# Nylabone? -- Need Help!



## fizzyrox (Dec 1, 2011)

Hi everyone,

Two Saturdays ago (Nov 19th), I gave my 7 month old pit bull mix, Leia, a brand new Nylabone puppy chew. It's the big, brown size rubbery one. I've given her this one before, and even though it said 'for teething puppies' and she's no longer teething, I didn't worry about the fine print because from everything I'd ever heard... nylabones are completely 100% safe.... RIGHT?!

Leia chewed about half of the bone off within a few sittings that night, and I always monitor her when chewing anything. She was chewing off little bits and chewing them up really well before swallowing, but after I turned the packaging over and saw that they shouldn't chew off 'more than a grain of rice,' I started freaking out.. because I'm like that with my dog.

The next morning, Leia threw up some of the bone. My boyfriend typed 'nylabone' into Google, and the first word that comes up is 'nylabone dangers.' From there, we started reading all these horror stories about dogs who chewed off big chunks and way later had blockages from the bone. Some of these dogs died. I even read (but don't know if this is true) about dogs who chewed off small parts of the rubbery versions, like Leia, and pieces bonded together in the dogs' stomachs and caused an obstruction later on...... 

So, you may think I'm overly cautious and should stop reading about all this Nylabone drama, and you're probably right. The entire time, Leia has been acting completely fine. Having normal BMs, eating, drinking. On Thanksgiving morning (5 days after consuming the nylabone), however, she threw up MORE OF THE BONE. I was terrified, because I had no idea it could've still been in her system. Afterwards, she still acted normal. I called the ER, they said not to worry but to watch her. That night, she got into some trash/sewage behind our house and she smelled terrible.. something must've smelled good to her because she was digging her nose in it and eating it and was almost impossible to get out from there. I gave her a bath.. and then, Friday night, she woke up from a nap, wouldn't eat (red flag for my dog) and threw up -- a lot. We rushed her to the ER. They felt her stomach, didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, her temp was normal, everything else was normal. She threw up two more times there. They suspected she threw up from the sewage that she got into a little over 24 hours before, and that it wasn't from the Nylabone. 

The next morning, we took her to the vet, who said they'd bet their money she didn't have a blockage, and not to worry about the Nylabone. They said they could do an ultrasound, but they figured it wouldn't be necessary (and Nylabones don't show up on x-rays). The vet, the ER, plus two other vets I've called since then have told me just to watch Leia and not worry about the bone. She's been eating, pooping, acting normal.. and hasn't thrown up since last Friday... (knock on wood)

Anyone have any bad experience with Nylabones? Should I pay to get an ultrasound? Everywhere that I've called gives me a price of about 400 dollars, which is a lot.. but I'm a worry wort and am worried that if Leia throws up anytime in the future, it'll be from the Nylabone.. and it'll be an obstruction.. and then it could be too late. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

We used to give our rottenlab and boston these all the time and never had any issues , however never gave these soft ones we always used the hard white ones. I thinkn the labels are there for a reason the baby teething ones are NOT meant for adults for this reason and would follow those next time . I find though with my bullys Id rather just give raw meaty bones they are healthier with less risk when ingested. May be something to look into , check out the local butchers and get some beef knuckles or something. 
I agree with what the many vets have told you though if everything is normal, normals BM's and stuff i wouldnt be worried about blockage. Just keep an eye on her.


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## fizzyrox (Dec 1, 2011)

Thanks for your response!  Yeah, that's why I feel so guilty. I always read labels and all that before giving her anything. But, earlier in the day before I bought her the new nylabone, she found what was left of her old one (same version) and was chewing it up the same way as she had when she was teething, so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to get that one again, and so I didn't read the packaging when I bought it. I guess it's safe to say she DID chew these the same way regardless of the teeth she had in her mouth.... :-/ 

I'm just wondering how safe it is to assume that there aren't any other small pieces of it floating around in her stomach. At least I know they aren't super sharp pieces because it wasn't the hard plastic kind..


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