Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 4, 2013 at 9:45pm

I am so sorry to hear this.  Please don't fall into the trap of thinking it's a short-leg thing (as implied in the reddit thread).  Plenty of tall dogs have also suffocated in bags.  Corgi legs are short, but they are perfectly capable of reaching their heads with their paws.  Several things can go on.

1) As a rule, dogs use their noses, not their paws, to manipulate their environment.  Toss a towel over your dog's head and watch what it does.  Using a paw to knock it off is not even on the list of things my dogs try.  They try shaking their heads and rubbing on the floor, but not using their paws.   A dog with his head in a bag does not have much time at all to problem-solve, and if "use your paw" would be attempt # 4 on their list, sadly they won't last that long.   Chances are good, actually, that he will try the first thing that comes to mind and just keep repeating it.

2) Depending on the bag, they can actually pick up a static charge with the fur, making it hard to dislodge.

3) Many owners have found their dogs dead with absolutely no sign of any struggle or even panic;  the dog may be so engrossed in eating that by the time he realizes he's running out of air, he's already getting dizzy and confused and never makes any attempt to get out.  Some people have lost the dog while they are home, a sure sign that there was never a major struggle.

http://www.examiner.com/article/warning-suffocation-risk-for-pets

We now cut up all bags before throwing them out.  

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ingrid & Ein on April 4, 2013 at 10:13pm

Ah, good to know. The reason why I assumed it was a leg length thing was because I had actually never heard of this danger until I got a corgi myself and read about it on mycorgi. But it totally makes sense that it would affect dogs of all shapes and sizes---and actually now that I think of it, I've seen Ein put her paws up to her face plenty of times, so yeah, their legs can reach. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Linda on April 4, 2013 at 10:24pm

How very sad for them.  I've had dogs all my life and I had never heard of that happening before I read it on here. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on April 4, 2013 at 11:18pm

I almost posted about this yesterday just to also remind people to keep ANY type of chip bags well out of reach. Yesterday I came home to find that Frankin had opened up my backpack and pulled out a 1/2 sandwich and a bag of chips. The chips were open on the ground and I about had a heart attack picturing the horror I could have come home to. I got really lucky yesterday and it was another reminder how easily something like this can happen. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Miranda~ Moses | Maya | Maverick on April 4, 2013 at 11:19pm

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of Murphy passing away just this way. Very sad to hear it happened again. No one should ever have to experience that kind of sudden loss. Hug our babies a little tighter tonight.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ingrid & Ein on April 5, 2013 at 1:11am

:( So sad, I'm sorry to hear that!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diane on April 4, 2013 at 11:24pm

Every time I read about this happening (which seems like too much!) it just breaks my heart....   I'm definitely ultra paranoid about cutting bags up when I throw them away now,  but it would just be sooo easy to forget something one time and  that's all it would take ;-/p>

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on April 4, 2013 at 11:43pm

We had this happen to someone on this site with a corn dog plastic bag I believe. I try to be very careful and at least puncture the bags several times. We keep our garbage can up but I'm sure it can still happen:(  So sad!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Wolff on April 5, 2013 at 2:15pm

PLEASE:  bookmark the following URL and send it to everybody you know and everybody who is getting a new puppy.

Food Bags KILL!

Watch your visitors. They don't know.  Be careful in the car; this accident has happened in cars.

It's worth noting that many human children have died in plastic bags.

Last week, I found an open chip bag on our kitchen counter.  This is a lethal accident waiting to happen; the cat can knock it onto the floor.  This HAS happened.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Napolean (Joan and Gabby) on April 23, 2013 at 2:15am

I just sent this out to my family, remembering just the other night the large Doritos bag left out on the sofa. Just imaging how horrible that would be if Napoleon managed to get to it without anyone seeing him get to the bag and getting trapped in it. As a pup he gulped a piece of apple that almost choked him to death. Still gives me the willys remembering that day.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Leah ~* Tucker* ~ on April 23, 2013 at 1:55am

We also lost a dachshund this way. My extended family thinks I am being unreasonable forcing everyone in the house to chop bags. How do you explain to them the horror of loosing a loved one this way? So many people believe it is rare or just wont happen to their pet.. sad :(

• ▶ Reply