Playing With Sticks Can Be Dangerous For Dogs

Since ancient times it is customary to play with sticks and other pieces of wood with dogs. A cheap toy that they seem to love. But is it a safe toy? In this article we’ll tell you about the dangers of this practice and the use of wooden parts to play with your pet.

There have been cases of dogs that suffered accidents due to this common play. So let’s look at the dangers of playing with sticks with our dogs.

Dangers of playing with sticks

Veterinarians around the world are concerned about the harmful effects sticks can have on dogs’ health. There have been more and more cases of dogs arriving at veterinary consultations with damage to their bodies caused by playing with sticks.

How can sticks be harmful to dogs?

• Injure your mouth. The pieces of wood break easily, especially if we pick them up from fields where they are exposed to rain and other external agents that rot and facilitate their deterioration. This deterioration can happen very easily inside your dog’s mouth, causing severe wounds and bleeding.
• Internal damage. Just as can happen in the mouth, sticks can deteriorate inside the animal’s stomach. It is very easy for a pet to swallow a small stick or a splinter that could pierce its stomach or any other organ in its body, causing bleeding or worse.
• Infections. Sticks that people pick up in fields can be full of dirt and bacteria that, when your dog puts them in his mouth, can cause oral or internal infections in his body. These infections can be fatal, as there are known cases in which dogs have had to be euthanized due to great damage caused by an infection.

Known cases of dogs injured from playing with sticks

Maia is a dog who loves going to the park with her owners. In fact, they take her daily and, when asked, they always throw something out for her to fetch. On one of those days when they threw a stick at him as they always did, Maia’s owners saw that the animal stopped abruptly and limped back to them.

The owners thought something had been stuck in the dog’s paw, but Maia didn’t scream when they touched her. Upon arriving home, they saw that the animal did not want to eat or drink, which began to worry its owners, who decided to take it to the vet.

The veterinarian discovered, after some tests, that Maia had stuck wood chips in the larynx, causing a deep wound. Thanks to her owners taking her to the vet in time, it was possible to remove the splinter and the wound was soon healed. Maia went back to being the little dog she was.

Priscilla is another little dog who loves to play with sticks. One day, some splinters stuck in her throat, causing a large hemorrhage that made her have to undergo a transfusion. She also recovered thanks to the quick help she received at the vet.

How to avoid?

The answer to this question is simple: don’t throw sticks at your dog. Buy toys approved for them, made of rubber or plastic.

We know that the sticks we find in the park are cheaper, but when it comes to your dog’s health it’s always a good idea to invest a little money.

In specialty stores you can find a wide range of balls and other toys that were specifically designed for your pet to enjoy its fun times without endangering its health. It’s even possible to find many that look like sticks and bones, something we already know dogs love and won’t do them any harm.