By Dr. Heather Kovac

The Patient

Sally, a 2 year old female spayed Cocker Spaniel, came to see me as an emergency after she was chewing on a stick and got a piece of it stuck in her mouth.  Her owners noticed that she was frantically pawing at her mouth and drooling heavily.  They looked in her mouth and saw a stick stuck across the roof but they were unable to remove it.  They quickly drove her to our hospital.  On the way here, she was so frantic that she actually chewed through her leash which was made of rope. 

The Case

Upon arrival, we quickly brought her to the treatment room where I examined her and found a thin green bamboo stick stuck across the hard palate (roof of the mouth) which was lodged between the upper 4th premolar teeth. 

Image is of Sally with her mouth open showing the bamboo stick

The Treatment Plan

She was such a good girl, that I was able to use a hemostat (surgical instrument) to grab the stick and remove it without any trouble.  There was also a little bit of the rope material caught around the stick.  I closely examined her mouth and teeth which were all normal. 

The Outcome

No damage had been done by the stick or by her trying to remove it herself.  I have seen this same exact thing happen about 5 times in my career.  Dogs have such strong jaw muscles, that they can easily chew through sticks which can become lodged in their mouths.  At least one time, the dog was so frantic that I had to sedate the dog in order to remove the foreign body.  One other time, I found a stick on the roof of the mouth during a routine exam that the owner didn't even know was there.  It had been there so long that it had caused an oral infection and also damaged the teeth.  I also often see fractured teeth caused by chewing on hard items such as sticks, rocks, or bones.  Sally was very happy after we removed the foreign body and she went on her merry way home....probably to chew on more sticks!

The Drake Center for Veterinary Care is an AAHA-accredited animal hospital located in Encinitas, CA. The Drake Center loves being a source of information for all pet owners across the country; however, if you have any questions regarding pet care and do not live in Encinitas, CA or surrounding cities, we encourage you to contact your local veterinarian.