My Dog Ate Gauze! What Should I Do?

Let me guess; you just saw your dog running around with gauze in his mouth? But before reaching him, your dog had already eaten the gauze. Is it something you should worry about? What might happen next? What should you be doing now? These are some of the questions you’ll ask yourself. I can understand how agonizing it can be to see your dog eating such things.

Well, dogs are our rambunctious buddies that love to chew on almost everything they shouldn’t. In some cases, you would be shocked to hear how they eat every bizarre thing imaginable. While some of them might not harm your puppy, keeping your dog away from such things is better to avoid getting into fatal consequences.

Have you been through such an incident? Has your dog swallowed something that made you seriously worried? Is a gauze pad among some of those things? If you have no idea what to do next and how to handle your dog afterward, give this post a read until the end. Here I’ll explain why your dog might possibly eat gauze and what you can anticipate next. So, without further waiting, let’s get started!

Why Would a Dog Eat Gauze?

A dog might eat gauze because he just saw one lying around. Or maybe he was just curious to find out what this white fluffy thing might taste like. In either case, your dog would eat it and wouldn’t give the consequences a second thought. Being stoic creatures, dogs can’t realize that this can pose a choking hazard to them and make them sick.

Now, if your dog has swallowed a piece of gauze, there are some good chances it would pass through the intestine and will come out of his body. But, not every day is a good day, and something bad like the gauze getting stuck in the intestine eventually can cause intestinal blockage. It can lead to serious conditions and would eventually lead to death if not attended properly.

And what would happen if your dog swallows some gauze when you are away at work or maybe somewhere else? In such a case, your only option is to look for symptoms like abdominal pain, swelling, constipation or diarrhea, vomiting, and lethargy. If you notice these symptoms, contact your vet right away to get the right treatment.

Can Dogs Digest Sticky Bandages/gauze?

Dogs can not digest gauze, but if your dog ate gauze or any other sticky bandage, it could pass out through his poop, and he should be all right. But this is only possible if he has swallowed bandages or gauze in a small amount. But if he swallows a couple of them all at once, they can get stuck in the digestive tract.

Thankfully, gauze pads do not have any sharp edges, so they won’t damage the lining of your dog’s intestine. This is the reason that makes gauze pads less harmful. But they may or may not be sterilized or might be covered in blood. That definitely makes it toxic. Most importantly, gauzes are inedible, and dogs can’t digest them as they won’t break down like their food. 

Generally, it takes around 10-24 hours for the food to pass through your doggo’s digestive tract, and the gauze he ate should also pass down during this period. Again cotton and even wool aren’t known to break down the way food particles do. Because of this, gauze pads will come out as a whole, but only if it passes through the intestine. 

What Should I Do if My Dog Eats Gauze?

When you notice your dog ate some gauze, induce vomiting immediately or take him to the vet to take out the gauze by doing an endoscopy. You’ll need a little bit of time to know for sure whether your dog is completely fine or he is feeling sick after consuming the gauze. Meanwhile, consider giving him food that will smoothen his digestive tract. The chances are that the gauze would pass out through his poop without hurting your buddy. 

Making your dog throw up is an ultimate way to remove things from his stomach that he wasn’t supposed to have, like gauze. But this can turn into a venture of its own. You will have to use hydrogen peroxide solution for this purpose. The vet will let you know the exact quantity as it can be harmful too. In any case, you’d like to perform this procedure while following the instructions of an experienced vet. 

Another viable solution is to feed your doggo with fiber-rich foods or food with oats to soften his bowel movements. This change in diet will help your pooch pass stool faster than expected without any problem. You can try making bread soaked in pumpkin puree and feed him that. And yes, you guessed it right – you will have to monitor your dog’s poop for the upcoming hours.

What if They only Ate a Piece of Gauze? Should I Do Something?

If your dog ate a single small piece of gauze, you can relax, not panic and keep a careful eye on him to notice any irregularities in his behavior. If the gauze is not too thick, you can take him to the vet to induce him to vomit or perform an endoscopy to scoop out the gauze. Or just wait and let it come out naturally. 

The vomit-inducing technique will only work if you try it out during the first 2 hours when your dog eats gauze. However, after 2 hours, you cannot induce your doggo to throw it up; you just have to wait and see what awaits you. Now you will need to monitor your dog for the next 10-24 hours. Because during this time, your dog may show signs of pain or discomfort.

If his digestive tract passes out the gauze, it means everything is fine. And it does come out if the gauze is comparatively smaller than your dog’s size. But if that’s not the case, the gauze can make your baby sick as he’ll show symptoms of constipation, lack of appetite, and abdominal pain with swelling. 

Conclusion

All in all, gauze doesn’t have any sharp edges that can pose any threat to the intestinal or stomach lining. If your dog ate gauze, it might not be anything really to worry about. But know that it can become a real threat when it causes an intestinal blockage that, if not treated in time, can lead to death. Now, obstruction is not certain in many ways. Still, you never know how your dog’s body will respond to foreign objects; make sure to contact your vet ASAP if your dog undergoes unusual symptoms, and be careful next time!

Author

  • Brad

    Hi I'm Brad, the founder of bulldogpapa.com. Having been a vet of 6 years I work alongside our team to provide valuable insight into your dog's health. I have a frenchie myself named Senzu who is my pride and joy!