Water Intoxication In Dogs – Beware of Taking Your Dog Swimming!

in Exercise,Health Problems

Boston terrier swimmingYou may have heard the shocking story about the woman who died from drinking too much water for a radio show competition.

The contestants were given eight-ounce bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes, and the objective was to see who could drink the most water without using the restroom.

Jennifer died hours after taking part in the competition and her autopsy confirmed that she died from water intoxication.

Can Water Intoxication Happen to Dogs?

This got me wondering whether this could happen to dogs as well.

Whenever I take my Boston terrier, Lucy, to the dog park she swims for hours and almost always ingests a ton of water. She definitely has a wonderful time, but when we get home—she has to pee at least six or seven times before bed-time. And every now and then she gets so exhausted that she has accidents, once she even had an accident on my bed!

Now this is very uncharacteristic for Lucy, so I started to wonder if drinking all this water at the lake could be harming her health. So I started doing some research and this is what I found …

The Science Behind Water Intoxication

The scientific name for water toxicity is hyponatremia or sometimes it’s also called hyper-hydration. It’s caused from overexertion, heavy perspiration, and drinking large amounts of water to rehydrate.

Water toxicity can lead to an electrolyte imbalance and is a potentially FATAL disturbance that occurs in the brain. If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed, body fluids are diluted and a potentially dangerous shift in electrolyte balance occurs.

This causes the cells to swell as a result of changes in osmotic pressure from within. When this occurs in the cells of the central nervous system and brain, water intoxication is the result.

The Symptoms

  • Light-headedness
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Headache and/or malaise
  • Cerebral edema
  • Seizures
  • Coma
  • And even death

Water intoxication may start out with mild symptoms, however the symptoms may quickly escalate as the water continues to enter the body from the stomach.

So if you’re going to go swimming with your Boston terrier, always keep an eye on just how much water your dog is ingesting.

If you think she’s getting too much, stop whatever activity you are doing and give your Boston a break! Better to be safe than sorry.

  • Water intoxication may start out with mild symptoms, however the symptoms may quickly escalate as the water continues to enter the body from the stomach. So if you’re going to go swimming with your Boston terrier, always keep an eye on just how much water your dog is ingesting. If you think she’s getting too much, stop whatever activity you are doing and give your Boston a break! Better to be safe than sorry.

Related posts:

  1. Recommended Daily Water Intake For Dogs
  2. Constipation in Dogs
  3. Chocolate Poisoning in Dogs
  4. Take Your Boston Terrier Swimming
  5. Dogs And Hypothermia

Tagged as: Boston Terriers, Health Problems, Health Tips

  • Bonnie Wilson

    Thank you very much for this information. My Boston “loves the water.” He enjoys swimming in his little pool after running through the yard. He likes to show off in his pool as well. The more I laugh, the busier he gets in the water. We started him in the lake (life jacket on of course), and he’s been swimming ever sense. I’ll be more careful about the water he ingests in the future. Thanx again.

  • http://www.bostonterriersecrets.com Colleen

    Your welcome Bonnie. Swimming is a great sport for Bostons, just needs to be supervised!

  • Ryan

    I wish I had read this sooner. My 3 year old baby girl, Serafina (a Cava-poo) ingested too much water while my father was throwing a party in our back yard by our pool. She was a great swimmer, LOVED the water and couldn’t get enough of it. I had heard of water toxicity before, but how does one quantify the amount of water? Serafina never drank a lot of water, and when she swam, it was not apparent she was ingesting any water. The party was full of relative and close friends, all of whom are lawyer, judges, executives, a vice president to a university, and my father and I are both surgeons. It was horrible, I administered rescue breaths the entire way to the ER vet. She survived another 32 hours before seizuring and we had to put her down. She was my saving grace through residency. I wish I had known more about this horrible ordeal. It’s been one month now and the guilt has not left. She was my baby girl… my best friend. I’ll miss her forever. PLEASE be careful with your doggies. I need to find a way to educate the community about this potential disaster, any ideas?

  • Gladys

    I was watching “Dog Whisper” and found out this information about my english springer. She was chasing the bubbles and water in the lake and one day after being on the lake all day she could hardly walk, she had bloodshot eyes and just looked very ill. I was very scared but I let her rest after the long day and she got better in one days time. I am so grateful nothing more tragic happened after hearing about I will now watch how much water intake she has when out on the lake this coming summer.

  • Mosentoff

    I lost a Boston T. Just yesterday. He was playing in the pool with the kid’s for hours biteing at the water shooting out from the jet he so loved the water. He came up the ladder and on to the deck like he always did, And started to shake and fall over throwing up and peeing every were. My son ran him into the house in full blown seizure. I flew 90 miles an hour to the closiest vet Hospital that was 10 min’s away. They took him right away and said that they had no idea what was wrong but it appeard like he was haveing a seizure. And gave us the name and phone # of a emergancy vet hospital about an hour away. We didnt even get out of the driveway and he passed away in my sons arm’s. I new it had something to do with the water but was not sure why.

  • Kristin

    After swimming in our pool today and drinking water constantly, about one hour later, our dog had a seizure. The clinic that treated her explored every other imaginable and unimaginable cause of her seizure. After several hundreds of dollars, they recommended additional testing. From the beginning, we suspected water intoxication, however, the vet dismissed our suspicions. We brought her home and so far, so good. Thanks for your input.

  • Ryan

    Mosentoff, I’m so very sorry to hear. It was one year ago to the day I lost Serafina (as posted above). It’s a horrific way to lose a beloved friend, but I believe they don’t suffer. It’s quick and it’s supposed to be more of a drunk feeling (I know I get a little relief knowing this). I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear of your tragedy.
    :-(

  • Diane

    I, like several of you, am reading this too late but will hope that writing will be some kind of therapy for me. Like with Ryan and his Cava-Poo, yesterday my lovely little Cavalier, Lolly Pop ingested water from the hose while I was washing my car. This was a regular occurrence for us, as she thought the sparkly water was just another of her favorite toys. Previous times when we had washed the car and she ingested water, she seemed to be quieter than normal when we would come in and she would pee more often but I thought it was just due to her active play while car washing. Yesterday, I brought her back to our house and gave her a shower, pedicure, brushed her, and all seemed normal until about 45 minutes later when she looked glazed eyed and stared at the ceiling for minutes. When I picked her up she collapsed in my lap. I immediately went online and read this site. While reading, Lolly seizured and I wrapped her in a towel and drove without much understanding of what I was doing. Upon arrival to our vet, she was placed on oxygen, given an iv and lasix to help get fluid out. After three hours, and one prior crash of which our vet and vet tech were able to revive her, Lolly’s life ended.

    She was the reason I got up each morning early and continued to thrive as a 63 year old. Her loyalty knew no boundaries, even getting up to follow me for middle of the night bathroom visits (for me-not her). As a teacher of 35 years, I used to stay hours after school working until I became Lolly’s “mom” – from then on, I rushed home to see her cute face each afternoon, always waiting to give me her famous over-excited greeting.

    Please, if you have a dog, remember to watch for the ingestion of water, especially from the hose, as it is so hard to know how much water is being taken in. I will try to post on other sites, as well, so no dog or their owner needs to go through this difficult loss. Ryan, and others who have lost their best friend, I join you in your sorrow. My guilt is only shadowed by my humbleness of knowing that this little three year old Cavie was a part of my life….forever part of my heart.

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