Banana skin!

[schnauzerfan]

This morning Freddy (miniature)picked up a discarded banana skin and ate it fast (before I could get to him!)
Reading suggests it is not poisonous but it is indigestible and will bung up his intestine. Any advice please!

[Dawnspell]

If swallowed without chewing it probably wont breakdown in his stomach and he may vomit it back up. This happened with Jasper when he decided to swallow a big bit of neck bone, I didnt know he had until it came back out.

You could just give your vets a quick call or does your insurance have a free vet line you can call. They'll probably just say monitor but at least they'll tell you what to be concerned about.

[zeta1454]

Hope Freddy is OK and you may have already contacted your vet about this but the following sounds useful advice from a website I found:

“Despite your best efforts, if your canine companion does manage to eat a banana peel or a whole banana, you should call your veterinarian. This should be the first step you take before doing anything else. They’ll likely ask you to keep your dog at home and monitor them for sickness.

If you notice symptoms of any illness or stomach upset, you should phone your vet immediately. If they vomit up some or all of the peel, take a photo of it to show your veterinarian.
A little vomiting or diarrhea may occur due to the fiber content ‘shocking’ the system. However, more serious symptoms that could indicate a blockage in the guts include:
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Reduced or absent stools
Straining to pass stools
Lethargy (tiredness)
Tummy pain: unusual stretching, ‘praying’ position, restlessness
Reduced or lack of appetite
If you notice any of these symptoms in your pet or have any other concerns, then you should contact your veterinarian straight away. Time is of the essence if you start noticing symptoms of an intestinal blockage from a peel.”

Intestinal blockages are serious but they are a “worst case” scenario and it is startling just how many items of ‘food and non-food’ which dogs eat when they shouldn’t actually do pass through or are vomited back without any need for veterinary intervention. We have over 25 plus years of living with dogs had individuals who ate paper tissues, J-cloth cleaning cloths and in one case a considerable portion of simnel cake with raisins, marzipan and the fluffy chicken decoration on top! In none of these cases was the dog unwell although in the latter case our mini schnauzer did take a few days to pass the cake and throw up the chicken decoration We had been in contact with the vet on that occasion but they advised to just monitor her and did not seem overly concerned about her having eaten the cake as they said dogs being scavengers by nature mostly cope well with having eaten something they shouldn’t.

If you haven’t yet contacted the vet, do ask their advice but hopefully Freddie is /will be fine.

[schnauzerfan]

Thank you both. My own Vets would have induced (?) vomiting immediately, then maybe operate(!) but sounded pretty relaxed.
We are now a week on, he has been his usual self - full-on Boy! This afternoon’s poo looked like it had banana in it. Right colour and pieces 7cm x3cm. Nowhere near enough but maybe it’s on the move.

[schnauzerfan]

Well! Here we are 19 days on. There was definitely banana skin in yesterday’s poo. Banana colour, soft but not disintegrating, about 10 millimetres long and a few wide.
No signs of stress and not many farts. Hopefully one worry less.
Thank you Zeta for your piece;it’s comforting to know other people have dog mishaps