Hairballs in dogs: how to deal with this cat-like problem
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Hairballs in dogs are a rare occurrence but it does not mean that it will not happen to your dog. A lot of the times, we associate this phenomenon with cats especially since they are the ones who love to lick and groom their bodies most of the time. We rarely see a dog which will continuously lick his fur just to become clean. When they get dirty, most would rub the dirty part on the floor or the walls to get it off. Hence people often think that a dog that seems to be “grooming itself” will only do so if they have a wound, a tick bite, or some skin irritation in a particular area of their body.Although this is partly true, there are definitely some dogs that will groom their fur especially when they are medium to long in length. This and the fact that there are some dogs which seem to be very conscious of the cleanliness of their fur contribute to the fact that a dog really can cough up some hairballs at any particular time. Aside from this, you also need to take into consideration that dogs do have that season for shedding and the amount of fur that they shed will also depend upon the state of their health.Therefore, it is also extremely important to look after the kind of diet that you provide for your pet as a part of an overall dog hairball remedy.What are dog hairballs?Hairballs are also known as tricholiths or trichobezoars which means a mass of concentrated hair material that has surrounded a non-digestible item which has become stuck in the stomach, the esophagus, or the intestines. It comes in a variety of shapes ranging from rounded, to tubular, to spherical and depending on how long they had been coughed up by your dog, can be a wet and soggy mass or a dry one.Just like in cats, they are made of the dog’s fur and may come occasionally with other types of fibers such as grass and other non-soluble materials. Dogs are able to ingest their fur by licking and grooming or it could be on their surroundings.A hairball can pose several levels of risk depending on how many and how long the hair materials had been in their gastrointestinal tract. A dog can usually eliminate a small amount of hair that they ingest if these are really few and the speed of his elimination is normal. But a dog that has a slower rate of elimination can have hairball problems even if he ingests them in small amounts.As the hair accumulates, they tend to tangle themselves around each other forming an almost solid structure and if he happens to have a weak body, he may have problems vomiting or coughing it out.Here are some of the symptoms to look out for if you want to know if your dog has gotten some hairballs:Repeated attempts to cough or vomit something out of their mouthsConstipationLethargyLoss of appetiteGaggingDiarrheaA bloated stomach, in more serious casesHairballs can pose a huge risk to the life of your pet if it had grown hard inside your pet’s stomach. This is often due to a poor state of health as well as large amounts of ingested fur. As they become larger in size, they will somewhat harden and prevent the passage of food down the stomach.Aside from this, it can also pierce your pet’s stomach as the hairs become much stiffer and harder as time goes on. It is therefore extremely important to have your pet healthy and regularly checked up by their vet in order to detect this condition early on and prevent it from getting more serious.How do dogs get them?Although dogs are not really known to be as dedicated to grooming as cats are, there can be instances when they do this rather obsessively leading them to ingest large amounts of fur.Here are some causes or reasons on how a dog can get a hairball:Shedding. Dogs, especially those with two layers or coats of fur and those with longer fur, are prone to shedding and it can be one of their greatest problems if not dealt with properly. A dog will often begin to shed their fur during spring when their winter coats will begin to fall as the warmer seasons begin. If they are not properly groomed by their owners, they will end up doing it themselves and with the large amount of fur that they are shedding, it definitely poses a large opportunity for them to swallow those furs and develop a hairball.Eating prey. We all know dogs which have that prey instinct and which tend to eat them whole including feathers and furs. Since animal hair is indigestible, it will remain inside their stomach and if they are lucky, they will eliminate it together with other materials. But, if their digestive system is not that strong, it will end up staying on their digestive tract or large intestines where it will trap or block other decaying feces. This poses a great health risk since toxic gases and substances from the rotting materials will be reabsorbed by the bloodstream.Excessive licking. When a dog licks their fur, some of them will often be swallowed by your pet. Here are some reasons why your dog may be excessively licking themselves:This is one if the main reasons why a dog can lick themselves to the point that they do not get a good night’s sleep. A dog that is constantly feeling itchy will of course, try to alleviate their itchy by chewing and licking it. But since allergy cannot be easily cured by biting it, it will of course continue to itch. As the area becomes too much exposed to saliva, the furs will begin to fall off and when this happens, your dog can ingest some of