Jada Almost choked to Death Last Night....
 

It was horrible and I am still a wreck. Jada has always ate so fast and will not chew her food. Most evenings I put her kibble in her treat puzzle which slows her down quite a bit. I have no idea why I just used her slow feed bowl yesterday:(
She ate her supper and Bogie had just finished his. I knew something was wrong when she wasn't sitting in front of the fridge. (she always wants a frozen green bean after she is finished eating).
Jada was on the couch and was just acting strange so I picked her up and she was making a very strange noise. I started patting her back and I felt in her throat and didn't feel any blockage. Then she started foaming at the mouth!! THANK GOD my vet is only 2 minutes away...I grabbed her and my purse and called from my drive way and thank goodness my vet and the staff were still there. I didn't even fasten my seatbelt and I think I made it there in less than a minute, I had turned on my hazard flashers and was driving as fast as I could. My vet and the vet tech were outside waiting to grab Jada when we got there.
Jada was wheezing but breathing when we got there and the food had dislodged. She was able to drink a syringe full of water. She is on an antibiotic just in case she aspirated anything into her lungs (they sounded clear but my vet didn't want to take any chances). She also got a steroid shot to help with any swelling in her throat from the trauma.
Needless to say Jada will be hand fed or her food chopped into tiny pieces from this point forward. It was such a horrible thing to watch and I could not remember how to do the doggie heimlich maneuver.
I have always loved our vet and his entire staff and I will forever be grateful that his office is right next to me otherwise I don't think I would have my baby girl sitting on my lap this morning.

Very scary. Glad she is ok. You must be shaken still.

Yes, very scary! I am so glad you reacted quickly.

My Piccolo choked one time and luckily I was able to reach way down her throat and pull out the rawhide. It makes me cry thinking about what could have happened. (This is way before I was on YT and also way before I learned that rawhide could do this)

Anyway, hugs to you and to sweet Jada. I sounds like everything is going to be okay.

Oh no! How terrifying! Hugs to Jada and you. Have you tried breaking the food up with a blender or a hammer... just to make it smaller sized?

Oh how scary. I am so glad that your quick thinking saved her. Glad to hear Jada is ok. Hugs to you both

Michelle, what a terrifying experience! I am relieved Jada is okay thanks to your fast action. Glad you live close to your vet's office and that they took good care of her.

I have read the instructions on the Heimlich several times, but it is scary to think about doing it on such a small, fragile doggy like Jada. I've done it successfully on a very large dog, but it was more like performing it on a human.

Sending gentle hugs to Jada and you.

Oh my how very scary for you and Jada. Choking on something is very scary. I am so glad that Jada is ok.

Sending out hug's to you and belly rubs to Jada.

how scary// I am so glad that Jada is ok

Isn't it one of the most terrifying things to see-one of your children (fur or skin) choking?? Puff recently started choking on something and I panicked. I'm a nurse, but what did I do?
I started screaming for my daughter and my mother!

Wow........scary! Trusting your intuition saved her life! I had a similar experience with Tatiana.....she grabbed and tried to swallow a hot dog off a child plate!!! Happy to know she is ok!

So very,very scary. So happy your vet was still there. Jada don't scary your mommy like that

Oh gosh, that is SO scary!!! I'm so glad Jada is ok!!

My Dex used to do that. One time my mom was visiting and he did it and couldn't breathe!! My mom stuck her fingers up under his rib cage, and gently pushed up, he yelped and up it came, THANK GOD! He does not eat fast though... it was just a treat he didn't want us to take away from him. Now his only treats are milkbones and baby carrots, broken into pieces!

Yikes...scary stuff. So happy that all is ok.

Michelle, hand feeding is an option...but have you tried one of the slow feed bowls? I have had great success with them with my fast eaters.

I think she said she was using a slow feed bowl... What about one of those timer devices... just set is for every 2 or 5 minutes till she eats her whole meal...

Can't you also put a cup upside down in the middle of the bowl, or large rocks to help slow them down?

Oh my gosh you must have been terrified!! So glad she's ok.

Michelle, thank god Jada is ok thank's to your fast thinking. Gentle hugg's to you and Jada both. What a scary thought to have seen that.
Anne/Luci:animal-pa

Thanks for all your support and comments..Jada has always been Miss Piggy and I do use a slow feed bowl and treat puzzles to slow her down. She still won't chew her food :( I am using a food chopper to make her kibble smaller and its not an option to get smaller kibble since she is allergic to so much (this one kibble is the only thing she tolerates well) I am putting warm water over it now too.
My vet also suggested waiting for a while,after I come home in the evening, to feed both Jada and Bogie (give them a chance to settle down) and he also suggested hand feeding if chopping her kibble up wasn't feasible..heck I will chew her kibble and spit it into a bowl, like a momma bird does if it will help her to keep from choking :p

ps..never ever ever leave your babies unsupervised while eating if they are like Jada and inhale their food whole. I shudder to think the outcome if I hadn't been right there.

I was thinking something like this:

Amazon.com: PetSafe 5-Meal Electronic Pet Feeder:...

Oh my how scary. . . thankfully you knew her so well and knew that something wasn't right. The poor baby must have been so scarred. Im glad that she is ok, sending her a Big Hug !!

Do you feed the pups separately?
Could it be that she wants to make sure that none of the other pups get to her food?

Kat that is really a neat contraption but it wouldn't work for Jada. I am not sure if it is from where she was in a home with so many other dogs and had to fight for her food but she has always eaten this way.

I always stay in the kitchen with Jada and Bogie when they are eating.. They have never once in 4 years tried to eat from each others bowls and neither of them are food aggressive.

wow sorry to hear this, good think you are so aware of your pups behaviors and knew something was up, lucky your vet was there. Did Jada seem pretty shaken up by the whole thing

I'm glad Jada is better.
You are such a good mom for noticing that something was up with Jada and for acting so fast.
I don't have tips for her eating habits but I just wanted to wish you both good luck :)

SO glad she is okay. I know the same fear as I almost lost Marcel to choking too, he almost died in my arms. Very glad there was a happy ending for Jada.

Omg, my heart dropped when I read the title of the thread. That would scare me too! I am so glad Jada is ok!

She was trembling so bad when it was all over and sat on my lap all night. But it didn't phase her appetite..she was sitting at the fridge for a green bean right after we got home.:p
Thanks so much..and I know both my babies routines down to a "t" when she wasnt sitting at the fridge after eating her supper I knew immediately something was bad wrong.
I remember when that happened Ann..isn't it the scariest thing ever!! Glad we both had happy endings.

Thanks Marilyn :)

I am so glad that little jada is ok. I know just how frightening this is. I had a shih tzu that choked twice. Each time I picked her up and pointed her face downward and gave her several hard jerks and the food came out. You feel like fainting when something like this happens. After the second time I always make sure that everything I feed now is very small. With their tiny little mouths it is critical that pieces of food is very small.

I am happy that Jada is ok and am very glad your vet is that close to you. I would have been scared to death if that happened to Amy. She is a fast eater and I am always there with her when she eats. Prayers for you and Jada and hope she has a better day.

Thank goodness Jada is ok! My Bentley eats like this too and can only have certain foods because of his allergies. He's on TOTW Salmon now and it is smaller bites.