Beach Vacations & the Lapphund Belly
Nothing is more relaxing than a seaside summer vacation with your best friend! Long, lazy walks down the beach at sunrise and sunset clears your mind and gives your pup plenty of opportunity to romp in the surf.
We all know how unpleasant an accidental mouthful of ocean water can be, but to your dog, the open sea looks like nature’s water bowl. It can be very hard to monitor how much she might drink while running the waves, playing fetch, and even swimming. A few mouthfuls of salt water may cause a little diarrhea, but your dog taking huge gulps of it can be dangerous.
Excess salt in the system draws water from the blood into the intestines, which causes diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration for the rest of the body. Too much salt water also messes with his fluid balance. Salt builds up, causing the cells to release water in order to rebalance with the sodium disparity. This can cause seizures, a loss of brain cells, kidney injury, and severe dehydration. A dog with saltwater poisoning should be medically treated.
If your Lapphund ingests too much salt water during your next trip to the beach, you should get to your vet as soon as possible. A vet can attempt to restore your dog’s water and electrolyte balance to normal levels by administering IV fluids to flush out excess salt and providing additional supportive care.
But you can also help prevent this by bringing plenty of fresh water to the beach with you and offering it regularly. On a recent trip our family took to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, we always kept Risto leashed so we could watch what he was doing, gave firm NOs and removed him from the water if we caught him drinking any, and always brought along a fresh thermos of cold, refreshing water with a couple of ice cubes in it, just the way he likes it!
In the end, he still managed to consume enough to experience a short bout of diarrhea and an upset stomach upon returning home. He was not lethargic and didn’t show any additional signs of saltwater poisoning, so we monitored at home and allowed him to fast for a day until he was interested in eating again and his stools returned to normal. Low-inflammatory foods such as pumpkin, applesauce, and bananas help him tremendously at times like these. Many bland diets contain rice, and Risto has never done very well with those. Over his 2 ½ years with us, we have discovered he is among the 2% of dogs that have a rice intolerance. For Risto, rice-based bland diets cause almost as much gastrointestinal distress as whatever triggered the diarrhea and vomiting in the first place! Although rice is often considered safe for dogs, some pups have allergies to rice proteins, causing the immune system to react to those proteins. Vomiting and diarrhea in these cases are allergic reactions to the rice.
I have also developed this delicious pumpkin blueberry pancake recipe to have on hand when this sort of thing arises. You can even substitute pureed sweet potato, carrots, or butternut squash. The original recipe called for rice flour, but I substituted with chickpea flour, a known non-inflammatory. I hope your fluffer nutter enjoys eating them as much as Risto does!
Source notes: Is It Dangerous for Dogs to Drink Salt Water?
No Corn, Soy, Wheat, or Rice: Avoid in Dog Food?
Pumpkin Blueberry Dog Pancakes
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, plus more for cooking
1 cup preferred bone broth, buttermilk, or unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup blueberries, fresh or dried (optional)
Place flours and baking powder in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Combine pumpkin puree, egg, and melted coconut oil in a separate bowl. Stir well.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir in your preferred liquid to create a batter. It may be lumpy, and that’s OK!
Over medium heat, melt a tablespoon of coconut oil in a griddle or skillet. Using a cookie scoop or small ladle, place batter in 2-inch circles around griddle/skillet.
Cook the pancakes until lightly browned on both sides, flipping as each side cooks. Remove pancakes from griddle and repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Allow to cool completely before serving.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Makes about 2 dozen “silver-dollar” pancakes.
Recipe adapted from Spoiled Hounds Pumpkin Pancakes.
