Throw a dog a ball not a stick

WHAT could be more fun for your dog than throwing a stick for them to retrieve?

Not for one dog rushed into the Donaldson’s Vets surgery at Shepley. The dog, a three-year-old Labrador, had been walked in woodland near Thurstonland on one of the warmer days last week, but the walk was abruptly curtailed when the stick caused a nasty injury.

Being a gun dog, Labradors love to carry things in their mouth. Instinctively they love to chase, catch and then return items to their owners.

Yet throwing sticks can prove very dangerous. This particular game had being going on for about 15 minutes, and owner and dog were starting to tire.

On the final throw, the stick was hurled deep into the undergrowth for one final forage.

As the owner turned to walk back to the car, there was a blood curdling scream from the undergrowth and the Labrador returned without the stick, but with her tail firmly clamped between her legs. By the time they had walked back to the car, she was shaking from head to foot. A dribble of saliva, stained with blood, hung from the corner of her mouth.

It is only a very short drive from Thurstonland to the Donaldson’s Shepley surgery, but when she arrived at the surgery, she was in obvious distress.

Examination of her mouth revealed more blood, but there was no visible injury.

She was admitted into the Shepley surgery, given pain relief and placed on an intravenous drip to combat her shock. Having on-site theatre facilities at Shepley, she was anaesthetised to allow for full examination of her mouth. Under anaesthetic, right at the back of her throat, to the side of her right tonsil area, was a small hole, about 7mm.

On inserting a pair of forceps into the hole, a piece of bark was removed and our suspicions were confirmed.

Rather than landing flat on the ground, one end of the stick must have embedded into the ground while the other end projected into the air.

In her enthusiasm to retrieve the stick, she had run on to the exposed end, impaling a portion of it in the back of her throat. The stick had broken off leaving a section buried beneath the surface.

Our team set to work and a section of tree branch 8cm long was eased out of the hole, and I am glad to say she has made a full recovery.

We see several of these injuries every year, and I would always advise throwing a ball or other toy for your dog to retrieve and NEVER be tempted to throw a stick.