Benefits of seawater for dogs
Many people are currently wondering if the sea water is bad for the dogs or if it is good, since they are read and many opinions are heard about it. The truth is that, nowadays, seawater is one of the most widely used methods to treat conditions and diseases in people and also in animals. There are really many benefits that this water can offer our furry companions, but you always have to know what it is good to use and how to offer it to our dog. We can choose to let him bathe in the sea or the ocean or to give it to him to drink, besides that there are also veterinary treatments that use it. Keep reading this article and do not miss any details of the benefits of seawater for dogs .
Seawater is good for dogs' skin
One of the main benefits of seawater for dogs is that it soothes and helps regenerate the skin and fur of these animals. Using seawater for the skin of dogs is one of the best natural methods to help the dermis recover from skin conditions such as dermatitis, dandruff, ringworm, scabies, wounds, allergies, and so on. Thanks to its complete composition, as it has various minerals and other nutrients, this natural water is ideal to alleviate these problems, as well as to give more strength to the coat, helping to remove dead hair during moulting and to prevent it from falling excessively, provided that other factors are respected such as feeding the dog.
For example, if you want to use sea water for scabies in dogs, the ideal is to allow a daily bath or almost every day for the duration of treatment, for later, after each dive in the sea, bathe well with medicated soap that has prescribed by the veterinarian. The same happens with the other conditions, because this water must be part of the natural reinforcement of the treatments proposed by the specialist veterinarian and never a substitute. In case the dog is not sick, bathing in the sea will help keep the skin and coat healthy.
For this and much more, as we will see below, it is good that dogs bathe in the sea, but as long as they like it, they feel like it and have become accustomed little by little. On the other hand, if our furry is afraid of the sea, we can make baths with this water at home, with water that we collect or buy bottled.
Seawater baths for dogs with pain
Seawater baths for dogs are very beneficial not only to treat your skin, but also to relieve problems in the bones and joints that cause a lot of pain and discomfort.
If your dog suffers from problems such as osteoporosis, arthritis, osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, elbow or knee, and even for handicapped dogs, do not hesitate to put it in the sea with you and help you swim calmly . It is important to do it only if we manage to make the dog calm, because if he is afraid of this situation or if he is stressed, he will make sudden movements to swim and get out of the water, which may be counterproductive to deal with the problem. To do this, allow him to lean on you and be together.
Also, these baths are perfect to relieve other types of more widespread pain, or in cases of rehabilitation of an injury, since by avoiding the weight of gravity and floating the affected areas of the body can rest and recover a little. It is good to perform the baths if possible on a daily basis, also depending on the severity of the condition suffered by the can.
Isotonic sea water for dogs
This type of seawater is that which has been collected directly from the sea but has subsequently been treated by diluting it in fresh water until its salinity is reduced to the normal level in the body. Therefore, this seawater is for drinking or for use in internal treatments.
Years ago, at the end of the 19th century, a French scientist named René Quinton observed how good marine water can be for mammals and wanted to experience its effects on their health. Before getting to try it on people, he decided to test on dogs. He discovered that, since it contains practically all the elements of the periodic table and a great variety of nutrients, it is very beneficial for many vertebrates, as long as their salinity is regulated.
In the experiments came to replace much of the blood of animals with diseases in organs such as the liver or kidneys by diluted seawater and in a few days came to improve so much that some recovered completely. In addition, in the 70s the studies carried out in several universities, such as the University of La Laguna in Tenerife, revealed that the results are indeed positive.
So, currently, the well-known Quinton method that uses isotonic sea water, is used to treat various diseases that involve different organs of the body, both in people and animals. Mainly, isotonic sea water is used to treat health problems such as the following:
- Problems and skin lesions
- Kidney diseases
- Problems in the liver
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Blood disorders
- Respiratory diseases
- Anorexy
How to give isotonic sea water to my dog
Only when veterinarians consider it necessary to use this method will an intravenous treatment be applied to treat the dog's health problem. We should never do it on our own because the doses and times should be appropriate to each case.
If you want to give your dog isotonic sea water to drink make sure you start drinking it progressively, never directly from the sea without diluting or in much quantity. The maximum a dog can take is 20 ml of seawater a day to make it healthy.
Nothing happens because one day swimming the can swallow water from the sea or the ocean, only when it is a lot can symptoms of discomfort appear. We should not give it to drink that we take direct from the sea or the ocean for various reasons, such as the level of salinity, that the taste probably does not like it and that there may be parasites and other microorganisms, so it is better to use the treated.
Seawater poisoning in dogs
It is not that seawater is toxic to dogs, but if they drink a lot without being used to it, the body can react to expel something that it considers strange. In addition, as we have already mentioned, there may be microorganisms such as bacteria and other parasites that harm the health of animals.
What to do if your dog drinks sea water
First you must recognize the signs that will tell you that drinking the water has hurt your hairy, since it does not always hurt them, as it happens to us. Among the symptoms of "poisoning" by sea water in dogs are vomiting, diarrhea, apathy, lethargy and fever. In these cases it is good to offer bottled mineral water to the can for you to drink and rehydrate, if you feel like it, but we will never force it. If we see that the symptoms worsen or last a long time, it will be necessary to go to the veterinarian .
