It is common for those who spend a day playing with their dogs on the beach to worry if they see that their best friend has drunk seawater, especially when faced with symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea or discomfort. However, what many people are unaware of is that seawater is an excellent natural therapy, which is currently growing.
In this article on our site we will explain how to recognize and what to do when faced with seawater poisoning in dogs, but we would also like to detail some of the advantages of introducing seawater into your daily life. day.
My dog has drunk seawater, what could happen?
What could be nicer than taking our dog to the beach to watch him run and have fun? Few things make us happier than seeing them "smile". But what happens when our dog swallows seawater? Can you be intoxicated? These are the questions that we are usually asked in the office when owners consider taking their pet to the beach. Sometimes, the arrival of the waves causes them a challenge and they seek to bite them and, because of this, they swallow water.
Let's go by parts, the ingestion of sea water can be beneficial for your he alth, there are currently therapies where they are recommended, but everything in its proper measure and with the necessary time to get the body used to it.
However, if our dog has never drunk seawater and suddenly drinks 1 liter of it in its natural state, it is not that it becomes intoxicated, but that the body will respond to something foreign that has entered it. We can have vomiting, diarrhoea and a state of general malaise, similar to intoxication. Sometimes, it can also happen with animals that are used to drinking small amounts of seawater and, by ingesting a large amount at once, we will have the same results.
Symptoms and treatments
If you think your dog may have ingested a large amount of seawater, you should be on the lookout for possible symptoms. Below we explain the most frequent symptoms of seawater poisoning in dogs:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Apathy
- Reluctance
- Fever
These are some of the possible results of drinking too much seawater. This can scare us and it is important to go to the vet to assess the degree of seriousness. An animal with vomiting and diarrhea tends to become dehydrated quickly and, depending on its weight and age, can become fatal if not treated urgently.
Especially if we observe very serious symptoms of discomfort, it will be essential to go to the emergency specialist. We recommend you follow this step by step:
- We will place the dog in a shady place without overwhelming him or shouting.
- We will try to get him to drink bottled water but we won't force him if he doesn't want to
- We will go to the veterinary center.
- You will be rehydrated depending on the severity, either by serum or bottled water.
- Possible use of antiemetics (to stop vomiting), which should be evaluated by a professional. Personally I don't recommend it as it is better to get the seawater out of the body, so vomiting is necessary.
- Antidiarrheals (same concept as above).
- Strict diet, prescribed by a professional.
- Temperature control, as it can lead to infection.
Seawater as therapy
So that seawater poisoning does not occur, we must know how to apply it and for what uses it is recommended. Once we have the seawater we must make a big difference between: pure (hypertonic) or diluted(isotonic).
If it's pure we can dilute it, since we don't want them to stop drinking water because they don't like it. The proportion will be 1/3 sea water and 2/3 fresh water (tap or bezoya). They should take maximum 20 ml per day The adaptation will always be slow but effectively there will be no intoxication possible.
Another way of administering it in very malnourished or anorexic animals, to avoid intoxication due to lack of adaptation of the body, would be subcutaneously, always applied by a veterinarian. The uses and benefits in our animals can be:
- Liver problems
- Skin lesions (through gauze)
- Gastrointestinal, blood and respiratory disorders
- Anorexy
- Kidney disorders
The uses are multiple and throughout the body, since acts by regenerating cells.
Seawater marks
The ones we recommend range from the natural brand or harvested naturally from the sea, if we are lucky enough to live near it, and the " industrial or packaged ".
Those of us who live near the sea must take certain precautions to avoid poisoning by microorganisms such as E. coli, among others. We must enter an area where we know that it is not the mouth of a sewer with human waste. Once the correct area is identified, it is not necessary to go into the sea, from the shore we can also take it. There are different options:
- Let's go into the sea with a closed drum to submerge it and uncover it in the water, so we will fill it more easily. It can also be from the shore.
- We can let it decant in a cool, dark place for a week.
- We can strain it with a coffee filter.
Within the industrial brands we can highlight:
- Quinton Laboratories
- Biomaris
- Lactoduero
