# Worried about dog eating bedding



## symons (Apr 2, 2007)

I have a dog bed in my dog's crate that is designed for the crate. It's nice, fits well and has a bumper all around the edges. The problem I have having is that my dog (20 months) is starting to tear the bumper apart and is pulling out the stuffing. A friend of mine said her dog used to do the same thing and now crates the dog with absolutely nothing in it - not even a toy. 

Should I be concerned that he will actually swallow it or is he just tearing it apart for something to do?

He is new to us so we are not all that familiar with what he is capable of.


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## xoxluvablexox (Apr 10, 2007)

He could swallow the stuff he's chewing so if he does it all the time it might just be better to not put anything in the cage. You could put toys as long as they're plastic and hard to chew apart and swollow. My dog is horrible with chewing things. He gets socks, towels, and ruins his stuffed toys. I can't leave him with toys like that unsupervized because he gets the stuffing and sallows it and then throws it up everywhere in the middle of the night. It's just better to avoid that all together.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

After pulling out all sorts of bedding fragments hanging from by dog's butt (dangerous for the dog and unpleasant for me) I finally switched Esther over to the spartan cell decor in her crate. There was simply nothing I could put in there that she wouldn't destroy and ingest.

Don't make the mistake of thinking you can appeal to the dog's logic. "Listen, if you keep chewing up your bedding, you're going to have nothing to sleep on. It's entirely up to you. Think it over and let me know what you decide."

Don't take the chance. A bare crate never killed a dog. Bedding wrapped around the intestines might.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

The neighbor dog recently went to the vet's for some minor surgery, stayed overnight, ate the towel they gave him as a blanket in the kennel cage. Vet is now keeping the dog for a week, at his own cost, to be sure that the dog passes all of the towel before releasing the dog to home!

Very dangerous, can cause total blockage of the intestines resulting in severe distress and eventually death if not treated. Do not leave anything in a crate that a dog can eat, choke, swallow, etc. It is far better to put them in a bare, empty crate than to risk finding a dead dog in the morning.


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## symons (Apr 2, 2007)

Thanks everyone for your help! The day that I posted this thread, I put him in his crate and went out for 2 hours. When I got back, I found him happily sitting there surround by a pile of stuffing and a destuffed bed so out it went! I feel bad about not having anything in there for him to lay on but I think I will forever be pulling out pieces of bedding and just not worth the worry.


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