#and also it helps lower the acidity a bit so it doesn’t make tummy hurt

[elprupneerg]

1% milk is stupid. Doesn’t have the fats in 2% (or higher) that make baking work out well. Doesn’t have the no-fat qualities that make whatever weirdos who drink skim happy. Genuinely a confusing beverage/baking ingredient/coffee additive to sell because it’s bad at all of those

[alounuitte]

these will have an intro and also be connected, Eventually,

#emeto warn 

Sora goes quiet, frowning, and hunches his shoulders. “Sora?” Riku asks, leaning closer. “Are you okay?”

“I dunno,” he says, biting his lip. “I don't think I feel good.”

“What's wrong?” Kairi asks, setting down the blocks she's been working on putting together. “Does it hurt?”

Sora shakes his head. “My head’s all hot and fuzzy. And my tummy feels wrong.” He wraps his arms around himself, pouting a little as he stares at the ground.

“You want me to get your mom?” Riku asks, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Sora nods mutely and rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands. Riku jumps to his feet and runs out to the hall, his footsteps rushing down the stairs and fading. Kairi scoots closer to Sora, resting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

“My head feels kinda funny, too,” she says. “Maybe it's getting too hot?”

“Yeah, maybe,” he agrees. “I was okay when I got up.”

He looks down at his hands, fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt.

“Um,” he says after a moment, “I think - I think I might -”

He breaks off with a choked noise, his face going pale, and goes to cover his mouth a little too late before he throws up into his hands and down the front of his shirt.

“Ew!” Kairi squeaks, screwing up her face as her own stomach does a backflip.

“Oh,” he says, his lip trembling, holding his hands away from himself as tears well up in his eyes. Kairi gingerly pats his shoulder, trying not to look at the mess dripping from his fingers. He whimpers, biting down on his lower lip to keep from crying.

“Hey, kiddo,” his mom calls from the hallway as Riku appears in the door again. “What's up? Riku said you're not…”

She stops in the doorway as she comes into the room. “He threw up,” Kairi tells her. Sora's whimpering turns into a miserable wail as he starts to cry.

“Aw, honey,” his mom says, and hurries over to help him to his feet, leaning in to kiss the top of his head. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”

He nods, sniffling, and she takes him out of the room to the bathroom down the hall.

“Poor Sora,” Kairi says. “Being sick during summer break sucks.”

“Yeah,” Riku agrees. “He’ll probably be okay, though. Maybe he just ate his breakfast too fast.”

She hunches her shoulders. “I hope so,” she says, but she's not convinced. She's been feeling off most of the morning, too, and now she's starting to get a little queasy herself.

Down the hall, Sora’s stopped crying; all they can hear is the water running in the bath. His mom peeks in the door again with a soft knock and says, “Sorry, you two. You probably ought to head home, it feels like he's running a fever.”

“But Sora’s gonna be lonely,” Riku protests. “I don't mind if he's sick.”

“You'll mind if you get it,” Sora’s mom says as she crosses the room to get his pajamas. “And even if you don't, I bet your parents will.”

“Mom,” Sora yells from down the hall, sounding like he might cry again.

“Just a second, sweetheart,” she replies. “You can come back and play tomorrow if he's feeling better, alright?”

“Mom!” Sora shouts again, and starts coughing, and then retching.

“I think I might throw up, too,” Kairi mumbles as his mom runs out of the room to help him.

“No, you won't,” Riku says. “You just feel like it cause Sora did.”

“How do you know?” she asks. “You said he wasn't sick, either, but he's got a fever. That means he's sick for real.”

“Maybe not,” he argues. “People get feverish when they're puking even if it's not cause they're sick.”

“Hmm,” she says, skeptical.

“Anyways, you wouldn't both get sick at the same time,” he points out. “Even if he's sick and gives it to you, it would be a couple days before you started feeling sick.”

“But I do feel sick,” she protests. “I've been feeling sick since before Sora threw up.”

