06/29/2022
Copied and pasted from another list….. this has not happened to my pups….. yet!
PSA ❤️ Warning: This is a sad but important story.
This is a hard post for me to write, fighting back tears. But with warmer temperatures and heat warnings in the forecast again - it’s time now to post something that’s been on my mind for the last year. WATER INTOXICATION. Something I’d heard about but until the heat dome a year ago, evidently didn’t know enough about… and I’m betting that a lot of other dog folk likewise don’t know what we need to know about this potentially fatal condition.
I found out what I didn’t know about water intoxication when one of Kai’s pups succumbed to this killer during last year’s heat dome. I received a phone call from his mom & dad that absolutely broke my heart. They had followed all the advice that had come out in the media (social and otherwise) just before the heat dome... but it was all about avoiding heat stroke in your dog. Advising dog owners to keep their dogs cool. No mention of the risks of water intoxication. And what better way to keep your dog cool than to play in the water with them? So they did. And thought they were doing the right thing. And when they noticed that their poor little guy wasn’t quite right, they assumed it was heat exhaustion. As did the first vet they saw… she referred them to a critical care vet several hours away… and by the time they reached someone who actually thought to diagnose water intoxication, it was too late.
I have so many regrets about what I didn’t know and didn’t think to caution my puppy owners about. And I think about all the times I’ve probably let my girls paddle around for too long, and I’m so grateful there’s been no ill effects. Now I limit them to 20 min in the water.
As you can read in all the articles on it, water intoxication is thankfully, not common. If it were, we’d all be more aware of it. I’ve read a couple articles that suggest that water dogs are not at as high risk, but just IMO, any dog that has high drive around water and balls is at high risk. With hot weather approaching again, please be aware, and please spread the word. Please share this Information.
What have I learned through this sad experience? There are a few key things for dog guardians to consider if their dog has been in the water and begins to act oddly:
- if the dog has been in the water, think WATER INTOXICATION - not just heat exhaustion
- if the vet doesn’t bring it up - ASK! “COULD THIS BE WATER INTOXICATION?”
- if you’re travelling, think ahead, find out what vets are available, or on-call, and write down contact numbers before you travel, so precious minutes aren’t wasted.
- most importantly, no matter how much your dog begs you to keep throwing the ball, limit time in the water.
Thank you for reading through this and I hope, helping get the word out. As I’ve said, please feel free to share this post.
RIP Benny ❤️
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