# Salt water



## Zakia Days (Mar 13, 2009)

Hi everyone. Connie in particular. Every so often I take my dogs to the ocean for a swim. I'd like to know what I should do to remove the salt water from their system. Inevitably, while reaching/bobbing for toys some water is ingested. I'd like to know how to remove it safely and I'd like a good natural detoxification method, cuz Lord knows what's in the ocean. I hear milk thistle is good for liver support and detox, but where can I find what the dosage should be for my dog's weight. Thanks in advance for all suggestions and comments.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Zakia Days said:


> Hi everyone. Connie in particular. Every so often I take my dogs to the ocean for a swim. I'd like to know what I should do to remove the salt water from their system. Inevitably, while reaching/bobbing for toys some water is ingested. I'd like to know how to remove it safely and I'd like a good natural detoxification method, cuz Lord knows what's in the ocean. I hear milk thistle is good for liver support and detox, but where can I find what the dosage should be for my dog's weight. Thanks in advance for all suggestions and comments.


Obviously I'm not Connie, but I swim my GSDs in the ocean pretty frequently. We do a lot of retrieving in the ocean because my dogs believe the reason the ocean exists is for their pleasure, which means my job is to stand there and throw the bumper as far into the sea as I can, over and over and over again, so they can swim out and get it and swim/surf back over and over and over again.

The only precaution I take is to have plenty of fresh water for them to drink while there. Rarely, one of my dogs might have a little bit of the runs after a lot of time in the ocean, but again, that's very rare. 

After I get home from the beach I rinse the dogs off with the hose to get the sand out and that's about it.

I've never heard of anyone doing anything more, but would be very interested in what you find out.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

This is totally a guess on my part by it seems there would be less bacteria, etc in salt water then many of the lakes and ponds my dogs have swam in. 
I agree about having clean, fresh water handy for the dogs to drink and a good rinse after the swim.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

If mine got to much salt water in them they normally just coughed it up once on shore. Sometime loose stools but the next set was normal so didn't treat. As Bob and Susan said, you need the fresh water for them to drink and rinse out their mouths and then a good rinse off when you get home.

I'm not sure why you would need to detoxify just because they swam in the ocean as opposed to fresh water unless to detox for that too. Their system is no different than a human's when you ingest to much salt or water. The body sets the levels or needs and the excess is excreted out via the kidneys as part of the natural homeostatic process.


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## Hunter Allred (Jan 28, 2010)

Bob Scott said:


> This is totally a guess on my part by it seems there would be less bacteria, etc in salt water then many of the lakes and ponds my dogs have swam in.
> I agree about having clean, fresh water handy for the dogs to drink and a good rinse after the swim.


Loads of bacteria but what lives in 1.025 salinity water doesn't do well in a land animals body. 

To OP, a lifetime on the coast I've never heard of anyone doing anything special regarding salt water other than providing drinking water.


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

I had a Rott when I was living on the beach in the Costa Rica jungle. The dog would take a dip to cool off once or twice a day. 

I would play fetch with him once in a while. I rinsed the salt water out of his coat a couple of time a week. 

He never had any issues.


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## Hunter Allred (Jan 28, 2010)

Lee H Sternberg said:


> I had a Rott when I was living on the beach in the Costa Rica jungle. The dog would take a dip to cool off once or twice a day.
> 
> I would play fetch with him once in a while. I rinsed the salt water out of his coat a couple of time a week.
> 
> He never had any issues.


I actually find my dogs to smell neutral after a salt water dip. They stink after a fresh water swim


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

Hunter Allred said:


> I actually find my dogs to smell neutral after a salt water dip. They stink after a fresh water swim


I wouldn't have hosed him down at all but the rain forest is so humid his coat would get kinda sticky after a while. 

I was actually surprised how well a short snout Rott did down there. He just turned nocturnal. LOL


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Zakia Days said:


> .... Every so often I take my dogs to the ocean for a swim. I'd like to know what I should do to remove the salt water from their system. Inevitably, while reaching/bobbing for toys some water is ingested. I'd like to know how to remove it safely and I'd like a good natural detoxification method, cuz Lord knows what's in the ocean. I hear milk thistle is good for liver support and detox, but where can I find what the dosage should be for my dog's weight. Thanks in advance for all suggestions and comments.



I live close to the ocean too, and my dogs all have salt-water-ingestion episodes.


_I'm gonna assume that you don't mean that the dog is now vomiting or dehydrated (both fairly common results of salt-water-ingestion). Either of these requires a whole other response. _


All I do (and I am not a health professional) is to have plenty of fresh water with me, along with a collapsible (or other handy) water bowl. I offer fresh water frequently, between play sessions and again at the car.


So far so good, for me. Here's more reading:

http://www.vetinfo.com/dogs-drinking-salt-water.html#b


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

I forgot to add that wonderful Rott lived to the grand old age of 13. 

I finally had to put him down because he lost control of his kidneys.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Hunter said
"Loads of bacteria but what lives in 1.025 salinity water doesn't do well in a land animals body".


Good to know.Thanks! :wink:


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