Highlights

ABSTRACT

Keywords

Introduction

Material and methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Policy and ethics

Conflict of interest

CONTRIBUTORSHIP statement

Uncited References:

Acknowledgements

References

ABSTRACT

Foreign body (FB) ingestion in dogs can threaten the animal’s life and often result in an emergency surgery. The causes of pica (ingestion of non-nutritive substance) remain unexplored, although behavioral conditions including hyperactivity, impulsivity, obsessive-compulsive oral/ingestive disorders, anxiety or attachment related troubles have been implicated. Such behavioral causes of pica were investigated with two grids: Lit’s owner-based questionnaire, which measures inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, and Beata’s clinical 4A grid which investigates aggression, anxiety, attachment, and autocontrols of dogs. These grids were fulfilled for 42 FB ingesting dogs and 42 pair-matched control dogs.

The main results show that FB ingestion is rarely related to digestive pain (12% of cases) but is primarily of a behavioural nature (88% of cases). Total Scores from both grids are significantly different between FB and control group (Lit scores: Wilcoxon signed-rank test, W=665.5; p=0.007; 4A: Wilcoxon signed-rank test, W=41; p<0.001). Regular shredding of objects is mainly related to a hyperactivity-impulsivity disorder (Lit total score: Mann-Whitney test, U=99; p=0.02; 4A Autocontrols Scores: Mann-Whitney test, U=35; p<0.001), whereas its absence in FB ingestion suggests anxiety or attachment disorder.

Behavioral pathology should be assessed not only for dogs ingesting non-edible objects, but also for those shredding objects. This exacerbated oral exploration is a sufficient sign for veterinarians to consider a behavioral investigation.

INTRODUCTION

Foreign bodies (FB) ingestion or pica refers to ingestion of non-nutritive, non-food items such as fabric, plastics , sticks or stones (Riva et al., 2008; Overall, 2013). In dogs and cats, intestinal FB are some of the most common causes of obstruction (Papazoglou et al., 2003) and can result in life-threatening complications caused by hypovolemia, toxemia, intestinal necrosis, perforation, or peritonitis (Hayes, 2009; Pratt et al., 2014), especially when the FB are not spherical, i.e., linear or angular (Hobday et al., 2014). The care usually consists in the removal of the FB by endoscopy or surgery and monitoring for possible complications (Lindquist and Lobetti, 2017). Importantly, the causes underlying the FB ingestion are barely investigated or mentioned (Papazoglou et al., 2003; Hayes, 2009; Pratt et al., 2014; Hobday et al., 2014). A recent study indicates that “there are no reports of an apparent underlying reason for the ingestion of the FB” (Lindquist and Lobetti, 2017). Other papers report several causes such as malnutrition, parasites, pancreatic failure, abdominal pain, liver encephalitis, hypothyroidy, anemia, zinc intoxication (Hand et al., 2000) but they do not mention behavioral pathology as possible cause.