# He ate a toothpick



## mainegirl (May 2, 2005)

give a few slices of bread (mybe even balled up) so they will wrap around the toothpick and let it go through his system. hope this helps
beth, moose and angel


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I would give him the pieces of bread like mainegirl says and watch him closely. If he shows any signs of being sick take him to the emergency vet. Hope he will be ok and it passes ok.


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

Intuition tells me this will be okay. Dogs eat bones and dogs chew sticks, both of which can splinter into something like a toothpick, which is relatively soft wood after all. I'd do the recommended things like feeding bread and watch him closely, but I wouldn't worry unless there are signs that something is wrong. At that point, I'd be on the way to the vet faster than I can type the words.

Happy holidays!


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## MittaBear (Mar 9, 2010)

Thanks for the help. I gave him the bread like you mentioned. He's acting normal and he pooped fine this morning. I didn't notice any signs of the toothpick in it, but I'll continue to watch him closely. Thanks for the advice! I just don't know why he has to do things like this to me to make me worry!


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## PortiaPal (Jul 9, 2017)

Yesterday my Weimeraner ate three plastic toothpicks that were in a piece of cake. I was quite concerned because the plastic, unlike wooden toothpick would not break down at all in the digestive tract. I called the vet and she said that all I could do is monitor her and watch for any signs like blood in her poop or changes in her appetite or water consumption. She also said that chances were good that the action of the intestines would probably keep them parallel to the tract and they would pass. Good advice, it turns out, as my dog passed all three toothpicks in her poop this evening (yes I did dissect the poop!). Quite the relief for both of us!


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## Catgondek (Jul 3, 2017)

Something that I learned from a previous dog that was a counter cruiser ... if you need to watch poop for bits and pieces, you can squirt it with a garden hose in an open plastic bag. Makes for a gross soup but beats the personal inspection routine!


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## Hsondo (Jan 19, 2020)

PortiaPal said:


> Yesterday my Weimeraner ate three plastic toothpicks that were in a piece of cake. I was quite concerned because the plastic, unlike wooden toothpick would not break down at all in the digestive tract. I called the vet and she said that all I could do is monitor her and watch for any signs like blood in her poop or changes in her appetite or water consumption. She also said that chances were good that the action of the intestines would probably keep them parallel to the tract and they would pass. Good advice, it turns out, as my dog passed all three toothpicks in her poop this evening (yes I did dissect the poop!). Quite the relief for both of us!


This is very helpful. May I ask how many days it was before she passed the toothpicks? Something very similar happened to our dog this evening.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Hsondo said:


> This is very helpful. May I ask how many days it was before she passed the toothpicks? Something very similar happened to our dog this evening.



This is an old thread, the member you asked hasn't been on in almost 3 years.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

lol old threads pop up all the time


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

Hsondo said:


> This is very helpful. May I ask how many days it was before she passed the toothpicks? Something very similar happened to our dog this evening.


This is an old thread, but if I were you, I would feed canned spinach (the fibers of the spinach will wrap around anything sharp) and wait. You'll have to search through her poo for the next several days until you find what has been ingested. One time when Denver was a puppy, he swallowed a piece of red plastic flag (like the kind that people stick in the ground to mark utilities) and he passed it the next day.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

Hsondo said:


> This is very helpful. May I ask how many days it was before she passed the toothpicks? Something very similar happened to our dog this evening.


There really shouldn't be much of an issue. As long as it went down ok (not stuck in the esophagus) it should be fine. The Tootpick is so thin that he saliva and the acids in the stomach will likely make the toothpick very soft and pliable like wet cardboard but not as extreme. Giving some bread or something similar can't hurt either but I don't think I would be overly worried once I knew it went down.


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