Swallowed Bones, Socks and Stones: What 261 Stuck Objects Show
At a Thai referral hospital, bones and dried chews stuck in small dogs' gullets, while socks and stones ended up in stomachs. Most came out without surgery.
Written by thecanineledger
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If your dog has swallowed a bone, chew or object and is gagging, drooling, retching, bringing food back up or refusing food, contact a vet now. Don’t try to make your dog vomit unless a vet tells you to.
Our note: This advice is ours. The paper is about treatment at a referral hospital and gives no owner advice.
→ My Dog Ate Something: Why You Shouldn’t Make Them Vomit Without a Vet
In five years at one Bangkok referral hospital, vets removed objects stuck in the gullet or stomach of 261 dogs (Laiket et al., Journal of Advanced Veterinary and Animal Research 2025). In the gullet, 61% of the objects were bones.
While three of the four dogs that needed surgery on the gullet died, that figure comes from four dogs with the hardest cases. It doesn’t mean surgery itself is the danger.
→ Safe Chews: Bones, Antlers, Nylon and Rawhide
1. The study
The dogs. 261 dogs treated from 2018 to 2022 at a university hospital’s endoscopy unit in Bangkok. 111 had an object stuck in the gullet (oesophagus) and 150 in the stomach. Most were small dogs under 12 kg.
The method. Vets first tried to remove each object with an endoscope, a camera tube passed through the mouth. They used surgery only when that failed.
Funding. The vet school funded the study. The authors declare no competing interests.
2. What was stuck, and where
| Object | Gullet (111 dogs) | Stomach (150 dogs) |
|---|---|---|
| Bones | 61% | 3% |
| Dried dog chews and treats | 23% | 0% |
| Fabric, such as socks | 2% | 20% |
| Plant material, such as fruit seeds and wood | 5% | 19% |
| Metal objects | 8% | 18% |
| Stones | 1% | 13% |
| Rubber | 0% | 11% |
Size. All but eight of the dogs with an object in the gullet were small. No large dog had one. Medium and large dogs made up about 43% of the stomach cases.
Sex. Males made up 63% of the stomach cases, and about half of the gullet cases.
Our note: The authors suggest bones and dried chews may struggle to pass, but don’t test why.
3. How they came out
Mostly by endoscope. Only 4 of 111 gullet cases and 8 of 150 stomach cases needed surgery.
Deaths. Among dogs with follow-up, 3 of 56 died after endoscopic removal from the gullet, and 3 of 4 after surgery. No dog with a stomach object died.
Read the surgery figure carefully. Surgery was used for tightly lodged bones that couldn’t be removed another way. Those dogs were likely sicker to begin with.
Our note: “Surgery cases were harder” is our reasoning. The authors present it as a higher risk from surgery.
→ Emergency Signs in Dogs: When to Go Now, Not Tomorrow
4. What the study can’t tell you
Lost to follow-up. 51 of the 107 dogs who had a gullet object removed by endoscope weren’t followed up, so the death rate is uncertain.
One hospital. The authors say a single Bangkok centre may not represent other areas. Diets and chews differ between countries.
No intestines. Objects stuck further down the gut weren’t included.
Small slips. The methods give the share of stomach cases removed within a day as 31%, but the results say 23%. The paper also reports a p-value of 0.149 for stomach deaths, though no stomach case died.
Our note: We haven’t searched for UK or North American studies beyond this paper.
5. What we could not verify
| Commonly said | What we found |
|---|---|
| “Only cooked bones are dangerous” | Not tested. The paper lists chicken and fish bones but doesn’t say whether they were cooked. |
| “Dog chews are always safe” | No. Dried chews and treats made up nearly a quarter of gullet objects. |
| “A swallowed object always needs surgery” | No. Most were removed by endoscope. |
Sources
- Laiket L, Sutthiprapa W, Khattiya S, Temwichitr P, Rattanasrisomporn J, Thengchaisri N. Prevalence and characteristics of foreign body-induced upper gastrointestinal obstruction in dogs. J Adv Vet Anim Res 2025: 261 dogs, one Bangkok referral hospital, 2018–2022. Funded by the authors’ vet school
Always confirm with your vet before acting on anything on this page.