them.If a dog does not have sufficient physical or mental stimulation, they will try to do just anything to occupy their time and licking can be one of them. A dog that is bored will find a way to get rid of all the energies that they have and so you can expect them to do it incessantly until they get tired.Flea and tick bites. If your dog has a problem with flea and tick infestations, chances are they will be biting and licking their fur a lot more often. Tick bites can be really itchy and can cause your dog to chew on their fur. When they do so, they also pull some of their fur out and swallow them as they try to get rid of these parasites.What are the available treatments for dog hairballs?You will find a lot of commercial products in the market which promise to eliminate your dog’s hairballs but not all of them can treat your specific case. This is because of the fact that dog hairballs come in different stages: there are those which are yet on their early stages that are still quite soft and easy to eliminate and there are those which have been in your dog’s stomach for a significant amount of time that they have already hardened.Aside from that, dog hairballs can also be stuck in different areas in your pet’s gastrointestinal tract – in the esophagus, the stomach, or the small intestines.Here are some of solutions that you can apply if you ever encounter this problem:Petroleum jelly. Giving your dog petroleum jelly will help to “smoothen” out the passage of the hairball either through their throat or through their stomach. It will also help soften up the hairball in case it has gotten a large quantity of hair.Pumpkin. Pumpkin is known to contain a large amount of fiber which can help “pull out” the hairball as they pass through the gastrointestinal tract. Aside from this, it will help support the mucus membranes of the tract giving it a smoother travel time in the stomach.Laxatives. Since laxatives can pose a significant effect on your dog’s body, you should only use it under a vet’s supervision. The type and dosage will depend upon your pet’s age and health condition. Any underlying medical condition especially those related to the gastrointestinal area and other major organs will have to be taken into consideration before giving this treatment.Surgery. If the hairball is already stiff and hard or is too large to be eliminated through the anus, a surgery will be required in order to remove it.How do you prevent hairballs from developing?Since prevention is still better than treating any illness, it would be much better if you as a pet owner can help prevent your dog from getting it in the first place. This way, you would not have to face the prospect of a possible surgery in case your dog is unable to eliminate it in a natural way.Here are some steps that you can take in order to keep your dog from getting a hairball:Groom your pet regularly. Constantly cleaning and brushing your pet’s hair will help them get rid of lose and dead hair more effectively. If your dog has a medium hair you need to brush them at least once a day before they go to bed. A dog with a longer hair will need to be brushed twice a day especially during the shedding season. Make sure to throw the hairs in a bin that they will not be able to reach or open.Provide a diet healthy in essential oils. Essential oils are those which help to maintain the shine, luster and strength of your pet’s fur and they include fish, meats, and some vegetables. Make sure that they are getting a sufficient amount of these through natural foods or by giving them Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acid supplements.Treat their allergies if they have any. If your dog is biting and chewing his skin constantly, chances are he may be suffering from an allergy and is manifesting itself through skin conditions. Have him checked upon by your vet for any type of allergy and make sure to avoid any situation in which they will be exposed to allergens such as pollen, plastics, and certain types of foods.Give your pet sufficient water. A healthy gut needs sufficient hydration and this can come only if you are giving your dog enough water. Water in the stomach will also help assure a smoother elimination for your pet. The amount that your pet needs will vary from case to case and will depend on their activity level, weather, age, breed, etc. Make sure to ask your vet about this.Provide your pet with sufficient stimulation. Since boredom can cause your dog to lick his fur incessantly, it is therefore important to provide him with enough physical or mental activity to keep his mind occupied. Give him a chew toy and make sure that you spend enough time playing or going on walks with him to prevent boredom or even anxiety. Bonding with your dog is just as important as giving him a place to stay and food to eat.Hairballs are not an exclusive phenomenon to cats only, even dogs can get them and they can pose a serious risk to their health if left unattended.A dog can get hairballs by excessively licking and chewing their skin and which in turn, can be caused by allergies, boredom, or flea and tick problems. Your dog is also prone to having hairballs during the shedding season especially if they are left to groom on their own. Hairballs can develop into stiff and hard masses in your dog’s gastrointestinal tract and can puncture or rupture their stomach. Make sure that you look well after your dog in order to avoid this situation and lose your pet forever.
