pig ears causing bleeding in digestive tract?

[pmgal]

I'm at my wits end trying to figure this one out. My female Rott I noticed a few days before Christmas was bleeding from her mouth. So then I came home Christmas Eve and saw 2 puddles of vomit w/blood on my kitchen floor. The next morning she had black watery stools. (Sorry for being so graphic) Then my Golden stopped eating and developed dirrehea. I took her temp. and there was blood on the thermometer. So I went to the vet and got canned and dry prescription dog food. I am also giving the Golden Pedialyte since she stopped eating completely. My female Rott seemed to be getting better, eating, running, playing etc. And my Golden slowly, very slowly is nibbling on her food. This evening before feeding I gave all the dogs a low fat pig ear as a snack before their dinner. After my female Rott ate her dinner I noticed blood smeared on the floor where she was laying in the kitchen.
And then it dawned on me, every time I give her a pig ear she bleeds. Never before has it bothered any of my dogs, but could it be that now all of a sudden the pig ears are too hard on their digestive systems? The boys seem to be all right, no change with them at all. Any one ever have this problem? I wish there was somewhere I could look on the internet about pig ears. I have a feeling this might be the cause. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks! Sandi (Pmgal)

[Judi W]

Why don't you just not feed them? I think they're kind of nasty things and, yes, they can be as hard as hard plastic so it stands to reason they could poke at the gums and possibly the gut. Black stools indicate blood as well.

It is also recommended that if you do feed them, you wash your hands thoroughly after handling as they are often found to carry salmonella. May not bother the dogs but can sure make people sick.

[pmgal]

Judi, Thanks for replying. I do not intend to feed them pig ears again. Matter of fact, it just dawned on me right before I asked for help. I've been beating my brain in trying to figure out what was wrong. I just didn't want to think it was the pig ears and then it be something completely different. Oh and thanks about the tip about salmonella...that was something I didn't know. :)
Sandi

[Carina43]

Dried pig ears are nasty things...aren't they preserved with something awful like formaldehyde? I've also heard the cautions about salmonella.

Mine get raw ears sometimes, but they don't last very long as chewies!

[rottsnroses]

We could never feed anything pork to Reno. Everytime we did, he would throw it up, or in the case of pigs ears, he would get blood in his stools. I guess some dogs just have a sensitivity to pork products.

[RottiMomCT]

Ben got a pig ear for Xmas from our neighbor and he had darker than normal poops the next day, as well as very runny poops for about 2 days. No more pig ears for Ben!

The other thing I'll never give to him again are those chew hooves...nasty stinky things anyways. Ben vomited up some pretty big chunks of a chew hoof last summer, and two days later he passed an equally large piece...I can only imagine what that felt like going thru his system .

Every once in a while he'll sneak a pig ear out of my eval bag (used when I go to shelters) but he'll bring it to me as if to ask "Mom, PLEASE can I have this?" On the rare occassion, I'll relent but won't let him have the whole thing...;)

On the other hand, every summer we have a pig roast, and the dogs get some small pieces of meat mixed in with their dinners for about a week after the pig roast....just as a treat. I try to save the ears but they usually get tossed....end up looking like charcoal most of the time!

[Judi W]

You have to remember where those hoofs and ears are obtained. They are not nicely cut from a hanging carcass, but swept up off the floors of the slaughter house. Of course they are harboring some nasty stuff.

[WIRott]

When I was at the pet store getting things for my new rottie-Tank:) I girl there was really helpful and said to becareful what to give them as a treat to chew on because they tend not to chew their food and swallow things whole and that their insides are really soft. She claimed that for some reason the rotties have really soft insides. Now if this is true I am not sure but I decided not to take any chances. Acutally Tank has like 3 rawhides and he's not even chewing them he's just tossing them around :D Just thought I'd share what they informed me I am still learning:)

Happy Holidays:D

[Carina43]

I don't know about Rottweilers having soft insides, that's a new one on me. Of course it's not a good idea for a dog to swallow a large hunk of anything undigestible...hooves and processed leathers are not broken down in the digestive system. Even those chipped up-glued together rawhides come out the other end the way they went in...I no longer buy any processed rawhide type chew toys for my dogs, they have real bones or Kongs.

