a crate, leashed to you, in an x-pen, gated, etc., and never, ever outside alone. My current dog never chewed anything as a puppy because I finally got smart and didn't give her the chance to get into trouble. Training is next, but it takes time and repetition to fully train a puppy (and you have to really work at it through the adolescent phase). But especially because you know your pup will eat things, you have to be hyper-vigilant. Don't cut your hair, but watch the pup. Don't let him have the run of the house until you're sure he's out of this phase. Make sure he has plenty of safe chew toys (give him a few at a time and rotate the rest so he doesn't get bored), but don't leave any in the crate or pen with him unless you're watching him (while cooking, for example). I wouldn't put any bedding in with him, either, at least not for now. There is nothing chew-proof to a really determined dog!

ETA: I have to disagree that eating rocks and hair necessarily means a dietary issue. If he's on a good puppy food, it's highly unlikely that there's a deficiency unless there's actually something else going on. Puppies honestly eat the most incredible things--if they can get their mouth on it, they'll chew it, and often if they can fully fit it in their mouth they will swallow it. I wouldn't say they're stupid, but they do lack some of the sense that older dogs do. They're curious creatures, and they also like to have fun, which can mean eating some not-so-fun things. That's where the supervision comes in.

Oops, forgot to say that I'm sending all my best wishes and healing thoughts for the little guy. He's sure a cutie!

Kherome
April 30th, 2014, 02:00 PM
When my son was an infant, I found that one of my shed hairs had gotten wrapped so tightly around his little thigh that it was actually cutting into his skin. I have no idea how that could have happened, but I had been thinking about cutting my hair anyway, and that was the final straw. I got it cut very short within a day or 2 of discovering that.

I had a friend that had the same thing happen to her baby except it was wrapped around his toe and cut in and made it bleed.

Shed hairs can be a real problem!

I'm glad you got your puppy to the doc before it was too late. Perhaps you could ask your vet about adding fish oil to his diet now to keep things greased while he heals?

woodswanderer
April 30th, 2014, 02:13 PM
I've had pets with stringers, but never something so serious. Don't beat yourself up about this. It certainly isn't the sort of "what if?" that people usually see coming.

Kherome
April 30th, 2014, 02:34 PM
I saw a TV show once, I think it might have been Cesar Milan (Please don't make an argument about whether he's awesome or awful, it's just an example), where a Rhodesian Ridgeback was eating rocks. Maybe you could google that and see how he helped them resolve it? I remember the dog stopped eating rocks. I just don't remember what/why etc.

makeminea99
April 30th, 2014, 04:05 PM
Aaw I hope your poor pup gets better soon! Bless them, they will eat anything, won't they? I try to be careful about my shed hairs - if I find them I try to keep them together, then I snip them into smaller strands (say, just 1-2 " long) so if they get found by birds, they can use them for their nests, and if anything ingests, them, they should be small enough to pass through. However I have fine hair and it's easy to miss some. Occasionally the odd one finds its way into one of our fish tanks . . .
You could go mad about this. I wouldn't chop your hair off unless you want to though, otherwise you could end up just making yourself miserable and even resenting your pet a little, too.

ErinLeigh
April 30th, 2014, 04:45 PM
I hope your puppy gets well soon!

As for hair, unless you're willing to cut it really short, I'm talking pixie length here, it won't solve the problem. I second what everyone else said - wearing it up or in a braid at home, only brushing it in one designated room or bathroom (and not letting the puppy there), cleaning the floors frequently. I also don't think I shed a lot, but when I clean the floors with those dust sweep things, they tell a different story.

It wasn't your fault though! I hope everything works out :)

ditto for all and my regards.

patienceneeded
April 30th, 2014, 06:58 PM
Poor puppy! He sure is adorable.

Dogs eat stuff. They eat their own poop. As brilliant as my GSD is at times he's also a complete moron who will hoover up anything and everything he finds. At age 7 he has stopped trying to eat random stuff (grass, rocks, his own hair, crayons...) and only goes for food-type stuff. Hopefully your pup grows out of it. Until then, be vigilant.

roseomalley
April 30th, 2014, 07:38 PM
Thinking of you and your sweet puppy. Please let us know how he is doing. As others have said, please do not blame yourself. It is just such a weird thing to happen.

roseomalley
April 30th, 2014, 07:41 PM
I give up, tried to say I edited because I typed wired instead of weird.

Kimberly
April 30th, 2014, 08:03 PM
Here is an article from the ASPCA about dogs eating things that aren't food, why they do it, and how to stop it. Hope some of this info is helpful! http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/pica-eating-things-arent-food

getoffmyskittle
April 30th, 2014, 08:17 PM
Pup must be seeking out hair to eat and accumulating it over time, there's no way that was an accidentally swallowed clump (where would it have come from?). I have a cat who likes to eat my hair when it's on my head, and one time I caught him trying to eat it out of the bathroom trash. I went apesh* on him for exactly this reason. Didn't touch him, but I yelled really loudly and suddenly and chased him out of the bathroom. It must have made an impression because he has never done it again. Can you teach your dog that he's not supposed to eat hair? (I recommend a more reasonable method than mine: I was truly frightened by what he was doing and reacted instinctively.)