URGENT: 8 month old dog ate SOS pad

[xJoKeRx]

I have an 8 month old am staff that ate about 1.5 sos pads about an hour ago.

He ate the pads about 15-20mins after i fed him his nightly food.

I called the vet and they told me to wait about an hour, and if he starts to show signs of being ill, or if he vomits then bring him in.

I tried to make him drink lots of water, and except for a little bit of drool, he seems to be ok right now.

I'm worried because sos pads are some what metallic and contain chemicals. Even though the vet said NOT to attempt to make him vomit, is tihs something i should do?

I don't know how serious sos pads can be. My dog has eaten a lot of stuff, but sos pads is a first.

[Nickdawg]

Do not make him vomit as instructed.... I did a quick search and your dog is not the first to eat an SOS pad.... the worry would be bowel obstruction... some of the cases I saw needed to go in and have surgery, one dog pooped them out.... just keep a VERY close eye on your dog and in touch with the vet and be ready to go in if you need to.... I hope he is ok. Your best bet is to stay in touch with and follow the vet's instruction/advice.

[xJoKeRx]

thank you very much.

I'm hoping it will mix in with the food he ate, and he poops it out.

I will keep a close eye on him...it's going to be tough to judge right now if he's ill or just tired because this is normally when he goes to sleep.

thank you again.

[Nickdawg]

more info for you below-

just watch for the usual signs - vomiting, lethargy, fever, irritability, hard tummy/bloat, drooling etc. also trying to hide, get away... low energy.... I agree though tough with a snoozer...

keep us updated.


Dogs experience bowel obstruction because they love to chew, and end up swallowing nondigestible objects like sticks and stones, parts of toys or even shoes they have chewed on. Sometimes the object is small enough that it can pass through the dog and they are fine.

Sponges and rubber-type material that swell in the intestinal tract or large or sharp-pointed items that lodge in the intestines cause blockages or lacerations and need to be surgically removed as soon as possible, or they could kill the dog. When the blockage is high up in the intestinal tract, projectile vomiting will occur, and your pet may not be interested in eating. A blockage lower down also causes vomiting, but it will be less frequent, dark brown, and smell like feces- the abdomen will also swell. If you notice these symptoms, or if the vomiting is severe or prolonged and his condition is worsening, take your pet to the vet immediately. If you even suspect that your pet may have swallowed something he shouldn't have, be sure to monitor him closely and take him to the vet if you notice any changes such as decreasing appetite, decrease in energy, vomiting, trouble going to the bathroom, etc.

Not all of these symptoms need to be present to signify trouble. Look out for any unusual behavior or signs that your pet may have ingested something that he shouldn't have.

When you know that the object the dog swallowed is small, you can wait 24 hours to let nature work it out. As long as your pet still feels well enough to eat and drink without vomiting, try feeding the dog 1 and a half times the normal serving size. This should encourage increased bowel activity and help the object pass.

Keep an eye on your pet. Make sure the dog is eating and especially drinking normally and watch constantly for signs of intestinal upset. If the dog does not pass the object within one day, the dog should see a vet.

Watch for signs of shock- untreated bowel obstruction becomes dangerous if the blood supply in the intestines is cut off. This happens when the tissues around the obstruction swell and hinder the flow of blood. Without free bloodflow, the tissues can die. A pet in this situation has a very tender tummy that can feel hard like a board. After a while, he goes into shock and the gums become pale, and he may collapse. To fight the shock, wrap the dog in a blanket to keep him warm and put a drop or two of Karo syrup and honey on his gums to help keep him conscious. Get him to a vet immediately.

Dogs who have had one bowel obstruction are at risk for a repeat. They tend to either have a habit of swallowing the wrong thing, or they develop scar tissue inside the intestines that make it more difficult for even small items to pass. Avoid giving them bones or rawhide chews that can be swallowed. Pet-proof your home by picking up anything that your pet might swallow or by making potentially troublesome areas off-limits with baby gates or closing the door. Be careful when choosing toys for your pet. Squeeky toys and small balls are some of the most common causes of obstructions.

If you have children, keep a close eye on their toys when the dog is around, and make sure all toys are picked up when you leave the house. Just because it's not technically a "dog toy", that doesn't mean that your dog will not chew or eat it.

[BigBadPibbul]

I'm not sure about the sos pad but i know you can give them some real cotton balls not the fake ones when the items they swallowed are pointy, it wraps the object up and makes it easier to pass, in this case though i'm on the fence, if he chewed it up really small the cotton might help but if he didn't chew it up very well it might make things worse. Keep us posted!

[Nickdawg]

any update?

