Fishing for Dogs?

Last night's rain made it nice to wake up to such a cool morning.  After rounds, Meade and I enjoyed a nice walk and then back home to enjoy brunch with Bruce.  I am not the only one out enjoying the wonderful cool day.  A few are out on the lakes and ponds enjoying some fishing.  How do I know?  Because somebody caught one!...a dog fish!  This fish's name is Cowboy.

If you look closely you can see the nice fish hook that Cowboy swallowed.  Cowboy was pretty excited a
bout it.  So what to do next....

Rather than wait to see if this too would pass, it was decided to go to surgery and remove it.  So off to surgery we go!

In addition to finding the hook in Cowboy's stomach, I also found that Cowboy had sausage for breakfast! LOL

The surgery was a success and Cowboy woke up no worse for the wear.

So what did we learn from this adventure?  Our dogs are great companions while fishing, but they are attracted to shiny thing and the nice smell of fish bait (with or without hook).  Dog's will eat anything that resembles food.

If a fishhook becomes embedded in your dog's paw, mouth, or is swallowed it requires special care.  I do not recommend attempting to remove it by yourself, as you can cause severe damage to you and your dog!  They can be difficult to remove without sedation even if in a paw or lip.  If swallowed endoscopy or surgery may be needed.  Excessive damage can be caused if you pull on the fishing line and hook if the hook is embedded in the esophagus or the stomach is torn.  If you see fishing line hanging out of your pet's mouth, never pull on it and call your veterinarian immediately.

Moral of the story, be very aware of where your dog is while you are fishing.  Never leave baited hooks unattended.  Keep unused tackle and bait covered.  And before you go fishing again, you might want to work on teaching your dog the command "Leave it".

So what kind of bait do you use when you go fishing for Shih Tzus?