One caution on rawhides - this may have been an isolated incident, but just a heads up: As you may know, I feed raw, so my dogs eat raw bones & meat daily without any problem. Back when Cooper was a little puppy, he was at someone's house and got hold of their dog's rawhide bone. He chewed the knot off and choked on it, it was very scary! We were trying to do the doggie Heimlich and he did yak it up (I think without my rather inept help) but he was making the most awful sounds and I really thought he was a goner right there. So perhaps avoid the ones with those throat-sized knots on the end!

[WIRott]

I'd have to agree my other dogs are great with them even if I still worry! I am thankful Tank doesn't really chew them he uses it more for a toy to throw around:D I do try to find the ones without the knot on the ends:D

Glad to hear your pup is ok:)

[jc1]

Please don't give your Rottys or any other dog the rawhide bones or items like them....I've had several friends that lost there dogs after eating these things and they caused bowel blockages. By the time the vets figured out what was wrong with the dogs it was to late.....If you want to give then something to play with and chew on get the big shank bones.....They last forever and both of my old Rottys loved there bones.......They come in several sizes and smoked......

Jc1

[angellove]

I found out something I didn't know, when we lost my Smokey through an accident we looked at her x-rays, on them you could clearly see undigested bones in her guts.

She hadn't had any for ages, so I can only assume she had dug one up, we have given them raw beef bones from the butcher and they had also had in the past cooked chop bones, which my fiance's family threw out with dinner scraps - not the type that splinter.

We now no longer give them any cooked bones and have cut down on raw bones to maybe a couple or 3 times a year.

[pmgal]

Well as luck would have it I don't think it's the pig ears. Gloria started bleeding again. I found 3 cysts that popped up all of a sudden around the back of her neck area. She has small patches of bruising on her belly. She's back to throwing up blood and I took her to the vet today. They drew blood and are doing x-rays on her lungs and abdomen to see if their are any tumors. If she has cancer, I'm going to take a break from rescue and spend my time and money on her instead. I'm dying inside thinking what could be wrong. Please say a prayer or send good thoughts for her. Or whatever your belief is, Gloria could use some. Thanks you guys, I'll post more later after I get her home.
Sandi

[pmgal]

Well, I just want to pass some news on about Gloria and wish you all a Happy New Year. I woke up this morning and Gloria was vomiting blood again and she has been on a very bland diet. Also on the way to the vet I noticed there was 4 cysts on her shoulder area that was not there the other day. They are about the size of a quarter and hard. And while at the vet when she was flipped over on her back with 4 of us holding her down (she was muzzled!) I noticed red splotches underneath the skin like bruising. (vet called them hematomas?) And while she is laying down snoozing blood drips out of her mouth ever so slightly. And lastly fresh blood is coming out of her (diarrhea) stools. So at the vet they drew several vials of blood for tests and then kept her a few hours to sedate her and get x-rays of her lungs and abdomen looking for tumors. They didn't find any, but they said her right atrium was slightly enlarged. Something that could or maybe not be related to what's going on. If not they said we could deal with that later after we find out what's wrong. So I go pick her up with a $274 bill and 3 bottles of meds pending her blood results. The meds were Vitamin K, Doxecycline, and of course Prednisone. Thursday I take Bo in for his yearly and I'll find out a bit more about what's going on. They didn't want to do a biopsy of the cysts because of her bleeding. But at least she doesn't yet need a transfusion. And if she does I have 2 healthy donors that love her enough to donate. (with some grumbling I'm sure)
So if anyone has any advice or suggestions please do not hesitate to share.
And on another note, please all you guys have a safe and Happy New year. I'll look forward to our postings in 2003! :)
Sandi Barrett
http://www.saveourshelters.com/RORR/rorr.htm
E-mail contact: Rottweiler resq@aol.com

[Judi W]

Do some serious searching and make sure she has not had access to decon or similar rat poisons or access to mice killed with such a product. It is a hemoreagic (sp?) The Vit K is to promote clotting. If she has been out scavengering, you don't want her to get another dose of whatever it is.