Who Knew Razorblades Were Tasty? Did I make the right call?
My reaction - 
She proceeded to inform me that Milton had just chewed the end off my razor...the end being the entire blade. It was a Shick Quattro no less so that's 4 blades in one. Luckily (?) he only downed 3 of them before my wife caught him. When I first heard the news I immediatley thought of a post on here that I read just a few weeks ago. The post mentioned that if your dog swallowed anything sharp, like glass or wood, to feed him around 5 cotton balls (100% cotton). It sounded strange but I was willing to try anything that would help the little man pull through. I immediatley went to our local drugstore (about 2 blocks away) and bought some cotton balls (100% cotton as instructed). When I got home we dipped 5 of them in olive oil and Milton downed them like a champion. I then called our vet to see if we should bring him in or not. They said that they would like to see him. When I got there I was given one of the younger guys on staff that I had never seen before. He was helpful and you could tell he was smart, but you could also tell he hadn't been practicing for as long as some of the other vets. He came into the room and showed me the Xrays of Milton's stomach and you could see a few peices of metal in there. The vet said "we have two options". "We could do surgery on him right now and get it out, or we could take a more conservative approach and wait and see how things go". He wasn't really pusihing me one way or the other so it was hard to get a read on what would be best for my dog. After conversing for a few minutes he said "actually, I'll call the (major medical/emergency school in our area) and see what one of the senior ICU guys says. I know, they have ICU for pets?? Anyway, he got off the phone with that guy and said that the senior vet thinks it should pass on it's own but that we should keep an eye on him. Apparently dogs have been known to pass fish hooks and sewing needles, so what's a razorblade or three, right? I guess there are a few small areas inside the dog that are of particular concern but once the object(s) reaches the large intestine we're pretty much home free. So that's what I decided - to wait and see. To be honest, this forum gave me confidence in my decision. The cotton ball trick seemed to work. Between that and the senior vet saying "it SHOULD pass" I think Milton will be okay. So I'd like to thank this forum for providing useful information once again, and would appreciate any feedback on similar experiences. Thanks everyone. |
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| WOW
Keep us posted, that sounds really scarey. |
OMG how scary!! 
Keeping my fingers crossed that the cotton balls worked!!  |
| I've got my fingers crossed for you and have asked Mulligan to lend a bark, too.
Did the vet say to look through his poop for the cotton balls or the blades? |
| Wow what a time.
Do check when he passes a cotton wool poop they are there in it. A friends sheepie ate pins and the cotton wool remedy worked wonderfully. Same thing as soon as she relised she did it straight away and all passed tangled in the cotton wool Hoping for the same to pass with your boy. |
| hope all comes out as it should. keep us posted |
| OMG - How scary but how great you knew what to do from reading the post on here.
Hope everything goes ok. |
| Anxiously awaiting an update! |
| Well, it's now been about 17 hours since Milton downed the end off of my razor.
As it stands right now he's still doing 100% A-OK. When I left this morning his was frolicking around the house after his toy duck. My wife was getting ready to take him for a walk so I'm waiting to hear if the cotton has "passed" yet. If not he's going back to the vet for another x-ray this morning. Will keep you posted... |
| Yikes! Scary! Good thinking on your part about the cotton, and it's a good thing your wife caught him so you knew that it just happened. Yeah, definitely keep us updated! |
Ron wrote: I've got my fingers crossed for you and have asked Mulligan to lend a bark, too.
Did the vet say to look through his poop for the cotton balls or the blades? Sorry, forgot to answer this one. Yes, he wants us to go through the stool. It was quite a scene last night. I had a poo bag on each hand and was sifting through it knowing full well that it was unlikely anything would pass until today. Ah, the joys of parenthood. Thankfully my wife is home with him today while I'm at work  |
| Maybe use a couple of tongue depressors or something as a tool to do that job. A cut caused by a poo-covered razor would have to be a health concern. |
Ron wrote: A cut caused by a poo-covered razor would have to be a health concern.
Oh, too funny. I am visualizing THAT one getting explained in the ER! 
I do hope Milton passes the razor blades - safely. |
We are waiting to hear too. OMG, I can't believe the things these dogs get into. This time of year, watch those Poinsetta Plants too. Good thought going your way, hope everything come out okay.  |
| Yikes!! I'm so glad that he seems ok. My fingers are crossed (and Tucker will cross his paws) that it all turns out alright (I've heard of some weird things, but finding razor blades in your dog's poop is a new one, albeit it would be a blessing in this circumstance!)
