What You Should Do If Your Dog Eats Aluminum Foil

We all know how rambunctious and curious dogs are. They have a curious disposition naturally which means they will get up to no good in many different ways. It could be playing in the neighbor’s yard,running off to chase an animal, or getting onto the counter to snag some of your food.

 

This can lead to some serious issues because dogs aren’t as well-equipped to understand what they can and can’t eat, not as humans can. There are plenty of foods that they can’t eat without getting terribly sick, and even eating byproducts can make them feel worse than if it happened to a human. One of these byproducts is aluminum foil.

 

Aluminum foil is quite obviously not something you want to ingest. Considering all of the metal content in it and the chemical processing to make it, any animal’s body would react poorly to it. You can only imagine how much worse it is for them considering they have a smaller and weaker digestive system. If you encounter this problem and are not sure what to do, here are the steps to follow if your dog has eaten aluminum foil.

Step 1: Remain Calm

Your dog eating aluminum foil is not good, but in many cases, it could just result in an upset stomach and they will pass it in their stool like they would for many other ingestible things. This means you should try to remain as calm as possible. Freaking out is only going to cause you to stress out and hamper your decision making. You freaking out could also upset your dog as they are quite acute at sensing problems in their owners. If it is clear that your dog is not choking and not in serious pain, then stay calm.


Step 2: Find the Source of the Foil


Oftentimes dogs will eat things like wax paper, parchment paper, aluminum or tin foil, or paper because it is in proximity to food or on the food itself. When your canine pal wants that food, they likely don’t care about the fact that they are going to need to rip and tear through this strange material to get to it. Retrace your steps to find it, which is most likely going to be the kitchen or garbage can. When you find the source of the aluminum foil, you can gauge how much they ate and quickly figure out how serious this could be.

dog eating aluminum foil
dog is not explicitly harmed from the foil eating

Step 3: Figure Out What Was On It


It could be something benign like a piece of baked bread or it could be something much worse for their health. Whatever was on that foil could be the key to determining how bad it was. If your dog ate aluminum foil that had chocolate,grease, fat, or something that is either severely bad for their digestive system or possibly fatal, you need to figure it out quickly. It is also likely that they may have eaten something old and yucky if they were rifling through the trash, which could make them very upset.


Step 4: Call the Vet


If your dog is not explicitly harmed from the foil eating (dizzy, disoriented, choking, etc.) then you should call the vet.If your dog is exhibiting some of those symptoms, particularly choking, you have to be aware of the signs and know how to properly administer the Heimlich maneuver on a dog. If you can resolve this choking or it doesn’t occur at all,you still need to contact your veterinarian to set up an appointment to run some X-rays and see where it is, or use an endoscope (long tubular camera) to find where it is plus any blockage.

 They might determine that it will pass on its own, or if they can’t be certain it will prescribe your dog some medication to help expedite the situation. Laxatives are also a possible prescription to help make the removal process smooth. The most serious scenario would require surgery to remove it, which may be the case if your dog ate quite a lot of aluminum foil and it is not likely to get out on its own.

Step 5: Monitor Your Dog’s Condition

If your dog pukes up the foil or poops it out,you need to keep a close eye on them. Even if they seemingly removed it all from their system, that could be just a small amount that they ate. Check their stool after each trip to the bathroom to see if pieces or flakes of foil are present which could indicate that their body is doing well to remove it. You want to check for blood or discoloration as well which could hint that the body is not having an easy time passing it as well.

 

Keep monitoring your dog and report any problems to your vet to get a better idea of what could be going on or if there are noticeable changes in their condition. Some of the symptoms that you might notice after your dog eats aluminum foil include:

 

     Constipation

     Diarrhea

     Pain or distress

     Vomiting

     Lethargy

     Lack of appetite

     Bloating


Many of these are easy to spot, but some can be harder to notice. Problemslike:

 

     Aluminum toxicity

     Depression

     Hyperactivity

 

Are some of the ways that your dog might be indicating it is not feeling well, but are much harder to see. That is why you need to contact your vet and be very vigilant in monitoring their behavior and condition on your own as well.

 

Your dog is naturally going to get up to no good every now and then and when they do, they usually like to explore the world by eating things. Aluminum foil is a material they will probably find themselves getting their paws on more than once because it usually comes with a side of food.

 

In most cases, your dog is going to pass it on their own through natural digestion. Their body is quite resilient, but it doesn’t mean they are invincible. When they do eat aluminum foil, you need to be ready to handle it. These steps show you how to properly assess and handle it, and what to do after. If you use this information, you will be able to take care of your dog and manage the situation much better than you would while uninformed.


8 Responses

Sabrina
Sabrina

November 12, 2024

Mi perro un westy comió papel de aluminio , q tenía comida encima , hizo caca al día siguiente con trocitos de papel de aluminio y hoy ha hecho caca liquida pero el está bien

Tina Yvette Fucles Smith
Tina Yvette Fucles Smith

September 17, 2024

Thank you for this blessful information as my Kapone awoke me early morning vomiting foil. Naturally, I panicked because he sleeps with me and is still a puppy of 9mth old American Staffordshire Terrier Mixed Pit Bull. After clean’n up the bed, I had to remind myself if I panic he’s going to notice. So, I calmed down and started searching for information. Because he wasn’t showing any immediate signs of emergency distress to be rushed to the veterinarian hospital cause that’s how I panic. As I was search’n, Kapone went to his area of our home and pooped some flakes of foil in a very small pile of poop and 15 minutes after that session he did the big pile of poop which is a normal habit of his. Upon collecting both samples for the vet appt I did make notes wit his vomit sample of foil which only contained the foil but no food in his vomit to take with his stool specimen. Because I have no clue when, where, nor how my Kapone got into this foil escaped and how much did he actually consume, nor what was contained in the foil. So, I made a monitoring journal to include with Kapone’s vomit and stool specimens for his veterinarian to analyze at his upcoming vet appointment this week. Your information was very appreciated and calming I decided to be a member. You are God sent.

Nora ambush
Nora ambush

March 30, 2024

I was so scared till i saw this
This helped so much

Nancy
Nancy

March 15, 2024

Thank you! Was about to panic. Very helpful!

Keyonnia
Keyonnia

January 04, 2024

Thank you. Very helpful.

Charles
Charles

November 29, 2023

This was vital information for me when I needed it, and so well communicated. Thank you so much!

Phillip leo
Phillip leo

October 24, 2023

Thank you very much ,that was very helpful.

Maria Jesús García luna
Maria Jesús García luna

May 10, 2021

Comió papel aluminio con chocolate y trae vómito,está triste,no quiere comer ,se hace del baño verde aguado

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