[BigBadPibbul]

I'm worried too....

[xJoKeRx]

Sorry for the late reply guys.

Here's the latest update:

The night he ate the SOS pads we kept him in our room and he kept licking his lips and there was some drool. He slept on and off, but in the morning about 6am he threw up and out came some of the SOS pads (about 1). We tried to him water, but he would not drink any. We gave him just under half a cup of kibbles to see if he could keep it down and it seemed fine.

At 8am he went poo and it was fine, but that could be the bowl build up from the night before without the pads. He seemed pretty active; he wanted to play and was running around, but we decided to keep him in his kennel for a about an hour or 2.

At about 11:30am he puked a little more, but it was mostly drool. No SOS pads came out this time. He still seemed active and was running around.

At about 2:30pm he went poo and out came about 1.5 - 2 SOS pads. He finally drank some water and seems to be ok. He isn't drink as much water as he normally does, but that could be due to still have a little upset stomach. He's still eating his food and keeping it down. Previously when he threw up it was all drooly and no food (which i'm guessing is a good sign because he kept his food down).

This morning 8:30ish i fed him a little more (about 1 cup) and once again he kept his food down, but still would not drink water. He went pee but no poo.

At about 1:30pm i decided to take him out and he played like he normally does for about 45mins and he finally drank some water (mostly likely because it was hot outside). He drank some while playing outside and then again when we got inside. He also went poo about 2:45pm, but it was a bit of some SOS pads again (small amount) and some diahrea.

At 3:00pm i fed him again about 1.5 cups and he has kept it down since.

It's about 7:45pm and now and he has not drank water since about 2:30pm. He keeps licking his lips, but no drool. He's running around like he normally does. He seems active, but right now lying next to me waiting for me to get off the computer so we can play.

He has not gone poo since 2:45pm, but i'm going to take him outside now to see if he goes.

I'm still a little worried because he's not drinking as much water, but then again it could be that he's not thirsty and i'm just trying to force him to drink some.

I want thank you all for caring and giving me all the advice. If there's any more information i can provide, please let me know.

I don't know how much more SOS pads are inside him, and what i should be looking for going forward. So far he seems fine (like his normal self), but no idea what the future looks like.

Thanks again guys.

[BigBadPibbul]

I would at this point go to walmart and get some REAL cotton balls, make sure they're 100% cotton, give him several, you can soak them in a little bit of milk or broth and he should just eat them right up. Those should grab any remaining bits of SOS pad that might still be lingering in his tummy. I hope he's feeling better very soon!

[Nickdawg]

Thanks for the update, sounds to me like he is doing well and that the SOS pads have passed for the most part... have you updated the vet? If so, what did he/she say? hope all continues to go well and pup is 100% in no time.

[xJoKeRx]

the vet told us to continue to monitor him. they said it's hard to tell right now because we can't determine if there's any damage on the inside.

if he stops drinking and eating, or stops going to the bathroom, then we should bring him in.

it's hard with the vets because they all tell you the same thing. It's like they want you to wait until the dogs condition worsen. the x-rays are only going to show if there's any obstruction, but won't show damage due to chemicals or scratching.

But so far so good and i'm just hoping he will recover without any long term set backs.

Most recent update is this:

Took him outside and he went pee, but no poo. He drank about 2 slurps of water and ran to the living room to play with his toy. I will take him outside again just before i feed him to make sure he goes poo.

Also had a question about the food we're giving him. Last week we decided to try RAW diet. The diet is made up of rice, chicken, beef liver, carrots, broccoli, 2 eggs...all boiled and refridgerated. I normally heat it up in the microwave for about 15-20secs to room temperature before feeding. Initially i gave him half of the raw diet and half kibbles and by the end of the week gave him all raw diet. would that affect the issue with the SOS pads? should i switch him back to the kibbles? I also top the raw diet off with a supplement that is a mix of wheat germ and yeast.

[Nickdawg]

I don't know a lot about raw diet so maybe someone else will respond but I would not switch right now as will make it more difficult to determine his health - ie a food switch (like back to kibble) often causes upset tummy etc.

Good you are in touch with the vet... he does sound better, active etc.

Again, hope this continues....

[heartbullies]

how scary!

i hope everything has passed through with no problems.

i'd avoid switching things around, diet-wise, until you get the SOS situation under control. that totally sounds like something my dog would do. ugh.


your new diet isn't raw, but it is home-cooked-- i can tell you that in my experience with feeding a raw diet, the dogs seem to drink a *lot* less water than kibble-eaters. i'm not sure if the same is true for a home-cooked diet.

[BigBadPibbul]

How is he doing?