# How do you prevent your dog from drinking sea water at the beach.



## thorbreafortuna (Jun 9, 2013)

Hi all
Summer is in full swing and it's beach season. I have a couple of nearby beaches where I can take Thor, plus we have our plans to spend a week at Duck NC where dogs can be off leash at the beach according to the town's website (so exciting!). Thor loves the water and I anticipate we'll spend a lot of time at the beach. However, I do worry about him drinking too much of the sea water. Last summer I took him to the beach a couple of times and he had diarrhea from the salt water. If we are there 7 days in a row this could become a serious issue. I know that many here regularly take their dogs to the beach, so I'm hoping to hear how they do in this respect. So far my only strategy is to make sure he has drinking water before I let him close to the sea water, and that I have plenty of it to offer throughout the day. Any more tips?


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

Maverick was never into drinking the sea water, thankfully. He has had a few gulps because of play but otherwise he looks to the portable water bowl for a drink.

Make sure to offer Thor as often as possible at the beach to quench his thirst with fresh water instead.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Max has been to the beach many times and drinking the ocean water has never been a problem. We make sure we have plenty of bottled water and a bowl available for him when he gets thirsty. He is usually too busy retrieving his ball or chasing the birds to stop and drink the sea water.


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## Jessie'sGirl (Aug 30, 2010)

We spend almost half our summer near a beach. Sea water tastes yucky and most dogs will not drink enough of it to cause a problem. 
I agree with the have lots of water on hand idea. 
We also don't take our boy to the beach during the hotter times of the day. We walk on the beach early in the morning and then in the evening. We generally stay away in the afternoons. The sun reflecting off the sand and water will intensify the heat.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

More than the salt water, I've found the assorted seaweed, shells and dead creatures at the high tide line can be irresistible for them and result in the 3:00 am retching and throwing up. Our Zeke was a roller and could find a dead fish or bird and roll in it before we knew what was happening.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I live on the NC Coast, I have a small beach at the end of my road and take my guys swimming in the Inter Coastal Waterway, it's salt water. 

I take water with me for them when we go. I keep a close eye on them to make sure they're not drinking the water. 

My bridge boy always swallowed too much salt water when he would go for his ball in the water. The salt water will definitely do a job on them. 

My guys are usually pretty thirsty after they've been swimming too even though I take water. They're usually too busy swimming to take a drink.

I live South of the OBX, the area I'm in is called the Crystal Coast or the SOBX.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Our dogs don't drink it but a side effect of retrieving in water is some gets in there and can cause digestive upset. After a particularly scary episode with Jack a few years ago we now take pedialyte to the beach with us and encourage them to drink that. We also give pedialyte that night to counter act any negative effects. It seems to work pretty well.


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## Katduf (Mar 10, 2013)

Stormy used to take a couple of gulps of seawater and then about 30 mins later it would pass out of her in one go, and a vomit about an hour after that. She soon stopped doing it and now she's careful not to take a gulp. When they are retrieving in salt water some is going to be ingested, but rarely enough to cause a problem. I keep them playing on the sand only for the last 1/2 hour after surf swimming just in case. Salt water passes out of them pretty quickly. I have to keep them away from any seaweed in the water though, they seem to love it. You're going to have a ball though, and nothing says happiness more than watching goldens romping freely on a beach. It's their heaven on earth.





















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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> I live on the NC Coast, I have a small beach at the end of my road and take my guys swimming in the Inter Coastal Waterway, it's salt water.
> 
> I take water with me for them when we go. I keep a close eye on them to make sure they're not drinking the water.
> 
> ...


My Toby also swallows too much salt water retrieving balls,but since he is almost blind he often snaps at the water thinking it's a ball coming. He will not drink it voluntarily. One taste was all it took to cure him. My husband and I call the ingestion of too much sea water an easy colonoscopy prep. :uhoh: 

Yogi's had 2 beach adventures so far in his young life. His first taste of sea water was at Waveland MS. That cured him. When we took him to Galveston a few months later he didn't even try to swallow it. 

We carry a portable water bowl for the boys on the beach.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Keep on eye on your dog if he's digging in the sand, one of our members, Merlin's Mom had to take her boy to the Vet when they were on Vacation on the OBX several years ago because he ingested too much sand. 

Here's her thread-

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retrievers-main-discussion/85192-scare-beach.html

The sun is going to be strong, you should have a good breeze on the OBX, but the dew points and humidity levels will be high. If you have a tent you can set up on the beach to get out of the sun for awhile that would be a good idea. Or limit the amount of time you're on the beach to get out of the sun for a period of time. You don't want Thor getting dehydrated or get sun stroke, you as well.


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## thorbreafortuna (Jun 9, 2013)

Thank you all! Some really good ideas here. I'll definitely bring Pedialite, good tip. I do have a tent which I was planning to bring, and will avoid the hottest hours. Our rental is supposed to be one minute from the beach so I expect we'll go back and forth to get out of the midday sun at least. I am super excited!


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