“Aw, Kai,” Riku says, the smug look vanishing from his face. “You should've said.”

“I didn't want to have to stay home,” she says, curling her knees up to her chest. “I wanted to come play.”

“We could've come to your house instead,” he suggests.

She wrinkles her nose. “Then Sora would've puked in my room. Gross.”

“I guess you're right,” he admits.

As if to drive home the point, Sora starts coughing and heaving again down the hall, and they both grimace at each other. Kairi hiccups and feels something scratchy crawl up her throat as her stomach goes tight. “Oh, no,” she says faintly, swallowing hard. “I, I’m gonna -“

“Kairi?” Riku says, wide-eyed, as she scrambles to her feet, but she doesn’t stop to answer him as she bolts out of the room, her hand pressed over her mouth. Sora’s already in the upstairs bathroom, and still sick from the sound of it, so she runs past and stumbles downstairs, tripping over her feet in her hurry.

She manages to make it to the downstairs bathroom, at least, before she throws up the cereal she had for breakfast, half in the toilet and half on the floor. Acid burns in her nose and throat, and she feels tears stinging her eyes as shame heats up her cheeks. She wraps her arms around her belly and hunches into herself, shivering hard and trying her hardest not to cry.  She wants to sink to the ground, but she can’t even do that without sitting in her own vomit.

“Kairi?” Riku asks, and she lifts her head to see him leaning in the doorway. “Are you okay?”

“I told you I was sick,” she mumbles, and scrubs at her eyes with one hand. “Sora’s mom’s gonna be mad at me.”

“Sora’s mom’s never mad,” Riku assures her. “‘Specially not at you.”

“But, but,” she manages, and whines a little in the back of her throat. “I got it all on the floor and everything.”

“That’s not your fault,” he says, and hugs her. “Nobody’s ever sick on purpose.”

“Don’t hug me,” she tells him. “I think I’m gonna hurl again.”

“Okay,” he says, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Here, move this way a little, so you can sit without getting your clothes messy.” He nudges her to one side, carefully stepping around the mess on the floor. She hugs herself, trembling, and watches as he grabs a fistful of tissues to wipe off the toilet seat.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpers, and sniffles. “You don’t hafta stay and do that. My dad will probably come get me if I call him.”

“No, you can’t go home,” he protests. “How’m I supposed to keep you both company if you’re in different places?”

She manages to laugh a little about that before her stomach lurches and she doubles over the toilet to throw up some more of her breakfast.

-------

Riku makes a noise in the back of his throat and gulps, wrapping his arms around himself. Kairi frowns, worried. “Aren’t you feeling good, either?” she asks.

He waves a hand quickly and flashes an unconvincing grin. “I’m fine,” he assures her. “Don’t worry about me, you two are the ones who are sick.”

“I can be sick and still worry,” she says.

“Don’t be stupid,” he replies, and sticks out his tongue. “Anyways, I’m the oldest, so I gotta be the one who worries about you guys.”

“That’s dumb,” Sora says, peeking out from under the covers. “Best friends are s’posed to all worry about each other.”

“Not if they don’t need to,” Riku insists. “You’re dumb, I said nothing’s - uh, wrong - urp —“

He claps both his hands over his mouth as he burps, the color draining from his face. Kairi dives to grab the bowl next to her and thrusts it into his lap just in time before he hiccups violently and spews his half-digested breakfast into the bottom of it.

“Now who’s dumb?” Sora asks when he lifts his head.

“Crap,” Riku mumbles thickly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I was gonna be tough. I was gonna keep it together so I could take care of you both while you’re - you’re - ughh…”

He leans over the bowl to puke again, coughing up bits of scrambled eggs. Kairi swallows hard to keep her own stomach under control as she pats his shoulder; Sora, looking pale, groans as he pushes himself up to grab the bowl that’s next to his bed before he’s sick as well.

“Hey,” Sora’s mom says from the door. “I brought you guys some ginger ale, and crackers to try when you’re not - oh, no, you too, champ?”