I am extraordinarily paranoid about Tucker getting into things, especially after he once threw up and entire wash cloth! Thank you for posting this despite your difficult week so far. I am new here and did not know about feeding the dog cotton balls in the event of something like this happening, but now I will know. Thanks again, and like everyone else, I am waiting with baited breath to hear that he will be ok (becuase I'm really, really hoping he will be!) |
Wow that's frightening! Hope he passes those blades today - safely!!
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| UPDATE - Tuesday December 11 @ 5:15pm Eastern Time
Firstly, sifting through dog poop is not as much fun as you all may think. 
Milton had a vet appointment today and 2 of the 3 blades were almost ready to come out according to his Xray. I walked him tonight and "bingo!", he had a movement. Skipping the gory details I will say that one blade is now accounted for as well as some miscellaneous plastic parts of the blade itself. 2 more to go! |
What a wonderful update! Two more to go! Keep them coming, Milton 
I do have a question though... Did you notice any people passing by when you were treasure hunting? If there were, they probably wondered why your face lighted up with so much joy while poking and examining the droppings... 
Way to go, Milton! Keep up the good job!  |
| LOL - I brought the "sample" (aka poop) home to my "lab" (aka workshop) and poured the "sample" out onto a big garbage bag up on a workbench.
Looks like I'll be doing it again later tonight! |
Sounds like things are moving in the right direction  |
| Whoopee!! Way to pass the goods, Milton!
Hope the lab gets more positive results soon. |
| Gotta bring in a little kitty to help sniff it out.
You'd find them quick with a cat scan. |
Ron wrote: Gotta bring in a little kitty to help sniff it out.
You'd find them quick with a cat scan. Groan |
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So glad things are moving along!
Keep up posted on the morning movement.  |
| My thoughts are with you. Hope everything comes out all right. |
| Razorblade # 2 has left the building!
One more to go |
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The_Grudge wrote: Razorblade # 2 has left the building!
One more to go  Keep'em comin'. |
YAY for Cottonballs!!!  |
| Can someone explain to me the science behind the cotton balls? I don't understand it. |
jcc9797 wrote: Can someone explain to me the science behind the cotton balls? I don't understand it.
The cotton encapsulates the sharp object (glass razor etc) and protects the insides from the sharp edges as it passes. The olive oil makes it taste good to the dog. |
Tasker's Mom wrote: jcc9797 wrote: Can someone explain to me the science behind the cotton balls? I don't understand it. The cotton encapsulates the sharp object (glass razor etc) and protects the insides from the sharp edges as it passes. The olive oil makes it taste good to the dog. Plus the Olive oil lubricates as well and helps things slip through easier.
YAY 2 passed one more to go WOO HOO, good passing results so far. |
| Humm, interesting. How soon after swalling the sharp object do you have to feed the cotton ball? Does it get to a point where the sharp object has moved too far along in the digestive system for the cotton ball to work it's magic? What is the chance the cotton ball will get stuck in the digestive system? |
| As soon as possible. And yes, I think there would be a point when it would not "catch up". |
jcc9797 wrote: Humm, interesting. How soon after swalling the sharp object do you have to feed the cotton ball? Does it get to a point where the sharp object has moved too far along in the digestive system for the cotton ball to work it's magic? What is the chance the cotton ball will get stuck in the digestive system?
Here is the original post about it. http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=10648&start=0 |
| Well, the third and final blade has yet to move from the stomach. The vet would like to do surgery today to the tune of $700 to remove it.
He's at the vet now and scheduled to go in for surgery around 2-3pm today. I've called another vet in town for a second opinion and he agreed that surgery would be the best for Milton's overall welfare. Both vets said that yes, it could pass eventually, but the longer is stays in there the more risk there is to the dog. I guess the incision is about 3 inches long and he should be back up to normal in a few days. Wish him luck! |
| My thoughts are with Milton today. How scary. He is lucky to have you as parents.
Good luck today Milton. Let us know how it goes. |
Oh RATS, RATS, RATS!!!! 
Good luck. Please keep us posted as usual. I'll try to lighten your load a little by worrying all day for you. |
Ron wrote: Oh RATS, RATS, RATS!!!!
Good luck. Please keep us posted as usual. I'll try to lighten your load a little by worrying all day for you. I'll worry too!!! We are in the midst of a snow storm and I have nothing to do for the afternoon (my plans have been cancelled) so I'll worry for you! Keep us posted |
| Good luck! I'm sure everything will be alright. At least this way you know it's out and you won't have to worry about infection or internal goings-on.
