Corn cobs are not meant for dogs

Corn cobs can be a serious threat to the health of your dog when eaten. Let’s learn why.

Dogs do like to chew on these after we humans finish with them as a buttery, salty part of dinner; they like that taste. Problem is, dogs are not the correct species of animal where the cob itself can be utilized as part of the diet and actually digest it. See, the difference is a cow (cobs are fed to them purposely) has the correct type of stomach to digest the cob, while a dog has a different type of stomach that cannot. The kernels only are digestible if cooked for a dog, while the cob isn’t, cooked or not.
Our record here at the hospital is 13 corn cobs in one dog's stomach removed at surgery. Dogs will chew on a cob or swallow a whole one, and it can lodge in their intestine; that will require emergency surgery to unblock this life threatening intestinal obstruction. They used to be tricky to diagnose, but with ultrasound, relatively easy to find these days.
How these dogs will present will be with a lack of appetite, vomiting frequently and very lethargic or tired. Their intestinal tract is obstructed and nothing can pass by, so everything builds up behind the blockage. When that happens, everything that's consumed will tend to come back up (vomiting), and they will become very dehydrated and ill. Surgery is required to solve the problem.
So, keep the leftover corn cobs away from your dogs as too many a dog has gone early to heaven after consuming one.
Many people do not realize this, so share with your friends to help prevent a potentially serious problem in dogs.
Thanks to Andy Roark, DVM for the photo.