stuck in her throat
 

Last night I gave my little girl a piece of the slick part of the bread crust, the part from the top of a slice of bread. It seems to have stuck to the top/back of her throat. At first she coughed a little and I watched to make sure she was ok. This morning she will barely lick, and she is a licker by nature. She is also a big barker for a little girl. She will not bark at all. She is breathing fine. She is about 4 pounds. I gave her a piece of almond, which I thought might be rough and could help move the bread. If I open her mouth she lifts her tongue back so I can't see in her throat. She is drinking water and eating. I am not sure if I need to do something or not, but I will be worrying until she is barking again. Any ideas will be appreciated.

If she is eating ok it doesn't seem like anything is blocking her throat. Maybe it is sore from the bread being stuck or the almond. You may want to have the vet check her throat just to be sure if she isn't barking and licking soon. Hope she is back to normal soon. MAybe having her lick on an ice cube wold help.

thank you
 

Patti, thanks for the reply. I just can't figure why she wont bark, I think that would dislodge the bread. I have 4 others, but she is the lead barker so it is scarily quiet. She is almost 5 yo, so she is not a baby, nothing like this has ever happened. I don't feed them many scraps, but I ate a piece of bread last night and just peeled a little piece to share, but it was that thin slick part at the top. I could see right away it was not going down right.

You know your baby the best and if you think there is a problem then I would take her to the vet. With it being the weekend I would hate to see you having to go to the ER for something like this. The vet will be able to look into her throat and see if there really is a piece of bread crust stuck or not. Personally, I would rather pay my vet them the ER vet's huge price tag.

You are right about the ER. I went ahead and made her an appointment for this afternoon, but she just made a grrr sound which really makes me happy. I keep letting her lick me as much as she will hoping that is moving it correctly down her throat. I really hate to terrify her with the vet probing down her throat, too, unless it is necessary. Now I'm hoping she will start barking and all will be right.

I hope all turns out well at the vet. I thought I'd mention to you that almonds are toxic to dogs, so it's best not to give her anymore of that.

Almonds are not toxic to dogs.
 

She seems to have swallowed the bread and is all better. Thank you all for your concern. It is nice to have someone to talk to about these things.

Connie, Thank you for your opinion about almonds, but I just researched almonds and they are not toxic to dogs, see below. They are however suggested as a choking hazard. (I bit off a piece of almond to make it smaller and hoped the roughness might scratch and dislodge the bread.) See three exerpts taken from three websites regarding almonds.
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Bitter almonds (not the edible type) do contain cyanide type compounds. So you will see listings that include almonds as toxic. Regular almonds are not toxic and do not contain cyanide so they are safe for humans and dogs.

You do want to avoid pits to peaches, plums, cherries etc. And also macadamia nuts as those are toxic to dogs.

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Here's the official Humane Society list of what not to feed a pet:

Alcoholic beverages
Apple seeds
Apricot pits
Avocados—toxic to birds, mice, rabbits, horses, cattle and dairy goats
Cherry pits
Candy (particularly chocolate, which is toxic to dogs, cats and ferrets, and any candy containing the sweetener Xylitol)
Coffee (grounds, beans, chocolate covered espresso beans)
Grapes
Hops (used in home beer brewing)
Macadamia nuts
Moldy foods
Mushroom plants
Mustard seeds
Onions and onion powder
Peach pits
Potato leaves and stems (green parts)
Raisins
Rhubarb leaves
Salt
Tea (caffeine)
Tomato leaves and stems (green parts)
Walnuts
Yeast dough
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Aside from the possibility of choking on the almond, almonds will not hurt your dog. Macadamias nuts, on the other hand, are poisonous and can cause weakness, muscle tremor and paralysis.

That's odd...the list I have at says nuts...especially almonds and macadamia.

I'm so glad all turned out well with your baby!

Hi Laura, I live in Wylie too.