Foreign Body Ingestion in Dogs

Overview

Foreign body ingestion is when your dog swallows something he or she shouldn’t have. In other words, foreign bodies occur when pets consume items that will not readily pass through their gastrointestinal tract.

Facts and Figures

According to Trupanion Pet Insurance, foreign body ingestion claims have cost the company over $4.2 million. These types of claims are more frequent in dogs under three years old. Foreign body ingestion is also more common in certain breeds that have trouble changing their eating habits.

Treatment

In very simple cases a dog may simply pass the foreign body naturally. In clinical cases vomit inducing medications or laxatives may be needed in order to remove the foreign body. However in these cases diagnosis and identification can still cost $500 to $1,000 for image scanning. For severe cases of foreign body ingestion surgery may be required to remove the foreign body and prevent further damage to your dog’s intestines and internal organs.

Cost to Treat: $200 to $500 for simples cases, $5,000+ when surgical removal of the foreign body is needed (see below).