My Dog Swallowed String: Why You Must Not Pull It

If you can see string hanging from your dog's mouth, do not pull it. The far end may be anchored in the intestine, and pulling can saw through the gut.

There is one rule on this page that is worth knowing before you ever need it, because the instinct to do the wrong thing is almost irresistible.

If you see string, thread, fishing line, dental floss, ribbon or tinsel hanging out of your dog's mouth or looped under its tongue, do not pull it.

Why not

Because the other end is often a long way down, anchored in the stomach or caught in the intestine. When you pull on it, the gut concertinas along the thread like a curtain gathering on a rod, and the taut line saws through the intestinal wall from the inside.

It is one of the most damaging things an owner can do with entirely good intentions, and it is a genuine surgical emergency.

If a long piece is trailing and your dog is calm, you may cut what is visible flush with the lip so no more can be swallowed. Then go straight to the vet. Cats get these more often than dogs and the rule is identical, so it is worth knowing for the whole household.

First, can your dog breathe?

If it is gasping, making choking noises, or the tongue and gums are turning blue, this is no longer an object-in-mouth problem. Go to choking first aid immediately.

If it is breathing but uncomfortable, carry on here. This is urgent rather than instant.

Look before you reach

Open the mouth gently and actually look: the gums, the roof of the mouth, between the teeth, and under the tongue. A small loop of thread under the tongue is the classic finding and it is easy to miss unless you lift it.

Do not put your fingers in to feel around blindly. A distressed dog bites, and blind poking pushes objects further back, turning something manageable into a blocked airway.

If you can see a non-string object clearly and your dog will let you, blunt-ended tweezers or pliers are reasonable. A stick jammed across the roof of the mouth between the upper molars is very common after a game of fetch, and often comes out easily.

If you cannot see it clearly, stop and go to the vet.

Fish hooks

Do not pull a fish hook out of a lip or a tongue. The barb is designed to anchor backwards, so pulling tears a much bigger hole than the one you started with.

Cut the line, leave the hook where it is, and let a vet remove it properly under sedation.

What to watch for

• Pawing at the mouth, rubbing the face along the floor, opening and closing the mouth repeatedly
• Drooling, sometimes tinged with blood
• Gagging, retching, or swallowing over and over
• Visible string under the tongue
• A stick wedged across the roof of the mouth
• Head shaking, or pawing at one particular side of the face
• Suddenly refusing food or water when it was eating normally an hour ago

Go even if it comes out

Two reasons. First, an object that has been wedged in a mouth leaves cuts to the gums, tears in the tongue and sometimes splinters driven into the soft tissue, none of which you can assess by looking.

Second, and more importantly: check whether what came out is all of it. A chewed bone, a fragment of toy or a splintered stick often arrives in pieces, and the missing piece is somewhere. If the object is not intact, assume the rest is still in your dog until an X-ray says otherwise.

And do not offer food or water afterwards until a vet has looked. Eating can drive a partly-lodged object further in, or restart bleeding from a cut tongue.

Sources

This article was written using guidance from PDSA, the UK's largest veterinary charity, whose Pet Health Hub is written by its own vets and nurses; AVMA, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the professional body representing US veterinarians; and VCA Animal Hospitals, a North American hospital network with an extensive, vet-written pet health library. This guidance is for general information and does not replace a consultation with your own veterinarian. In an emergency, always contact a vet. Read [how we write our health guidance](https://rochsociety.com/how-we-write-our-health-guidance/). Last reviewed July 2026.