# Help! Excessive thirst after beach



## puppydogs (Dec 6, 2010)

She drank some ocean water today after playing at the beach. Came home and was super thirsty. 

Finally threw up water and had liquid diarrhea. She is still asking for more water. Her tummy is hard but not distended and her gums are more pale than usual.

Called the vet tech who conferred with a vet - suggested I space out the water to every hour and closely monitor her. So far she is ok (sleeping). 

I'm kind of still freaking out about "salt poisoning" and "bloat" that comes up on google search. Anyone have experience with beach sickness in your dog? How much longer? I feel like a terrible mom


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

The salt in the water is likely making her "bloated". After I eat a lot of salt (McDonalds last night to cleanse my system) I feel bloated and drink a lot. Salt will also make you thirsty and give you the runs. So, I would just monitor intake and dont allow her to drink more then a cup at a time just so shes not making herself sick. Obviously if she gets worse go to the vet


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Brooks drank a bit of the ocean water too when we took him to the beach, and i seem to remember a little diarrhea too afterward


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## Capt Jack (Dec 29, 2011)

Jack & Sweetie have both done this I just let them have plenty of fresh water & feed them bread the diareia usually goes away by the next day & they're fine.Don't feel bad she'll be fine.This is one I know about.The scarry one is when they get hold of a red jellyfish


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Puppydogs*

As far as bloat is concerned, if she starts trying to vomit and go #2 and nothing is happening, if her gums are not pink, by white or grayish, and if she is either pacing or listless, get her to the vet immediately. There is information on bloat here.
http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo...et/bloat.htm&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13550947476084

I would keep a very close eye on her and if she acts strangely, get her to the emergency animal hospital.


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## Tennyson (Mar 26, 2011)

Mick's 1st time at the beach he drank salt water. I never saw a rearend spray like his did. It was like a sandblaster. He drank regular water and was okay. Gave him some bread as well.
They learn fast not to try to drink the ocean dry.


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## puppydogs (Dec 6, 2010)

Tennyson said:


> Mick's 1st time at the beach he drank salt water. I never saw a rearend spray like his did. It was like a sandblaster. He drank regular water and was okay. Gave him some bread as well.
> They learn fast not to try to drink the ocean dry.


This made me laugh. Sprayed sandblaster!! 

Thank you all for the advice. So far her tummy is no longer as hard. Phew! Was wondering how all the dogs we see out at the beach don't have issues with salte water. Is there a way to teach them not to drink it? I'm hoping she'll learn from today not to do it again!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Puppydogs*

Puppydogs

I would definitely KEEP HER ON A LEASH, so she can't drink the water, again.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Salt bloat and bloat (gastric volvulus) are two different things. Drinking too much salt water is kinda bad for you because it throws off the balance of salt and fluid in the body. The dog can get diarrhea and dehydration as the body tries to rebalance the proper amount of salt and fluid. People sometimes refer to part of this as "bloat" because the body takes on extra water to deal with the extra salt and you feel bloated and heavy.

That's really different from gastric volvulus (bloat) in dogs, which is where the stomach fills with gas or fluid and then rotates, twisting the "pipes." GV is extremely dangerous and often fatal. However, it's not related to salt bloat at all, so don't get the two confused just because they're both called "bloat."

You need to keep your dog from getting quite so much salt water in the system in the future. I wouldn't say she needs to be out of the ocean entirely, because they often learn not to drink salt water after a first experience like this one. Our dog Jax drank salt water on his first beach trip and had a very, very sad time afterwards, but he never drank that much again, and he's been to the ocean many times since. You can also manage it by shortening the swim time you allow in salt water and/or by providing fresh water breaks for your dog so she doesn't try to rehydrate herself with ocean water.

Don't sweat it. If you take your dog lots of fun places, these kinds of things can happen. I'm just glad she's getting fun experiences and that the consequences, while gross and unfortunate, aren't going to be a big deal.

Definitely let her rehydrate with frequent access to small amounts of water. She's going to bloat up on fresh water so she can process all the excess salt. That's going to mean a lot of drinking, a lot of peeing, and some diarrhea. You probably shouldn't let her go whole hog on a bucket of cold water, because then she really could get GV, but she's going to need to take in a whole lot of water at a reasonable speed over the next day or two.

Keep tabs with your vet too so you can look for signs of hypernatremia (salt poisoning). It's very unlikely that she drank enough ocean water to really endanger herself, but it's always wise to have a vet on speed dial in these situations, even as you manage it at home without taking the dog in.


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

Aawh, poor pup! She'll feel better soon I'm sure. In the future just bring plenty of fresh water to the beach and encourage her to drink that instead!


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## puppydogs (Dec 6, 2010)

Karen519 said:


> Puppydogs
> 
> I would definitely KEEP HER ON A LEASH, so she can't drink the water, again.


Yeah - she had a blast though! And I did encourage her to drink the filtered water I had. She didn't drink directly from the ocean, just sort of "bit" at the water. Anyways, lesson learned. Restricted beach access or learn to not drink the water from now on!!!


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## puppydogs (Dec 6, 2010)

tippykayak said:


> Salt bloat and bloat (gastric volvulus) are two different things. Drinking too much salt water is kinda bad for you because it throws off the balance of salt and fluid in the body. The dog can get diarrhea and dehydration as the body tries to rebalance the proper amount of salt and fluid. People sometimes refer to part of this as "bloat" because the body takes on extra water to deal with the extra salt and you feel bloated and heavy.
> 
> That's really different from gastric volvulus (bloat) in dogs, which is where the stomach fills with gas or fluid and then rotates, twisting the "pipes." GV is extremely dangerous and often fatal. However, it's not related to salt bloat at all, so don't get the two confused just because they're both called "bloat."
> 
> ...


Thanks tippykayak. You're exactly right. She's better now and has pee'd lots. I freaked out cuz it's the first time her tummy was so hard and she drank so much water. She was "biting" the waves in the ocean and caught a couple of sticks. Good lesson learned and I really hope she learned hers too!


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## puppydogs (Dec 6, 2010)

OK one more question. how long should the diarrhea last before I take her in? Thought she was good going only once, but after dinner she had another liquid run. She stopped drinking excessive water now and has peed lots. Thanks!


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## Capt Jack (Dec 29, 2011)

Mine usually take about 24 hrs.I just make sure they have food sometimes rice with a little chicken broth.When we go to the beach or the sand islands I always take lots of water & snacks.


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