Water Intoxication—No Joke

Having suffered this myself, I can genuinely say water intoxication is no joke. I passed out and ended up in the emergency room. They thought I'd had a stroke. I was completely dysfunctional—all from having drunk too much water. Drinking too much water (hyponatremia) dilutes the sodium/electrolytes in your body causing swelling of cells which can impact your brain and other organs in your body.

So when I saw this article stating the same thing is possible for dogs, I knew I needed to address it. A couple of years ago, I think Bella was close to experiencing this. We'd gone to a friend's lake place and Bella was in heaven. Not only was there water to play in, but the gathering hosted nearly 20 people—all of them more than ready to toss a ball for the B-Girl. I was watching her pretty closely and was concerned about the length of time she'd been retrieving the ball in the salt water. Her swimming had slowed down, but not her drive.

Nothing like water and a ball to make a puppy happy, but it
can be a dangerous combination if not monitored closely.

I finally called a halt to the play despite the fact that everyone thought I was over-reacting. It was a good lesson to always trust my gut instinct when it comes to my girl. I am with her more than anyone else and was aware she wouldn't stop until she collapsed. I have never seen her quite so worn out. She was definitely feeling the effects of ingesting a lot of salt water. She vomited several times and had diarrhea—both signs of water intoxication—and her coordination was slowed. Dilated pupils? I don't know. Excessive salivation? That's one of Bella's trademarks.

Luckily, she didn't succumb to water intoxication, but I can attest to how quickly I deteriorated, so I don't doubt it's as fast, or faster, with a dog. So while you have fun with your pup in the water this summer, be mindful. Don't let her stay in too long and be sure to give her plenty of breaks.

It's Not Over Yet—Drugs, Drugs, Drugs

Bella was sick again last night. Needless to say, I feel helpless. I can't ask her what's wrong; what I am giving her (medications), I can only hope are aiding. The vet took her off the Albon for the coccidia. Some of its side effects are rashes and itching.

I spoke with the Saturday fill-in vet this morning and asked why I must continue giving her drugs for pancreatitis when coccidia was diagnosed. She was great. She said that though the blood test was negative for pancreatitis, it is not definitive; only an ultrasound would undeniably confirm...and of course we don't want to go that route at this point.

My question was why continue the pancreatitis drugs when we're discontinuing the drug for coccidia? Aren't we supposed to be concerned about the latter? The vet said if Bella's gut gets regulated, the coccidia will take care of itself. The Metronidazole is an antibacterial/antiprotozoal which will calm her stomach. Sucralfate is used to treat and prevent stomach problems caused by other drugs as well as irritations in the intestines and stomach. The Proviable is a probiotic that will help re-establish intestinal health. The Benadryl is to be given for one more day.

She's to continue with the I/D diet for two weeks. Poor girl...at least the facial swelling is diminishing.

Enough with the Vet!

No peace. While I'm shoveling pills down Bella's throat for a balanced, healthy gut, she pulls a winger on me. Somehow, somewhere on our walk today she was bitten/stung by an insect. It started around her eye. I noticed the tissue was swollen and she was itching, scratching, dragging her face across everything. It spread to her other eye, then down her muzzle and seemed to settle in her jowls or salivary glands. Now Bella has some pretty impressive jowls that produce, with little provocation, enormous amounts of drool. Those jowls are now huge, beefy and solid. She looks like Jabba the Hutt.

I gave her a couple of Benadryls to no affect and was concerned about the rapid inflammation. We are very lucky to a great 24-hour, emergency vet clinic (Acces) not too far away, so we trundled her up there. Because of the drugs she is taking for the parasites, they chose not to give her a steroid injection that would have sped the loss in swelling. None the less, they did inject her with Benadryl. Still, an healthy hour later, I see no relief. Her personality, however, is intact. The minute we got home, she got her ball and asked to play. A good sign.

Are YOU Ready?

With Hurricane Sandy wrecking havoc on the east coast of the US, it isn't surprising to see a glut of information about what to do with your pet(s) if you have to evacuate. This is a reminder for me also as I have a traveling bag for Bella, but still lack a crate.

My excuse? She's a big girl and needs a big crate—where would I store it? But when an emergency happens (and there is no area in this country that isn't plagued by recurring natural disasters), you won't have the time to prepare, nor can you guarantee you'll be thinking logically in a panic situation. Being prepared is the only way to safely care for your pet in a time of need. Although Hurricane Katrina was a turning point in evacuating and sheltering with pets (more shelters now allow them to come with you), you are still required to have your dog sequestered in a crate.

I just read Pet Care During a Natural Disaster from the Sun Gazette.com. I always read these articles as there is usually something I haven't considered. In this article, author Dan Boyles, had a couple of really good ideas. One is to have two bags prepared: a large pet bag if you and your pet will be staying together at a known location and a smaller bag for immediate evacuation to points unknown. Of course the requisite items were covered: food, water, medications, toys. Another great idea is to have a picture of you and your dog together. I always carry a picture of Bella in her bag, but the author says a picture of you together helps corroborate ownership should you be separated.

I guess it's time to start scouring Craig's List for used, large dog crates. I don't want Bella left out in the cold if a disaster shakes our area.

Emergency!

This is a great article from the wonderful Bark magazine on how to lessen stress for yourself or your pet's caretaker in case of an emergency—and your absence. Heaven forbid this would ever be necessary, but living in a foreign country makes me very aware how critical these pointers are, especially as my Spanish is so rudimentary.

