What to do in case of ingestion of a foreign body?

Puppies of both cat and dog tend to play with the most disparate objects and ingest them.

Pointed bodies (fish bones, chicken bones) can stick in the palate, tongue or between the teeth, causing a dramatic symptomatology. The animal brings its front paws towards the snout as if trying to snatch something from the mouth, has vomiting and signs of suffocation. With calm and caution, a person grasps the animal’s head with his left hand, while with the index finger of his right hand he lowers its lower jaw.

Another person spotted the foreign body, may attempt to remove it with some tweezers. If the situation cannot be solved, the veterinarian’s help must be sought promptly. Foreign bodies in many cases progress along the digestive system and can stop in the stomach or intestine.
In these cases the symptomatology appears more slowly but not less seriously: uncontrollable vomiting, in particular after drinking water, refusal of food, absence of defecation and deep abatement. There should be no attempt to induce vomiting or administer laxative products in an attempt to remove the foreign body as this could cause serious damage. Only the intervention of the veterinarian can deal with the situation.