Hairballs in dogs are a rare occurrence but it does not mean that it will not happen to your dog. A lot of the times, we associate this phenomenon with cats especially since they are the ones who love to lick and groom their bodies most of the time. We rarely see a dog which will continuously lick his fur just to become clean. When they get dirty, most would rub the dirty part on the floor or the walls to get it off. Hence people often think that a dog that seems to be “grooming itself” will only do so if they have a wound, a tick bite, or some skin irritation in a particular area of their body.Although this is partly true, there are definitely some dogs that will groom their fur especially when they are medium to long in length. This and the fact that there are some dogs which seem to be very conscious of the cleanliness of their fur contribute to the fact that a dog really can cough up some hairballs at any particular time. Aside from this, you also need to take into consideration that dogs do have that season for shedding and the amount of fur that they shed will also depend upon the state of their health.Therefore, it is also extremely important to look after the kind of diet that you provide for your pet as a part of an overall dog hairball remedy.What are dog hairballs?Hairballs are also known as tricholiths or trichobezoars which means a mass of concentrated hair material that has surrounded a non-digestible item which has become stuck in the stomach, the esophagus, or the intestines. It comes in a variety of shapes ranging from rounded, to tubular, to spherical and depending on how long they had been coughed up by your dog, can be a wet and soggy mass or a dry one.Just like in cats, they are made of the dog’s fur and may come occasionally with other types of fibers such as grass and other non-soluble materials. Dogs are able to ingest their fur by licking and grooming or it could be on their surroundings.
A hairball can pose several levels of risk depending on how many and how long the hair materials had been in their gastrointestinal tract. A dog can usually eliminate a small amount of hair that they ingest if these are really few and the speed of his elimination is normal. But a dog that has a slower rate of elimination can have hairball problems even if he ingests them in small amounts.As the hair accumulates, they tend to tangle themselves around each other forming an almost solid structure and if he happens to have a weak body, he may have problems vomiting or coughing it out.Here are some of the symptoms to look out for if you want to know if your dog has gotten some hairballs:Repeated attempts to cough or vomit something out of their mouthsConstipationLethargyLoss of appetiteGaggingDiarrheaA bloated stomach, in more serious casesHairballs can pose a huge risk to the life of your pet if it had grown hard inside your pet’s stomach. This is often due to a poor state of health as well as large amounts of ingested fur. As they become larger in size, they will somewhat harden and prevent the passage of food down the stomach.Aside from this, it can also pierce your pet’s stomach as the hairs become much stiffer and harder as time goes on. It is therefore extremely important to have your pet healthy and regularly checked up by their vet in order to detect this condition early on and prevent it from getting more serious.How do dogs get them?Although dogs are not really known to be as dedicated to grooming as cats are, there can be instances when they do this rather obsessively leading them to ingest large amounts of fur.
Here are some causes or reasons on how a dog can get a hairball:Shedding. Dogs, especially those with two layers or coats of fur and those with longer fur, are prone to shedding and it can be one of their greatest problems if not dealt with properly. A dog will often begin to shed their fur during spring when their winter coats will begin to fall as the warmer seasons begin. If they are not properly groomed by their owners, they will end up doing it themselves and with the large amount of fur that they are shedding, it definitely poses a large opportunity for them to swallow those furs and develop a hairball.Eating prey. We all know dogs which have that prey instinct and which tend to eat them whole including feathers and furs. Since animal hair is indigestible, it will remain inside their stomach and if they are lucky, they will eliminate it together with other materials. But, if their digestive system is not that strong, it will end up staying on their digestive tract or large intestines where it will trap or block other decaying feces. This poses a great health risk since toxic gases and substances from the rotting materials will be reabsorbed by the bloodstream.Excessive licking. When a dog licks their fur, some of them will often be swallowed by your pet. Here are some reasons why your dog may be excessively licking themselves:This is one if the main reasons why a dog can lick themselves to the point that they do not get a good night’s sleep. A dog that is constantly feeling itchy will of course, try to alleviate their itchy by chewing and licking it. But since allergy cannot be easily cured by biting it, it will of course continue to itch. As the area becomes too much exposed to saliva, the furs will begin to fall off and when this happens, your dog can ingest some of them.If a dog does not have sufficient physical or mental stimulation, they will try to do just anything to occupy their time and licking can be one of them. A dog that is bored will find a way to get rid of all the energies that they have and so you can expect them to do it incessantly until they get tired.Flea and tick bites. If your dog has a problem with flea and tick infestations, chances are they will be biting and licking their fur a lot more often. Tick bites can be really itchy and can cause your dog to chew on their fur. When they do so, they also pull some of their fur out and swallow them as they try to get rid of these parasites.What are the available treatments for dog hairballs?You will find a lot of commercial products in the market which promise to eliminate your dog’s hairballs but not all of them can treat your specific case. This is because of the fact that dog hairballs come in different stages: there are those which are yet on their early stages that are still quite soft and easy to eliminate and there are those which have been in your dog’s stomach for a significant amount of time that they have already hardened.