Riku nods, hunching his shoulders and clutching the bowl tightly.

Sora’s mom leans down to ruffle up his hair. “How about this,” she says. “The three of you can come downstairs and camp out in the living room, and put on a movie to help cheer you up, and I’ll call your parents and let them know what’s going on.”

[forlovedogs11]

So, your dog ate chicken bones and you’re all worried and what not. It’s perfectly understandable. Any caring parent would be worried, and there is, indeed, some merit to your worry. There are actually a number of complications that can arise from a dog eating chicken bones.

Why It Is Bad News That Your Dog Ate Chicken Bones

It might sound a little funny that dogs whom we know to love and cherish bones should be in a precarious situation from eating chicken bones. 

The truth is that dogs have no problems processing bones, including chicken bones, or more correctly, especially chicken bones. In fact, most times, chicken bones will dissolve the moment they come in contact with your dog’s highly acidic stomach. Before you know it, they pass out the bone without event in a matter of hours. Pork and beef bones, on the other hand, are much more difficult to process and might even cause disease.

That said, according to PetMD, there are still some potential hazards dogs who ingest chicken bones might face. Note that such cases are a rarity but they do happen anyway. Also, they mostly involve cooked chicken bones.

1. Potential Obstruction

In comparison to raw bones, cooked bones are understandably softer. However, some bones (like the thigh bone, for instance) can still be a bit large relative to the dog’s size. If in trying to swallow such bone, the bone fails to successfully go down, it could get stuck in the esophagus.

In such cases, this blockage can lead to drooling, gagging, and retching in the affected dog.

Other times, the bone might not get stuck in the esophagus but at the back of the throat or the pharynx. Such a case is considered an emergency as the dog begins to show symptoms such as trouble breathing and heavy coughing.

2. Tearing Of The Gastrointestinal Tract

Chicken bones tend to splinter quite easily. If swallowed, the dog risks the chicken bone tearing his esophagus and intestinal tract.

3. Bacterial Contamination

The risks for bacterial contamination become higher if said chicken bone is uncooked. Usually, the bacterial infection is caused by Salmonella.

4. Gut Impaction

If a dog has consumed a lot of bones, these bones might cluster together to form a ball that blocks the intestine. Consequences of such blockage are quite serious for a number of reasons.

In the first place, since food can no longer pass through, your dog begins to vomit. This vomiting, in turn, would lead to dehydration, but that’s not even the worst of it. The ball of clustered bones would, eventually, begin to release toxins which could lead to poisoning.

As you can see, this can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening for your dog. In most cases, your vet would have to carry out a surgical procedure to get the obstruction out before it causes irreversible damage.

5. Constipation

A lot of chicken bones consumed by a dog could also lead to constipation. In mild cases, an enema or laxative may bring relief. However, in extreme cases, your vet might have to physically break down the blockage before your dog can experience some relief. Don’t worry, the procedure requires anesthesia, so your dog won’t be upset much.

6. Peritonitis

Peritonitis is, in essence, an infection of the tummy. If shards from the chicken bone pierce the walls of the intestine, the content of the stomach might leak into the abdomen causing peritonitis. In such a case, surgery is the only way out, and even after that, there are no guarantees.

Can Dogs Eat Chicken Bones?

So, based on all these horror stories you’ve just read, you’re probably wondering if dogs should eat chicken bones at all. Well, the answer is yes and no.

Let’s start with no.

The answer is no if the chicken bone in question is cooked. Cooked chicken bones are more brittle and less elastic than their uncooked counterparts. So, they splinter far more easily when chewed which poses their greatest hazard.

These bone shards can do anything from tearing the gut to causing peritonitis.

On the other hand, raw bones are less risky than cooked bones as they are generally more supple and elastic.

Dogs only partially digest chicken bones and pass the waste out uneventfully in their stool. In fact, even though, on paper, raw chicken bones can cause damage, in reality, the chances are actually quite rare. Why?

