Watch out for corncobs

[Tracydr]

Just an FYI. Dogs and corn cobs do not mix. My puppy ate a corn cob from the compost pile, ended up needing costly emergency surgery on 4th of July.
He’s doing ok but the emergency vet told me it is the most common cause of intestinal obstructions in dogs,especially during the summer.
Dobermans seem to have a special affinity for eating things they shouldn’t. Every Doberman breeder that I know has been through this at least once.
This is the second puppy in my litter who needed surgery and they are only 10 months old.

[Growing Coastal]

I've heard that before, about corn cobs. One dog I had would chew corn off a cob and spit out any bits of cob that came loose. Then, I didn't know about the danger. My current doggy companion, a chihuahua, is too small for cobs but when he eats popcorn, chews around the husks and leaves them behind.

[JRinPA]

Sorry to hear that happened. I try to tell every new dog owner about that. I have had lab owners laugh when I mention it - haha my dog eats them all the time. Well, not everyone has a fat 95lb lab, huh?

My blockheaded springer did that at the age of 3. He was about 55lb with big square head, big chest, and with a history of gobbling down mice, wash cloths, and pot holders. Paper tissues and paper towels, weekly.

He threw up his food one evening, maybe an hour after he ate. We had no idea why at that point.

The next day he could urinate but not defecate upon much trying. His breathing was short and hot. He would drink water slowly but not eat much of the usual flax/pumpkin/rice we give him when we think he ate something. He threw up brown goo a couple times. We figured vet the next day- this time he is really blocked up.

The next morning, in the bathroom, I found brown water with a thick cork in the middle of the puddle. A big cork from the downstairs fishing drawer, I thought. The "cork" was, upon close inspection, a 1" slice of corn cob. I think he must have passed it finally, because if the dogs have to "go" in the house, they generally do it in the bathroom. Whereas they throw up where ever they happen to be standing. The next few hours he defecated more of the brown water, same as the bathroom floor. He would now eat the flax seed/pumpkin/rice we normally feed him when he eats something, and he was his old self in a matter or an hour or two. Pumpkin and rice for a couple more days and he was fine.

We did have corn that night he threw up, but the dogs ate before we did, and all the cobs were intact and accounted for. It looked to be a smooth knife cut chop on both sides, so he must have gotten it from the compost stream earlier that day. We never did figure out how, as it was all lidded, but something must have fallen out.

Alas, he is still gobbling things down. This Spring, we figured he ate something...again. Acted funny for a few days, fast breathing, seemed hot. I fed him my good canned pumpkin and brown rice, he was passing it, but still panting. Eventually he threw something up. A bathroom wash cloth. One quadrant of it was mostly torn off, like he was planning to eat it in small pieces. Very mannerly. He is an "English" Springer Spaniel, after all. But then he must have heard someone coming, so he wolfed it all down quick like a hungry Marine to hide the evidence.

[worth1]

By dog Boo Boo would steal bread and leave the wrapper behind.
My moms Doberman ate a 5 pound block of cheddar cheese.
My other dog Bullet just nibbled all day long.
Never eating everything at once.
She had crackers and other treats buried all over the place.
Had another dog that buried whole loafs of bread for later.
Never in my life have I ever had a dog get in the trash.

[brownrexx]

I don't have any dogs or puppies but my chickens LOVE the corn cobs in my compost pile.

[Labradors]

I'm nervous about feeding corn cobs to my labs. It's just not worth the risk.

Good to know that chickens love them Brownrexx. I will toss them their way in the future! They already get the extra cukes, tomatoes and kale leaves .

[brownrexx]

OMG [mention]Labradors[/mention] when we eat corn on the cob for dinner we always throw the cobs into the backyard for the chickens and they come running!

I have to collect them later for the compost pile but it's fun to see them going after the cobs. Last night we picked 33 ears and cut off corn for the freezer.

Those cobs got dumped into the compost pile and the chickens were pecking at them until almost dark.

[worth1]

If memory serves me correctly my old dog Bullet would suck on corn cobs but not actually eat and swallow them.
Sort of like dog chewing tobacco.
She would chew them in her mouth and after the flavor was gone she would spit them out in a little pile.
She was a very strange dog.
The vet cried like a baby when we gave her the final shot to put her to sleep.
I didn't bring her in I just came in and said it was time.
He came out to the parking lot to do it in my truck.
It was the only shot that dog ever fought.
She knew what was happening.
Bullet was the smartest dog I ever had.
She loved all animals great and small and never hurt anything.