I think the difference is that it was a cloth toy as opposed to a hard toy. I was a little surprised about the vet's instructions also, but we trust our vet and we've also done a lot of research on the internet that support the vet's instructions.

>II missed the fact that you called the vet immediately. My apologies. You have been following the vets instructions, however, I am completely AMAZED that your vet didn't recommend xrays unless he/she made that decision based on the information you provided about the toy and perhaps the vet wanted to wait and see if your pet didn't pass it within a reasonable amount of time.
>
>>We called the vet immediately after it happened and were told that he hoped it would pass, and that we shouldn't do anything unless her habits changed. It's been 2 and a half days and nothing except for some blood that started last night. The vet said it was the toy irritating her stomach, that he was concerned but still hoped it would pass. Judging the size of the toy (I don't understand just how she got that down) and the size of the dog I don't see that happening.
>>
>>>First, take the dog to the vet and see what's going on inside. He/She's going to want to know what kind of toy, what was the toy made of and how long ago did she swallow it? The vet will probably want to do some xrays, so the initial visit won't be cheap.
>>>
>>>Once you have more information, then worry about making a decision.
>>>
>>>>So my dog of almost 2 years swallowed a toy the other day. It hasn't passed and we are worried that it won't. She's starting to have blood in her movements so we're afraid that it won't pass without surgery. At that point we need to decide how much our dog is worth to us, especially with a baby coming. Has anybody had to go through this? How did you handle it? Am I morally obligated to spend what it takes to get my dog healthy again, even if I could more responsibly spend that money on my child's future? FYI: my dog is more like a friend to me than a pet, so I'm not taking this decision lightly. If it's a question of hundreds of dollars, then it's a no brainer to me. If it's thousands then I will have to put more thought into it.