Keep us posted! |
| nuts! We were pullin for Milton and the cotton balls. I'm sure he'll do fine in surgery and will be looking for more things to chew in no time! |
| Oh no! I was hoping that he would poop em out on his own. I'll be thinking of you guys and I'm sure everything will be fine! |
Darn it all!  It was looking so good with the first two coming out on their own. Poor Milton! I'll be thinking of you both. Please let us know how he does. |
Im sorry this is happening, but in a way Im relieved to hear about the surgery....reading about this, I kept debating whether to share our (very bad) experience, but didn't want to alarm you unnecessarily.  We lost our boy Spence to an infection caused by something cutting his intestine as it passed through. Even though what ever he ate (we think it was a piece of nylon mesh) passed, and there was no blockage, the damage was done. This way, since the vet will be doing the surgery, you will know for SURE that there are no hidden injuries.
Good luck...hugs to you and Milton.  |
| Good luck to Milton in the surgery.
Thank goodness for x-rays - you would never know the last piece was still in there. |
| I've been following this thread every day hoping all three would pass through
ok. I'm sorry that surgery is required. Please let us know how he's doing. |
| So sorry he had to have surgery.
I hope he's feeling better very soon. |
| Best wishes with the surgery, sorry to hear the last one did not pass.
Be thinking of you all and hope it all goes well. |
| We got a call from the vet last night. The surgery went really well and the razorblade was removed from his stomach.
He'll be coming home later today and has to "keep quiet" for a few days. He loves to jump (not on people) so it'll be a tough couple of days for him! |
Thanks so much the update. |
| Glad to hear everything came out ok. Now the work, trying to keep him quiet. Good luck! |
| YAY!!!!! |
| That is terrific news. Speedy recovery Milton! |
| I'm relieved for the good outcome! Whew!! |
| YAY! |
| What good news that the surgery came out fine.
I was checking in the night while at work and getting worried about him! |
| I'm happy the surgery is done, what an ordeal for you all!! A lot of ups and downs for sure. I hope he recovers quickly but acts calmly for his welfare. |
| yay Milty!! Dont ever ever scare your uprights like that again!! |
| woohoo- good job milton! |
| Hope that you are on the road to recovery. Thinking of you all and hope Milton is feeling better soon. |
| Glad to hear the surgery went well. Hope the recovery goes well and you can all enjoy Christmas. |
| I'm glad Milton is going to be alright! |
| WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! |
| I'll post some pictures later on tonight but for now I can tell you Milton is home and is doing well. When he left the vet's office they said he was doing well and I can vouch for that. If he's in any pain or discomfort he's sure not showing it! The same old Milton is home! |
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| Thank goodess! That really is wonderful news, and such a huge relief! (Although your wallet may not be so relieved!) |
| Passing 2 out of 3 ain't bad though. He almost did it. That makes the cotton ball method more than 66.7% successful!
Sucks that he did wind up having to have surgery but I'm happy to hear that everything went well. Hope he recovers quickly! |
Well, here are some pics of the aftermath as well as the offending razorblade! You'll notice the one picture I took that has a pen in it for scale as well as the razor he swallowed and a new blade that is the same as what he ate.
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| So glad Milton is home and doing well. What a scary ordeal!!! |
| Oh my--- how did I miss this!!!
So sorry about everything you've gone through, and am very relieved to hear Milton is doing well after surgery. What a cutie pie he is!
Big hugs, Lori |
| I'm kinda late reading this post...oh poor Milton but what a good day you were in the days preceeding his surgery!
Yeah Milton! Glad he's okay! My boys , Blue, Merlin and Panda are sending him lots of sloppy sheepie kisses. Marianne |
| What a big cutie! I am so glad he is doing well. Poor guy! Thank goodness you caught it in time. . . |
OOps sorry for the typo - meant to say what a good dad you were..not a good day. 
Marianne |
| Valerie:
Quote: What a big cutie!
Ditto. He is so cute! |
| Milton is adorable - bare tummy and all.
That blade looks nasty - I'm sure it would have done a lot of damage in there. |
| so glad to see surgery went well .. |
| OMG. I just read the post and I got chills. To think that a post really saved this little babies life. I'm praying that everyting runs smoothly! |
| Sorry that I hadn't been following this post. Sure glad that they were able to recover the blade without any complications.
Our 1st OES took a bic razor out of our bathtub once and chewed the whole thing up. Luckily after I found all of the pieces and kind of put it back together he hadn't devoured any of it. He also ate a night light once without swallowing too. I don't know what gets into these guys thinking they can eat that kind of stuff. |
| Better safe than sorry. So glad Milton is Ok. He sure is a big cutie pie! Good job E for the cotton ball post, it almost worked and I bet in a different situation could save a life or maybe did! |
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