A gal I know who is heavy into agility is in a class with a lady who
recently bought her dog a child's teddy bear to celebrate a new
title.... knowing that her dog usually guts stuffed toys. This time it
got the dog dead, but not just from the fact the dog had a gut full of
stuffing.

Indeed, the dog had signs of bowel obstruction within a day or two. At
surgery, the vet found the stuffing, plus a greenish gel sort of stuff,
and all bowel tissue dead and black from gangrene, from end to end. The
dog was euthanized on the table.

A call to the toy company reveiled the information that the gel
contained a fireproofing substance and an insecticide to kill mites.
Apparently this is common. They never foresaw a dog eating the
stuff..... and kids rarely if ever eat toy stuffing...........

The vet is going to write it up for a vet journal, but it won't be
published for quite a while....

A good number of pet owners Do buy new kids' stuffed toys for special
gifts for dogs, and many also buy used stuffed kids' toys, from
used-goods shops, garage sales, etc., cheap, Because their dogs gut the
toys..... So be safer.... only buy Dogs' stuffed toys for your
critters..... not kids' stuffed toys.

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia

On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:43:59 -0500, (Jo Wolf) wrote:

A gal I know who is heavy into agility is in a class with a lady who
recently bought her dog a child's teddy bear to celebrate a new
title.... knowing that her dog usually guts stuffed toys. This time it
got the dog dead, but not just from the fact the dog had a gut full of
stuffing.

Indeed, the dog had signs of bowel obstruction within a day or two. At
surgery, the vet found the stuffing, plus a greenish gel sort of stuff,
and all bowel tissue dead and black from gangrene, from end to end. The
dog was euthanized on the table.

A call to the toy company reveiled the information that the gel
contained a fireproofing substance and an insecticide to kill mites.
Apparently this is common. They never foresaw a dog eating the
stuff..... and kids rarely if ever eat toy stuffing...........

The vet is going to write it up for a vet journal, but it won't be
published for quite a while....

A good number of pet owners Do buy new kids' stuffed toys for special
gifts for dogs, and many also buy used stuffed kids' toys, from
used-goods shops, garage sales, etc., cheap, Because their dogs gut the
toys..... So be safer.... only buy Dogs' stuffed toys for your
critters..... not kids' stuffed toys.

Jo, did you get this story from an e-mail?

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/stuffedtoys.asp

--
Dogman

On Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:15:55 -0500, Dogman wrote:

On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:43:59 -0500, (Jo Wolf) wrote:

A gal I know who is heavy into agility is in a class with a lady who
recently bought her dog a child's teddy bear to celebrate a new
title.... knowing that her dog usually guts stuffed toys. This time it
got the dog dead, but not just from the fact the dog had a gut full of
stuffing.

Indeed, the dog had signs of bowel obstruction within a day or two. At
surgery, the vet found the stuffing, plus a greenish gel sort of stuff,
and all bowel tissue dead and black from gangrene, from end to end. The
dog was euthanized on the table.

A call to the toy company reveiled the information that the gel
contained a fireproofing substance and an insecticide to kill mites.
Apparently this is common. They never foresaw a dog eating the
stuff..... and kids rarely if ever eat toy stuffing...........

The vet is going to write it up for a vet journal, but it won't be
published for quite a while....

A good number of pet owners Do buy new kids' stuffed toys for special
gifts for dogs, and many also buy used stuffed kids' toys, from
used-goods shops, garage sales, etc., cheap, Because their dogs gut the
toys..... So be safer.... only buy Dogs' stuffed toys for your
critters..... not kids' stuffed toys.

Jo, did you get this story from an e-mail?

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/stuffedtoys.asp

Regardless, I don't get buying stuffed toys for dogs that like to gut
stuffed toys. My IG is harder on toys than any dog I've ever had, and
can gut a Tuffy rated up to 8. If allowed to gut a toy (or anything
else with that type of filling), he will eat at least part of the
filling, as well as the squeaker, if there is one. Therefore, much to
the Gene's chagrin (he likes to actually play with stuffed toys - you
know, squeak the squeakers), we do not have stuffed toys here. There
are a few Tuffies (10s) and a boatload of other chew and play toys,
but no stuffed toys that can be gutted. Why, if you know your dog
likes to gut stuffed toys and eat the stuffing, would you buy him a
stuffed toy, whether it's made for children or for dogs? I'll admit
to letting my dogs eat some of the cardboard from paper towel and
toilet paper tubes, but fiberfill? Not.

On Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:41:39 -0500, sighthounds & siberians
wrote:

Why, if you know your dog
likes to gut stuffed toys and eat the stuffing, would you buy him a
stuffed toy, whether it's made for children or for dogs? I'll admit
to letting my dogs eat some of the cardboard from paper towel and
toilet paper tubes, but fiberfill? Not.

The only "stuffed toys" around these parts are Kongs stuffed with
peanut butter or kibble.


--
Dogman

Same for the stuffed toys at my house.... stuffed Kongs and similar....
Haven't had a stuffed fabric toy in the house since about 1983-84.....
and the arrival of terriers. The Dane ignored them.....

Yeh, I got it from an email, and had tried to check it at Snopes, but
couldn't get into the site.... and couldn't get in with your url,
either, Dogman... webtv rides again....

Sighthounds & Sibes..... A fair number of folks actually do give their
dogs stuffed toys for the specific purpose of permitting them to rip
them up, but under supervision. Often it's a sort of reward for a
qualifying score in a trial.... obedience, agility, whatever. Placement
"trophies" at these trials are often stuffed toys, in fact. (SHEESH, I
wish you'd put a name or a pseudonym at the end of your messages. So
impolite not to do so......)

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia

On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:41:28 -0500, (Jo Wolf) wrote:

Sighthounds & Sibes..... A fair number of folks actually do give their
dogs stuffed toys for the specific purpose of permitting them to rip
them up, but under supervision. Often it's a sort of reward for a
qualifying score in a trial.... obedience, agility, whatever. Placement
"trophies" at these trials are often stuffed toys, in fact. (SHEESH, I
wish you'd put a name or a pseudonym at the end of your messages. So
impolite not to do so......)

Yes, I'm aware that people give their dogs stuffed toys in order to
rip them up, and I'm aware of such things as obedience and agility
trials and trophies for same. However, I think there's a difference
between giving one's dogs such toys so that they can rip them up,
while being supervised, and letting one's dogs ingest the filling of
stuffed toys, whether while under supervision or not. And I think
it's pretty stupid to buy stuffed toys for your dog if you know your
dog likes to gut them *and eat* the stuffing.

Sincerely,

Eugenia

I agree with you 100%! While it may seem like a great idea, those toys rip and tear very, very easily. Many dog toys are made especially FOR dogs. Many manufacturers will even go out of their way to specify that the toys are made for large, small or medium dogs. If you give the dog any type of toy, the dog could seriously injure themselves. If they don't choke, they may swallow something that hurts their poor insides.