For one, they are not as brittle as cooked bones, so there’s a lower risk of splintering. Raw bones are also gentler on the gut than cooked bones. Plus, if the bone contains some meat, the meat could cushion the hardness of the bone making it easier for your dog to digest.

In the video below, Greg Martinez (DVM) explains how chicken bones are safe for your dog as long as he chews them. He also explains that a raw chicken diet might be great for developing healthy teeth in your dog.

What Happens When Your Dog Eats Chicken Bones

A number of things could happen when a dog eats chicken bones – not all of them bad. So, if your dog just ate chicken bones, don’t panic yet. Simply wait and observe. Oftentimes, if there’s something wrong, signs and symptoms will develop between 24 and 120 hours.

So, watch out for the following signs in the 5 days following the day (you think) your dog ate chicken bones.

Inappetence (loss of appetite).

Retching.

Restlessness.

Lethargy.

Diarrhea.

Constipation.

Fever.

Coughing.

Drooling.

If you notice any of the following signs, take your pup to the vet immediately.

What To Do If Your Dog Chokes On A Chicken Bone

If you suspect that a chicken bone is stuck somewhere in the upper airway or in the upper intestinal tract of your dog, then consider it an emergency and treat as such.

First things first, open your dog’s mouth and try to see if you can see the bone or grasp it. If you can, take it out, but gently and carefully so you don’t hurt and distress your dog further. We’d advise you get someone else to do it if you’re too jittery yourself.

If, on the other hand, the bone is not visible, then pay your vet a visit immediately.

However, if there doesn’t seem to be choking, then simply observe and look out for the signs we mentioned in the last subheading. If he’s acting normal, then all is most likely well and there’s nothing to worry about.

My Dog Swallowed A Chicken Bone – Should I Induce Vomiting?

No. You never induce vomiting in your dog whatever your dog might have swallowed and however potentially dangerous you think said substance might be. If you do and you don’t do it right (which is, most likely, what will happen) the bones might scrape and scratch your dog’s throat causing further problems.

In a more unfortunate case, the bone might even get lodged at the back of your dog’s throat which only escalates the problem further. So, leave him be and call your vet if you’re so worried.

Alternatively, if your dog has scavenged a chicken bone (or any other bone) on an empty stomach, it might help to feed them some food. With food now surrounding the bone, the bone might successfully pass through the gut without issues.

Arden Moore, in this video, shares some tips and tricks to help you handle a dog that just ate chicken bones. She emphasizes the need to be calm and not yell at your dog as it might cause him to swallow more quickly. She also demonstrates the proper way to get the bone out of your dog’s mouth safely.

Raw Chicken Diet And Coonhound Paralysis In Dogs

Not to scare you but there’s something you might want to know about feeding your dog raw chicken if your dog is currently on a raw diet.

According to some research currently conducted by a group of scientists in Australia, feeding your dog raw chicken might be a risky move for dog parents.

From the findings of these researchers at the University of Melbourne Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Australia,  there appears to be a link between a raw chicken diet and Coonhound Paralysis.

What Is Coonhound Paralysis?

Coonhound Paralysis is a rare paralytic dog disease also known as acute polyradiculoneuritis. This condition is characterized by damage to the muscles’ nerve supply. As a result, the affected dog becomes paralyzed and cannot move. He also develops some difficulty breathing as well.

Now, while this disease is indeed rare, what troubles the researches is that in 96% of the cases observed, dogs were kept on a raw diet. Furthermore, in all of those cases, all dogs ate raw chicken.

Nothing is concluded yet and research is still ongoing. However, from what the researchers know so far, there’s sufficient evidence to conclude that dogs on a raw chicken diet have higher chances of developing Coonhound paralysis.

There might not be reason to panic yet if your dog currently eats raw chicken as this condition is rare. Nonetheless, it won’t be a bad idea to be on the lookout anyway. Or alternatively, you might want to consider switching to a BARF dog diet instead.