February 25, 2008 Winter Salt Hazards

February 25, 2008

Winter Salt Hazards

I belong to an internet group of groomers who often consult each other when we find a client or our own dog with an issue that just doesn’t seem to be resolved any other way. I’ve come to know, meet and trust many of these fine people and their advice to me and others has proven itself more times than I can count. These people are genuinely helpful and concerned whenever someone presents them with a problem.
One groomer, Linda in Dodgeville, Wisconsin emailed the group when she had a client that had some terrible symptoms that vets just couldn’t figure out. The dog had stopped eating and drinking, became very lethargic and had sores in his mouth, not like canker sores, but all over the mouth and throat. Their vet ran tests on the dog’s blood and urine which didn’t show anything abnormal, and IV’s were given and the dog appeared to be getting much better. The dog went back home and as soon as the dog went out walking, the symptoms began again.
Another groomer mentioned that it could be poisoning from road and sidewalk salt. When the dog licks his paws, he ingests some salt and that can cause such symptoms. Well, it was winter and worth a shot to check into it. Linda passed along this advice to her client and the dog is now wearing boots outside and has not had a recurrence! Linda learned that her road salt also has chlorine in it to treat the roads and animals do lick their feet to get the ice and I’m sure the salt tastes good to them. Ingesting the salt and chemicals were what caused her clients dogs’ symptoms and she learned that other dogs had similar symptoms but not as severe, no sores but some weight loss. After protecting the dog’s feet from the salt and insuring the dog didn’t ingest anything from the road or sidewalk, those dogs gained back the weight they lost and became more energetic. Kidney failure and dehydration can occur from ingesting road salt and chemicals.
There are pet safe sidewalk salts you can buy but they are also expensive and not readily available in Attica. I have another simple and easy solution to prevent poisoning from salt by using something we can all get, baby wipes. Baby wipes are not just for babies and diaper duty. In fact, I’ve found so many uses for them on pets! When your pet comes in from outside use a baby wipe to remove the salt chemicals and clean off the mud! Be sure to wipe all his paws and between his toes and pads.
Baby wipes can also be used to clean out your pets ears, you can add some ear cleaning solution to them or just pour it into your dog’s ears and wipe out the ear with the baby wipe. You can use baby wipes to clean out the corners of your dog’s eyes when they accumulate goo. Also a few swipes on your pet’s hair will leave your dog smelling a little less “doggy” in between baths. Baby wipes are wonderful for cleaning under your dog’s tail too, yes I know, nobody wants to think about that but it has to be done from time to time, nobody wants “cling-ons” under the tail! Keep some baby wipes in your car too, so when you take your dog to the car to go visit someone, you can wipe off her paws in the car to prevent salt poisoning. Keep a few in a plastic zipping sandwich bag in your purse, because you just never know when you may need one.
If your dog really likes to lick things off the floor, be sure to keep your floors free from the salt you track in. That can be another source of the salt poisoning even if your dog never walks on it. Give your shoes a quick rinse to get if off from between the treads before your dog does. You just never know where we are going to run into a hazard for our pets.
Sometimes we find the simplest things can be the cause of major health issues in our pets. If you are experiencing symptoms similar to those mentioned above, keep a close eye on your dog and see if ingesting road salt could be the problem. If not for Linda’s asking about her client’s dog and passing along this information, the dog may not be here. Now he is still able to go for his walks and sports a pair of boots to protect his feet.