Throwing a stick to your dog can be a fun activity, but according to experts, the risks of your pet being gravely or even fatally injured should make you think twice.
.jpg)
This week, Grace Webster, president of the Scottish branch of the British Veterinary Association, reported to the Times that throwing sticks could be “dangerous and cause horrible injuries” for your dog, after a collie caught a ten-centimeter stick that got stuck in its throat and damaged its larynx.
“Vets have noticed very serious, life-threatening, and in some cases fatal injuries from dogs catching sticks,” reports Sean Wensley, the president of the BVA. According to him, there are two types of problems.
“The first is that the stick is thrown and lands on the ground like a javelin. The dog trying to catch it can't stop in time and impales itself on the stick, which causes horrible penetrating wounds to the mouth, neck, and sometimes the spinal cord, causing paralysis. Sometimes it pierces an important blood vessel leading to fatal blood loss. Then there are cases where stick fragments lodge in the mouth and throat. Since the wood itself is dirty and the mouth is full of bacteria, this can lead to a serious infection.” While exercise and play are extremely beneficial for dogs and their owners, dog toys such as rubber ones or frisbees should be used in place of wooden sticks.
Injuries Difficult to Detect
Runa Hanaghan, deputy veterinary director of the charity Dog's Trust, has also noticed some horrible injuries resulting from dogs catching sticks, not all of which are detectable immediately. A dog had holes form in its head after a stick piece got stuck in its back molars and eroded its hard palate. On another dog, belonging to a conscientious owner who was also a veterinary nurse, a splinter was discovered on the side of its tongue, only revealed after anesthesia. An examination a few weeks earlier had failed to detect it, showing just how difficult stick-related injuries can be to detect. “I've seen injuries where it had been there for a long time, and the dog got used to it but no one had noticed,” observes Runa Hanaghan.
Moreover, dogs don't necessarily see sticks as toys - we are the ones who have taught them to play with them. “We suggest owners get their dogs used to enjoying other toys; there are plenty of things you can throw that are safer than sticks.”
Stan Rawlinson, a canine behaviorist, has been warning people for twenty years about the dangers of throwing sticks. He has also seen horrible things, like a dog getting its head impaled with a wooden stick! He says it's possible to use training techniques to ensure your dog will never pick up a stick again on its path. The easiest is the positive reinforcement technique, which involves training a dog to recognize when you want it to stop doing something by giving it treats or not.
.jpg)
.jpg)
