Warning of dangers of treats after family pet nearly died

Helen Stobart, from near Hesket Newmarket, is sharing her terrifying tale in the hope that she can prevent others from going through what eight-year-old large Münsterländer Dottie endured.

“I gave Dottie a dog treat, which she'd been bought for Christmas and Dottie ate it too quickly and it must have got stuck in her throat," she said.

“The dog treat we gave her was dog paté, which is not soft like our paté but can be quite solid. They come in tubes in a sausage form and are about 6 inches long and 2 inches thick, so they are quite substantial and you have to cut it up into small treat sized pieces.

“She kept retching throughout Saturday.

"We contacted Paragon as she had been nibbling at her food but bringing it back up. She was then admitted for further investigations and intravenous fluids to correct her dehydration"

Helen and her family were initially confused as to what was causing the problem.

"Vets at Paragon, in Dalston, initially took x-rays which revealed a suspicious area just in front of the stomach in the oesophagus, so a camera was placed down her throat to assess further and a large lump of food was found".

Dottie is almost back to full health. (Image: Harry Atkinson)

“They tried to remove it but only small pieces were breaking off'', Helen said.

“In the end they had to operate and go in through her stomach to remove it.”

Dottie ended up staying at the practice from Sunday morning until Tuesday night, as she recovered from surgery.

Despite her ordeal, the beloved family pet is now almost fully recovered.

Helen said: “She’s really improving. She still has a different bark, but she has started to refuse to take her tablets, so that’s definitely an improvement – even if it's an awkward one for us.

“Dottie is very loud and can bark at anything usually. She loves balls – fetching them or dropping them in your lap – but she is very gentle. We cannot wait until she is fully recovered.”

Sarah Wallace, who is a veterinary surgeon at Paragon Vets, said: "It is very rare to have a piece of food stuck in this area. It is more common with bones or sticks but due to the size and texture of the treat unfortunately in this case it had become lodged causing a blockage.

“We would advise if your dog is prone to swallowing treats whole then only give them softer, smaller treats and completely avoid hard treats altogether''

Helen says she now has some top tips to help others protect their canines from a similar fate: “People need to make sure that all dog food is chopped or chunked up into really small pieces.

“Part of our problem is also because we have two dogs, and so they compete as to who can finish first. Now we feed them in separate spots, so they eat more slowly.

“Paragon were absolutely amazing; they kept ringing all the time to keep us updated.

"It was very very worrying, and I hope I can help others not to have to go through the same ordeal," she said.