Intestinal blockage in dogs, A serious vet emergency

What are the symptoms of intestinal blockage in dogs?

In the event of an intestinal blockage, your dog may present digestive symptoms as well as general clinical signs. Here are the main symptoms you should learn to recognise in your dog.

Digestive symptoms of intestinal blockage

1. Vomiting of the food bolus, which occurs shortly after eating. This is often the first alarming symptom of an intestinal blockage and may be accompanied byanorexia, i.e. a loss of appetite. In practice, your dog may seem interested in his meal but refuse to touch it.
2. Fecal vomiting owes its name to the nature of the vomitate, whose appearance, colour and smell are reminiscent of faeces. This type of regurgitation is consistent with a lower intestinal blockage.
3. Diarrhoea is a frequent symptom that completes the clinical picture of an obstruction in dogs. Diarrhoea is often very liquid and profuse, sometimes haemorrhagic (presence of blood).
4. Conversely, constipation or an absence of stools can also be a sign of an obstruction in dogs.

General symptoms of intestinal blockage

1. Collapse and prostration: intestinal blockage rapidly causes abdominal discomfort, which progresses to full-blown abdominal pain. The consequence for your dog is a refusal to move and an intolerance to handling.
2. Loss of appetite: your dog may gradually stop eating, eventually refusing all food and drink.
3. Abdominal pain and swelling: The intense pain will make your dog's abdomen feel bloated and hard. Your dog may complain every time it is handled.
4. Shock: in the most serious cases of occlusion, vascular changes may cause your dog to go into shock. The situation then becomes critical and must be treated as quickly as possible.
5. Fever: In some cases of intestinal blockage, the intestinal wall may rupture as a result of necrosis or a blunt foreign body (such as a peach pit). The intestinal juices leak into the abdomen, causing peritonitis, one of the first signs of which is hyperthermia (above 104°F).

What should be done in the event of intestinal blockage in dogs?

If you suspect an intestinal blockage in your pet, here are the steps our vets advise you to take:

1. First and foremost, you should contact your vet as a matter of urgency to arrange a clinical examination as soon as possible. If your dog's vet is not available, contact us on 00. Our home service teams are on hand to see your pet.
2. Withdraw your dog's food and drink until it has been assessed by the emergency vet. You must leave your dog's digestive system at rest to prevent mechanical stimulation complicating the situation.
3. Try to identify the possible foreign body ingested by your dog. The nature of the foreign body may affect the way the vet deals with it and the degree of urgency. A blunt or sharp object should be treated as quickly as possible, given the increased risk of intestinal perforation.

Occlusion can be diagnosed on the basis of a full clinical examination and the symptoms listed above. To confirm the hypotheses, the veterinarian may use medical imaging of the stomach and bowel:

1. Addominal ultrasound to visualise the intestinal ansae, their walls and the presence of any exudate, as well as any foreign body or intussusception.
2. An unprepared abdominal X-ray is used to visualise foreign bodies such as bones, stones or metal parts.
3. The barium transit, which is a succession of 4 to 6 X-rays spaced several minutes apart. This examination checks that the contrast product ingested by the dog is passing correctly through the bowel.

Once the obstruction has been confirmed, your dog can be treated. If in doubt, contact our emergency call centre. We'll be happy to help! If necessary, our pets at home vet can come to your home as quickly as possible.

Why is intestinal blockage a vet emergency?

An intestinal blockage can be life-threatening for your dog. Complications arise rapidly and a definitive diagnosis is often long and difficult to make. Once the obstruction has been diagnosed, surgical intervention is urgently required.

The emergency criteria for intestinal blockage are as follows:

1. If your dog is in a state of shock and simultaneously presents the following signs: dejection, polypnoea, shallow breathing, pale mucous membranes and severe abdominal pain.
2. If the intestinal blockage has progressed to intestinal perforation: the juice and bile spread into the abdomen, causing peritonitis. At this stage of the obstruction, the prognosis is very poor.
3. If your dog vomits blood. The presence of blood indicates a digestive wound and the possible onset of perforation, possibly of the stomach.
4. If your dog's faeces contain blood (red) or digested blood (black). Here again, the presence of blood is a sign of injury to the digestive tract and internal haemorrhage.

In the event of an obstruction, every minute counts. The sooner the diagnosis is made, the greater the chances of survival. Unfortunately, many dogs still die from intestinal blockage.

The best thing to do is to consult your vet, or an out of hours vet, as soon as the first symptoms appear.

The different intestinal blockages in dogs

It is essential to clarify that obstructions do not only occur in the intestine.

1. An upper or antropyloric obstruction occurs when the blockage is located just outside the stomach and at the very beginning of the bowel. This area is called the pylorus. An upper obstruction may result from the presence of a foreign body blocking the gastric outlet and causing vomiting with meals.
2. Lower obstruction, or ileocolic obstruction, involves the different parts of the intestine: the small intestine (ileus) and the colon. In the case of a low-lying obstruction, vomiting is fecal and your dog has acute diarrhoea.
3. Oesophageal obstruction involves the most proximal segment of the digestive tract. More than 90% of oesophageal obstructions are caused by foreign bodies getting stuck in the oesophagus. In practice, oesophageal obstruction causes regurgitation, dysorexia and excessive salivation.

The severity of the situation depends directly on the type of obstruction your dog is suffering from, but also on how long the situation has been evolving and the nature of the obstruction itself. In vet emergencies, there are two main types of occlusion:

1. Occlusion by a foreign body: a small object may be ingested by the dog and begin its migration through the digestive tract. The different intestines can often be identified by their variations in diameter. Each narrowing may represent an area of occlusion.
2. Intussusception: under the effect of the bowel's natural peristalsis, the bowel can roll up on itself like a sock turned inside out. When the area contracts again, a sudden and brutal occlusion occurs.