The Hidden Danger: What Happens When Dogs Ingest Bean Bag Balls?

Disclaimer: This article was written based on a discussion with a few veterinary doctors. But take this as a piece of general advice and not medical advice. If your dog eats bean bag balls, meet a veterinary doctor as soon as possible. 

The bean bag is the most trending dog bed these days, but these are filled with bean bags. So you might be wondering what would happen if your dog eats bean bag fillers.

If a dog eats a considerable amount of bean bag balls, it can block the intestinal tract of your dog’s digestive system. These bean bag balls could stop digestion completely, and finally, your dog will stop eating and drinking at all.

Now you may be curious! If you are a dog lover, read the full article. By spending 10 minutes on this article, you can save your dog.

Table of Contents

• Dogs And Bean Bag Fillers
• Symptoms Of Bean Bag Ball Ingestion Of Dogs
• Are Bean Bag Beans Toxic to Dogs?
• What Happens When Your Dog Eats Biodegradable Fillers?
• What Happens Dogs Eat Natural Bean Fillers?
• Final Thoughts

Dogs And Bean Bag Fillers

Generally, most bean bags are filled with expanded polystyrene beads (EPS). Some people call them Styrofoam beads. These thousands of tiny low-density balls are used as bean bag fillers.

Rather than that, cotton, memory foam, and natural fillers are used to fill the bean bag. But about 80% of bean bags and pet bean bags are filled with EPS balls.

However, there is a risk associated with the bean bag fillers. What are those?

Usually, dogs think of everything in your household as toys. Also, they tend to chew some furniture and equipment.

Chewing is the most common behavior of every dog. Mainly it is the usual thing when their teeth start to develop.

As a result, dogs can chew and tear up your bean bag. It is dangerous. The thousands of beanballs may spill out and mess up your whole room.

Further, the EPS balls have a static charge. So, there is a high possibility to inhale them into your dog’s respiratory tract.

Moreover, dogs may tend to eat these EPS balls. If this type of incident happens, you may face huge trouble!

Symptoms Of Bean Bag Ball Ingestion Of Dogs

Expanded polystyrene beads are a kind of plastic. They are made from styrene monomers. So they will not digest in the intestinal tract. Thus, eating bean bag fillers can badly influence your dog’s health.

Think, what happens if your dog eats a considerable amount of plastic or polythene? The EPS balls will accumulate in the dog’s intestinal tract and block it. It may cause arise harsh feel and an uncomfortable state.

Also, if your dog’s intestinal tract is blocked, it cannot eat or drink any other food or water. Hence, the dog will lose its appetite. If your dog stops eating or drinking anything, you can identify the severity.

Does your dog vomit? Or else try to vomit?

Then take this as seriously. Ingesting a large amount of bean bag fillers may cause the death of your dog. Thus, pay full attention to this matter.

If you notice that your dog eats some EPS balls, immediately carry him to a vet. They will scan and say the severity. Do not keep the dog at home without doing anything.

If your dog eats a small amount of Styrofoam, it is not a severe case. They will remove from the body with fecal matter. The small amount means just a few balls. So, understand this point!

Are Bean Bag Beans Toxic to Dogs?

In the above paragraphs, we discussed non-toxic bean fillers. However, many customers do not know the compound used to make their bean bags.

Also, some manufacturers use cheap quality fillers. I always ask you to check quality standards before buying bean bags. If you are not concerned about them, the inexpensive ones can cause massive trouble in the future.

Thus, this is a serious matter!

Think you purchase bean bags from the market, and their fillers contain the toxic compound. This is a bit okay until it is not digestible to your dogs.

But understand this. The bean bag filled with hazardous material is not suitable to sit on. However, the severity will double when your loving dog digests these balls.

There are some cases recorded about the beanballs digested dogs. One dog shows the symptoms just after two months. That can happen. How?

If your dog digests any beanballs containing toxic compounds, it may show the symptoms sooner than two months, significantly if your dog’s liver is affected. A good, experienced vet can say this liver damage situation by inspecting the dog’s blood reports.

Further, they can easily say your dog’s status by inspecting the bilirubin level of the blood. Bilirubin is a compound that occurs in red blood cells.

However, if your dog ingests any toxic compound, its liver takes bilirubin from the blood and passes it through the poop as bile. 

So, if your dog’s bilirubin level is high, the case is severe. It is a sign of breaking down the red blood cells at a phenomenal rate.

What Happens When Your Dog Eats Biodegradable Fillers?

Some bean bag fillers are made with biodegradable material. Some people use starch-based packing peanuts to fill their bean bags. So, if your dog eats biodegradable fillers, the risk will reduce.

Because the biodegradable fillers easily dissolve with the water. Hence, it is harmless. However, if your dog eats lots of them, it will take time to dissolve. Until it dissolves, your dog will suffer from stomach pain.

As a result, your dog may show a bit of aggressive and painful behavior. Thus, do not wait whether they eat biodegradable ones or not. Immediately meet the vet doctor. They will give the treatments to recover your favorite friend.

However, if your dog ingests a small amount of the biodegradable bean fillers, it will not block their intestinal tract. You can quickly notice this from their feedback. So, if they show some unusual behaviors, go for the treatments.

Shall I say a small trick? You can check whether your bean bag filler is biodegradable or not by doing a small activity. Take a jug filled with water and add a few fillers to it. Then see the reaction while stirring it.

Do fillers dissolve? Then it is a biodegradable one.

However, if your dog inhaled these biodegradable bean bag fillers, meet the doctor as soon as possible because filler ball dissolving does not happen quickly.  

However, the EPS balls, Styrofoam, and memory foam do not belong to the biodegradable category.

What Happens Dogs Eat Natural Bean Fillers?

Beans, rice, and many more natural seeds fill bean bags. The food-grade fillers do not contain any toxic compounds.

But, there is a risk. These natural seeds also can block the intestinal tract. Also, uncooked seeds are not easy to digest. Because of these reasons, they can accumulate in your dog’s stomach and can cause pain.

Most probably, this may not be a fatal effect. But it is better to meet a vet and take some advice.

Final Thoughts

Dogs are the most precious gift given by god. They provide genuine love and loyalty. Thus, as a dog’s owner, you must care for them. Do not let lose your best friend because of beanballs. 

If you notice whether your dog eats beanballs, immediately take advice and treatments from the vet.