Last year my in-laws took care of Bella for a month in our absence. Luckily our mindset is similar enough that they would have done exactly as I would have in an emergency situation, But to ask anyone to make a decision for someone else to put down a dog would be gut-wrenching at best. I like the idea of using a health directive. This may not be necessary with family or friends, but would be very important if you are boarding your dog.

Having Bella with us on this particular trip still requires me to be prepared for the unthinkable. I have the name, phone and address of three different, recommended vets in the closest city. Bella is young and healthy, so her records consist of her recent shots. Yet I carry those records with me along with recent photographs of Bella from the front and side. She wears a different collar down here, both with our home information, but more importantly, the phone number of a friend who is local as we don't have a phone here.

When we were traveling with dear Lucy, who was so ill that last several years of her life, we not only brought her prescription drugs, but had backups...and again, names and numbers of locally recommended vets. (This can be found via the Internet if you don't know someone locally who can make those recommendations.)

This article offers some great advise to lessen the stress in an emergency situation. As much as you'd like to think nothing could ever happen, being prepared is insurance that a traumatic situation isn't insurmountable.

Bloat

Bloat requires immediate attention. The day we had to put Lucy to sleep, we rushed her to the vet because we thought she had bloat. This condition tends to affect large, older dogs with big chests and Lucy fit that bill. It can occur after the dog gobbles (inhales) their food. The stomach fills with gas and fluid and can twist on itself cutting off blood and oxygen supply to other organs. (See this link for more information about the condition.) Chance of survival without veterinarian intervention is nil. Even with that intervention, the odds are not in the dog's favor.

Lucy had lymphoma and I was feeding her a homemade, high protein diet recommended by the vet. Lucy had always been a finicky eater, but loved this food. After eating this one particular evening, she went into the back yard and started pacing. I'm not sure what made me watch her from the house, but I did and could see she was pacing which was unusual. She tried to defecate and couldn't; tried to vomit and couldn't. These are both signs of bloat. Additionally, her stomach was noticeably distended and hard. Another sign of bloat. We rushed her to the vet. In her case, it wasn't bloat, but cancer. That was our last day with our old girl.

Here is a story and video from Bark Magazine showing what symptoms of bloat looks like in a dog. Truly, this is nothing to mess with. If you suspect your dog may have bloat, drop everything and get your sweet pup to a vet immediately.

If you have a large, older dog with a big, barrel chest who inhales food, you have a dog that is more at risk. Consider getting a food bowl that inhibits or slows down gobbling. They go by a variety of names: "Brake-Fast," "Slow Eating," "Eat Slow," "Slow Feed," etc.

What's in your dog bag?

We're frantically trying to pack for our trip so that we can leave bright and shiny tomorrow. Like anyone who is responsible for others, packing becomes more elaborate when one packs for more than oneself! I usually pack Bella first while I'm calm and collected, as the closer we get to leaving, the tension of time-schedules-gone-awry amps up and I'm afraid I might leave something important for her.

What, you might be asking, do I pack for my dog?

• Food
• Treats
• Chews
• Bowls
• Chuck-It
• Dog bag

...and what's in her dog bag?

• Towel
• Extra leash
• Extra collar
• Poop bags
• Kong
• Tooth brush/doggie tooth paste
• Dog Booties
• Doggie back pack
• 2 water bottles
• Collapsible water bowl
• Blinking light for her collar
• 4 chuck-it balls (in case one gets lost in the tundra)
• Nail trimmer (2...not sure why)
• Doggie Shampoo
• First aid kit (better than ours)

What's in the first aid kit? That will have to wait until another time...

Bloat

The day we had to put Lucy to sleep, I feared she had bloat. She'd been diagnosed with lymphoma and the vet had given her a very short time to live, so we knew any time with her was a gift. She had just finished a meal and wished to go outside and for whatever reason, I felt it necessary to watch her. She paced around the yard which was not unusual, but she couldn't stop. She tried several times to throw up or to defecate and couldn't manage either. I ran to her and saw (and felt) that her stomach was rock solid and big, so I feared bloat. We rushed her to the hospital and though they were about to close, stayed open for us. It wasn't bloat, but her cancer. Our decision was made.

Today in looking at our local paper on-line, I came across this article on bloat and thought about Lucy. Bloat is so scarey because your time—your dog's time—is so very limited and the odds so poor of your dog surviving it. No one seems to know what causes this though large breed dogs seem more prone. Exercising immediately after the dog eats and drinks seems to be a culprit too. Heredity and stress also see some finger-pointing (which makes me think about the benefit of a mutt though a friend reasoned with me that mutts can inherit bad traits too). Raised food bowls remains controversial as a cause, but the story states a huge probability in predisposed breeds.

Please read the article and be aware of this deadly situation. If you suspect your dog may be suffering from bloat, do not delay. Get your pup immediately to an emergency vet!

Keep-Aways or Another Name for Poison

A friend recently went through a scare with her dog. She was entertaining and a child fed their dog some grapes. It wasn't until later that evening that the dog became horribly ill and they needed to rush him to the emergency vet. After discussion with the vet to discern what the dog might have ingested, they realized what happened when the husband recalled seeing the little girl "sharing" grapes. (He didn't know they could be toxic.) Their dog is fine, thank heavens, but the outcome could have gone the other way.

As we approach the holidays, our homes are often filled with friends, family, different food and plants. Please pay attention to where your pup is. You never know if someone is unwittingly sharing food with your pet. To keep your pet safe and you sane, post the number to your local 24-hour emergency vet (or the National Pet Poison Control Hotline: 888-426-4435) on your fridge.

Here are some links regarding pets and poison:
Humane Society
AAHA
ASPCA