The Dog Ate my Homework


What do dogs eat? If your dog is like Kelly, just about anything. Unfortunately, sometimes dogs get into things they shouldn't. Our year-old Dalmatian once got into an entire giant gift-sized Hershey's kiss. He was so sick afterwards, but recovered. We were lucky--even smaller amounts of chocolate are unhealthy for dogs.

My mom once baked a beautiful cake and, knowing her Black Lab could reach up onto the counter, she put the entire finished and frosted cake back inside the cold oven for safekeeping, and went out on an errand. When she returned, her dog was lying on the floor, belly bulging, with cake crumbs and the empty pan beside him. Somehow he'd figured out how to open the oven door.

It's not just food that tempts dogs either. A friend's German Shorthaired Pointer once ate a leather wallet, complete with cash and IDs. According to an article by Corky Siemaszko in the New York Daily News, a New York veterinarian has compiled a list of the top 10 items that dogs swallow (when they shouldn't):

1. socks
2. underwear
3. pantyhose
4. rocks
5. balls
6. chew toys
7. corn cobs
8. bones
9. hair ties
10. sticks

What has your dog swallowed?

Tail's End: My cooking isn't great, but it's got to taste better than a sock.