Aside from that, dog hairballs can also be stuck in different areas in your pet’s gastrointestinal tract – in the esophagus, the stomach, or the small intestines.Here are some of solutions that you can apply if you ever encounter this problem:Petroleum jelly. Giving your dog petroleum jelly will help to “smoothen” out the passage of the hairball either through their throat or through their stomach. It will also help soften up the hairball in case it has gotten a large quantity of hair.Pumpkin. Pumpkin is known to contain a large amount of fiber which can help “pull out” the hairball as they pass through the gastrointestinal tract. Aside from this, it will help support the mucus membranes of the tract giving it a smoother travel time in the stomach.Laxatives. Since laxatives can pose a significant effect on your dog’s body, you should only use it under a vet’s supervision. The type and dosage will depend upon your pet’s age and health condition. Any underlying medical condition especially those related to the gastrointestinal area and other major organs will have to be taken into consideration before giving this treatment.Surgery. If the hairball is already stiff and hard or is too large to be eliminated through the anus, a surgery will be required in order to remove it.How do you prevent hairballs from developing?Since prevention is still better than treating any illness, it would be much better if you as a pet owner can help prevent your dog from getting it in the first place. This way, you would not have to face the prospect of a possible surgery in case your dog is unable to eliminate it in a natural way.
Here are some steps that you can take in order to keep your dog from getting a hairball:Groom your pet regularly. Constantly cleaning and brushing your pet’s hair will help them get rid of lose and dead hair more effectively. If your dog has a medium hair you need to brush them at least once a day before they go to bed. A dog with a longer hair will need to be brushed twice a day especially during the shedding season. Make sure to throw the hairs in a bin that they will not be able to reach or open.Provide a diet healthy in essential oils. Essential oils are those which help to maintain the shine, luster and strength of your pet’s fur and they include fish, meats, and some vegetables. Make sure that they are getting a sufficient amount of these through natural foods or by giving them Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acid supplements.Treat their allergies if they have any. If your dog is biting and chewing his skin constantly, chances are he may be suffering from an allergy and is manifesting itself through skin conditions. Have him checked upon by your vet for any type of allergy and make sure to avoid any situation in which they will be exposed to allergens such as pollen, plastics, and certain types of foods.Give your pet sufficient water. A healthy gut needs sufficient hydration and this can come only if you are giving your dog enough water. Water in the stomach will also help assure a smoother elimination for your pet. The amount that your pet needs will vary from case to case and will depend on their activity level, weather, age, breed, etc. Make sure to ask your vet about this.Provide your pet with sufficient stimulation. Since boredom can cause your dog to lick his fur incessantly, it is therefore important to provide him with enough physical or mental activity to keep his mind occupied. Give him a chew toy and make sure that you spend enough time playing or going on walks with him to prevent boredom or even anxiety. Bonding with your dog is just as important as giving him a place to stay and food to eat.Hairballs are not an exclusive phenomenon to cats only, even dogs can get them and they can pose a serious risk to their health if left unattended.A dog can get hairballs by excessively licking and chewing their skin and which in turn, can be caused by allergies, boredom, or flea and tick problems. Your dog is also prone to having hairballs during the shedding season especially if they are left to groom on their own. Hairballs can develop into stiff and hard masses in your dog’s gastrointestinal tract and can puncture or rupture their stomach. Make sure that you look well after your dog in order to avoid this situation and lose your pet forever.
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