The seven-month-old pooch was play fighting with another dog over the bath toy, but when he began losing he preferred swallowing the plastic prize to giving it up.

His owner Adam Townsend of Cubbington said: "I just couldn't believe my eyes."

At first Ozzie seemed unaffected, but when he began vomiting Mr Townsend took Ozzie to vets at Avonvale Veterinary Hospital in Warwick.

They were amazed when they saw the dog's x-ray.

Surgeon Emily Burton said: "The duck must have begun to irritate Ozzie's stomach lining and, due to its shape, he would not have been able to pass it back out on his own.

"This could have been very serious as the stomach would have been blocked and continued vomiting would have led to him becoming dangerously dehydrated.

"We operated to remove the duck and Ozzie was back to his usual energetic self in no time."

Vet Hannah Ferguson, who followed up Ozzie's treatment, said: "It's not uncommon for dogs to swallow strange objects, although they tend to chew them into little bits first.

"We did once have a Labrador which swallowed its entire bed, but Ozzie's is certainly the most entertaining x-ray we've ever seen."