Dogs just ate tennis ball

Species: Dog
Breed: chihauha
Age: 6-12 months

My small, 5lb baby girl chihauha (sp?) was outside playing with our two other dogs. My husband found her eating the outside of a tennis ball (about a 3 or 4 inch stip of the green matter on the outside of the ball). She just ate the whole thing, never even chewing it up. Can i give her something to throw it up? Will that cause more damage. Its been about an hour.

Dr. Marie replied:

If it is just the green fuzz that she ate then it's very unlikely that it's going to cause a problem. But, if she also ate the rubber part of the ball then this could cause an obstruction.

I don't usually recommend inducing vomiting...mostly because there are things that can happen if we do this. (For example, a dog could aspirate the vomit into their lungs).

What you may want to do though is feed Olive something that will help bulk up her stools to help this to move along in her intestinal tract. You can do so by adding an 1/8 tsp of bran to her food, or by feeding her 1/4 bran muffin.

If you think she ate a large amount of the rubber then it is a good idea to have your vet examine her tomorrow. But again, if it's just the green fuzz then don't be too worried. However, in the next few days if she is vomiting or not wanting to eat then she should see her doctor!

I will be online for just a few more minutes tonight. (You caught me just as I was turning off my online status). So, feel free to respond...if it's within in the next few minutes I can write back. Otherwise I'll check in on you in the morning.