My sweetheart pup, Leonidas who was already in a habit of eating and tearing away my doormat has now invented new ways of entertaining himself. Yesterday he ate a shoelace…yes you read it right! my dear dog ate shoelace.
It was raining outside and I left my shoe at the door where Leonidas was sleeping(at least he posed he was sleeping). When I came back to take my shoe, my new shoe was half chewed up with marks of teeth all over the boot and the lace was missing. It took me some time to realize that Leonidas has eaten that shoelace. I got extremely worried. So I did a lot of research and also talked to my vet.
Here is a review of all the stuff about what happens when your dog eats shoelaces and what can you do about it. Let’s start with
Why does your dog eat shoelaces?
Well, pets can do insane and unimaginable things. Some of them can be pretty harmless though but others can be extremely dangerous. Talking about dogs eating shoelaces, dogs usually don’t eat shoelaces. Either he is getting bored or he has an eating disorder where your pet starts eating “non-edible things”
See for the possibility of pica
Pica is an eating disorder where your pet usually eats things like chalk or dirt. But in some cases, dogs can develop a habit of eating anything other than “edibles”. Try to keep these things out of reach and give your dog an unbreakable toy to chew.
Maybe your dog is on teething
You must be aware of how a child reacts when he starts the teething process, he tries to chew everything. The same goes for puppies. They start biting anything that comes their way to fight that irritation in gums. So eating shoelaces may be a result of his newly formed habit to chew things.
Give him something else to eat
Dogs eat/tear away/ chew things to keep themselves busy. When they are bored, they try to pass time and play with anything that is in front of them. Sometimes they may start playing with shoes and end up eating shoelaces.
Try to give a chewable toy to your dog so that whenever he is bored, he can chew and play with that thing instead of ending up eating shoelaces.
What to do when dog swallowed lace
Your Dog ate a shoelace this is not the main issue. The main concern is, your dog is in a habit of eating weird stuff and you need to do something about it. Today it’s a shoelace, tomorrow it can be something more harmful. Shoelace is not just a fabric or leather thing, it also has that small iron piece called aglet at its end. So if a dog ate shoelace, it has eaten aglet also. Sometimes aglet can damage the dog’s digestive tract. Shoelace can transfer germs directly into your dog’s stomach making it sick. Imagine your dog getting parasitic worms just because of this little negligence at your end.
Coming towards remedy,
Usually, shoelace doesn’t cause any problem other than mild symptoms of stomach upset.
Your dog may pass it with feces but if your dog has not eaten just a piece of shoelace and has swallowed it whole, it may not be that easily passed through its digestive system. Stomach juices are not meant to dissolve fabric or iron. In severe cases, eating the shoelace can result in damaging the digestive tract. To avoid such situations try to induce vomiting in your dog.
How to induce vomiting to your dog
If you want to induce vomiting in your dog, try the following methods. These methods should work within few minutes. However, if your dog doesn’t throw up and starts showing other symptoms like weakness, being lazy or sleepy, abdominal pain, we advise you to consult your vet for further evaluation of your dog.
Hydrogen peroxide method
This is common to induce vomiting in pets. Give 3% hydrogen peroxide solution per 10-12 pounds to your puppy. He will throw up within 10-15 minutes of ingesting this. Most dog owners find this solution safe and handy. Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used to rinse the mouth to kill germs.
Some owners may try to induce vomiting with bleach or caustic soda. We strictly forbid that. This can cause more harm rather than a benefit to your dog.
Salt method
One teaspoon salt per 10 kg weight will also induce vomiting in your dog. This can cause a high level of salt in your pet’s bloodstream. A high level of sodium chloride in the blood can cause seizures and coma in your dog. So this may be a handy method but is not very safe to apply to your pet.
Baking soda method
Mix baking soda with water to induce vomiting in your dog. However, you may need a large amount of baking soda to induce vomiting. Baking soda is usually not only safe but also beneficial for the body in some cases. So this can be a tiring and hectic process and may not work if you want to induce vomiting in an emergency.
Inducing vomiting may seem a nice idea at the time. But you should try to avoid the situation in the first place. Next time don’t place your shoes near your dog. Also if your dog has eaten a “non-edible” item”, many owners claim that punishment was effective. A dog has the emotional age of 2-3 years child so a little scolding will do just fine.
Many owners have their own ways to scold their dogs.
What I did when my dog ate shoelace?
I waited for my dog to pass the stool and he passed the shoelace with it. After taking a sigh of relief, I scolded my dog a little.
(I usually scold Leonidas verbally and he seems to understand that if something upsets me and I want him to avoid certain actions, I scold him like this. Leonidus avoids those things in the future. He is such a darling). Also, Next time I will make sure, that these things stay away and Leonidas must not find a way to chew or swallow them.
So, talking about what if a dog ate shoelaces? Don’t panic. If the dog seems fine, wait for “potty time” but if it shows symptoms that concern you, talk to your vet.
Did your dog eat the shoe lace whole?