Q: Our dog Dudley loves his plush toys. The problem is that after playing with one for months, he'll get sick of it, tear it to pieces and eat it. We all thought this was pretty funny until the last time, when he vomited up a whole plush toy in front of our dinner guests. Is there anything I can do to keep him from swallowing toys? He loves them so much!

A: Great story. I can just picture a pink bunny making a grand entrance (exit?) at a swanky dinner party. It may have been embarrassing but you should count yourself lucky that the toy re-emerged via his oral cavity and not through a surgical slice in his abdomen.

Dogs who eat plush toys are often serial offenders. They may go months or years without eating one then one day -- gulp -- and down it goes. This kind of behavior is perfectly normal in the canine world. After all, it's what would happen after a long session of ripping and tearing of meat, if you'd given him a hunk of fibrous stuff to work on instead of a chew toy.

That's why it amazes me when I observe what passes for dog toys these days. The toy aisle at my local pet supply store looks more like a collection of things I've extracted from dogs' innards than it does a smorgasbord of canine delight. But then, my perspective is probably somewhat warped after years of cutting out the darn things.

But that doesn't mean plush toys can't be safely enjoyed by some dogs. The kind of simple chewing and companionship a plush toy can provide gives some dogs a focus for their masticatory energy and a pillow, too.

Nonetheless, it should not be considered entertainment when a dog ingests an item. Every dog who's suspected to have done so needs to see a veterinarian to determine whether the item is too large to exit the stomach or offers the potential for intestinal obstruction.

In these cases, inducing vomiting may be helpful, but the size, shape and sharpness of the object will determine whether that's a safe possibility or not. If not, passing an endoscope with a grasping tool (under anesthesia) may be possible -- and it's a far less invasive option than surgery.

In any case, toy eaters must adapt to the unswallowable variety of playthings. No more plush toys for you, Dudley!

Dr. Patty Khuly has a veterinary practice in South Miami and blogs at www.dolittler.com. Send questions to khulyp@bellsouth.net, or Dr. Dolittler, Tropical Life, The Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132.

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