Do not let your dogs drink from a water source with blue green algae growing in it!

We almost lost our German Shepard Dog, Emma, last night. We have a little pond at the far corner of our property. At about 4pm yesterday, I threw a baseball into the pond to let Emma jump in to retrieve it. I did that about three times, then continued with our walk. After only 45 minutes, Emma started to walk weird, she couldn’t walk in a straight line, her tongue was suppressed in her mouth, she was swaying back and forth, she looked really dizzy and out-of-it. I brought her into the house and sat with her. About 15 minutes later, she threw up a lot. We then brought her to the 24 hour emergency vet clinic about 40 minutes away. Around 7pm, the vet gave Emma activated charcoal and a saline solution. The activated charcoal was used to absorb any remaining toxins that Emma didn’t throw up already. This morning, Emma is fine.



Looking back...our pond does have algae growing in it. Emma must have swallowed some of the water while retrieving the ball. Good thing she threw up shortly after, that got most of the toxins out of her system. And the trip to the vet was required to get her the activated charcoal.



Here are a few links on the subject that any dog owner that lives or plays around water should read:



http://dogs.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Blue_Green_Alga​e_Toxicity_in_Dogs

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/blue-green-alga​e/

http://www​.dogheirs.com/dogheirs/posts/306-blue-green-algae-cyanobacteria-and-how-it-can-harm-your-dog

Comments

Eric_R - 1/27/2013 12:12 PM Glad to hear Emma was fine. I know my dog wouldn’t hesitate to go into water like that. My friends dog swallowed chunks of a Nerf ball. It lodged in her intestine and stopped her up. $500 in surgery and the dog is fine. My lab will pretty much swallow anything. It was in the yard one evening having trouble pooping. I went to see what the problem was and there hanging from it’s rear end was a chunk of poo hanginging from about 6 inches of x-mas tree tinsel. A slow easy tug to remove the remaining 8 inches and the dog was back to normal.LOL dontdiveenuf - 6/16/2014 2:28 PM I am SO glad I finished my lunch a couple of hours ago before finding your response! LOL

Eve - 1/27/2013 11:14 AM Give a small dog only about a capful of hydrogen peroxide. Use the cap of a regular sized bottle of hydrogen peroxideabout a teaspoon full. Administer morearound 2 tablespoonsto a larger dog. Fill a syringe so that you can use it to inject the liquid down into your dog’s throat. Wait patiently and quietly until your dog vomits. Know that it occurs soon after you give it hydrogen peroxide, but it can take up to five minutes. Look for foreign objects in the vomit and make sure your dog has expelled the dangerous items it swallowed. Repeat the procedure if nothing substantial comes up. Realize there may be nothing obvious to see if you are trying to help your dog eliminate a poison Read more: How to Make a Dog Vomit Using Hydrogen Peroxide | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2212541_make-dog-vomit-using-hydrogen.html#ixzz2JCVGAwDi Always consult a veternarian

divingbear - 1/27/2013 10:59 AM Use a syringe wo/ a needle, a couple of cc’s and instant volcano.

divingbear - 1/27/2013 10:43 AM If in need, hydrogen peroxide will cause instant emptying of the dogs stomach. If vomiting is needed in a pinch that is the fastest way, I have saved several dogs lives that way. Greg - 1/27/2013 10:50 AM I suppose you get them to drink it somehow? How much do you give them?

Eve - 1/27/2013 10:24 AM Scarry stuff but good to know, thank you and I am so glad that Emma is okay.