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berner mom asked in PetsDogs · 1 decade ago

Warning about heating vents on floors......?

I just received this email and thought it would be something to pass on to everyone.

''This is a warning of a potentially fatal problem with the heating/air vents located on the floor............

I have central heat/air, with the vents in the floor, often toward the middle of the room. I have been living in this house for TEN YEARS without a thought of the possible danger they present. Then a couple days ago I noticed Dillon lying on the floor and struggling to get up. Since he's a Terv, the first thing I thought of was "he's having a seizure, but he's kind of old for a first seizure ".

However it was far more potentially deadly than that - his tags had somehow fallen through the long skinny narrow openings in the vent and he was about to choke/strangle whilst struggling to get free. Fortunately the ring that held the tags broke and Dillon was then free...........but I shudder to think of what could have happened if I had not been home

Have you heard of this before?

Update:

ADD

This didn't happen to my dog. This happened to a friends dog. I thought this needed to be posted on here as an FYI

Thanks for the stars. I think everyone needs to be aware of this.

Update 2:

ADD 2

My dogs don't have their collars on during the day when they are in the house (both are microchipped)

19 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Thanks for sharing this story -- Dillon is a 'grandson' of mine <g>

  • 1 decade ago

    Wow! I'll be getting my dog soon and the block off portion of the house she'll be staying in does have a vent. Right now we're dog proofing the space so I'll make sure that blocking off the vents or removing her collar is on the list!

    Thank you so much. All those little ifs and buts seem impossible until they happen!

  • 1 decade ago

    What came across my mind when I saw this question was that a dog got it's dew claw stuck in the vent or one of its other claws or toes.

    I think the vents are dangerous and the claws and pads of the paw are also at risk for getting stuck in them.

    That is scary what happened to that dog.

    With some vents small dogs are at risk for getting their whole paw stuck in them and breaking their legs. Say you have a 1 pound puppy they don't have very large legs and their paws could fall through them.

    So yes they are very dangerous to the small dogs and ANY DOG for that matter.

  • 1 decade ago

    I have never heard of this before, but yes it sounds very possible. I'm so glad your dog is okay.

    Would you mind if I share this info with some other dog loving friends?

    Edit: Yes my vents pull right out too and very easily which has to be a good thing.

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  • 1 decade ago

    Wow... I hadn't heard of that, but it makes sense. I did have a couple of instances where my dogs got a toenail stuck in the vent, pulled the vent out and injured themselves. One of my 8lb dogs actually dragged the vent from the laundry room into the living room for me to remove it from her foot. She did break a toe in the process.

    I hate floor vents, but in this house I have no other option. Where I can, I've switched the vents to hardwood ones, as they have bigger gaps, so my dogs smaller toes don't get stuck, but they aren't big enough for a foot to get stuck.

  • 1 decade ago

    Whoa! Jeez no I never heard of that, but wow that is pretty dangerous. I always take my dog's collar off when he's confined to the house (at night time, or when I'm out and he's in his "space"), to give his neck a rest from the collar rubbing on it. But that story is a MUCH better reason.

  • 1 decade ago

    I've never heard of this but it is possible...we use vent covers on our vents..it keep them from getting to the vent itself and it lets the air blow straight out

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Wow! No I haven't

    My dog's collar is very loose so she'd be able to get out no problem but when she is alone I'm going to start taking it off.

    Thanks for the heads up :D

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Wow. No i have never heard of this. But i have herd of other problems like overheating with air vents so we have safety things around them, i cant remember what its called though, sorry.

    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=200803...

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Thanks for the heads up even though I do not have air vents on my floors but Ill make sure I pass this on.

  • 1 decade ago

    Wow that must had been scary!

    I have not heard of this happening before but anything is possible! It's a great post for people who have this type of heating vents!

    Thanks Berner Mom! :)

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