[DSudd]

In a few months we are taking Rocky to the beach for a week. He loves to go in the water and rolls around in the sand.

I know bathing him everyday is bad for their skin, but what about the salt water? I am also wondering about his ears also.

Can I clean his ears everyday? I would really hate for him to end up with an ear infection due to the salt water.

Also what about giving him a bath? I would think that all of the salt/sand would be bad for his skin, but so is bathing him everyday. I am thinking just giving him a bath the night before we leave to wash all the sand and salt off of him might be the best thing to do. Kind of pointless to do it while we are there considering he will be in the ocean everyday.

I am sure there are alot of people that take their dogs to the beach often, but I have only taken him once and am just curious how you handle this with your pup? Do I need to get any special supplies for this? I want to make sure that I have what I need to ensure he has fun at the beach, but at the same time make sure he does not end up with medical issues at the same time.

 

[ldpeterson]

We just got back from the beach and it was our dogs first time there. We stayed a week and they were in the water everyday.

We didn't run into any issues except the fact the dogs smelled like dead fish for a week and their coats wouldn't dry out due to the humidity level. Oh, and trying to roll in/or eat dead fish and gulls they came across didn't help!! Nothing that bothered them anyways. Just me because I had to sleep with them!!

Annabelle has ear issues and it didn't flare them up. Maiya has a hole (stoma) in her side from her feeding tube and the water didn't have any effect on that either. I can't think of any health issues other than drinking the water. Annabelle didn't drink it but got enough in her mouth to cause a little diarreah before we left.

We hosed them down with fresh water each time they got out of the ocean.

My advice? Bath before you leave and a good toothbrushing, otherwise you may be smelling sea water on their fur and breath all the way in the car! LOL!

Hope you have a great time!!

 

[AnnaRiley]

The salt water if too much is taken in internally can cause diarreah and vomiting and dehydration. This happened to one of friend's lab at the beach. I kept tellling him to take the dog out of the water and give it a rest but he would not listen so as I predicted, we ended up rushing the dog to the vet.

 

[DSudd]

I have heard that before, and needless to say we are very careful about it. I always make sure we have plenty of fresh water for him. We also limited his beach time on the last vacation. We would take him down to the beach several times a day for an hour or so and then we take him back to house and crate him for a rest period.

 

[Annemarie]

My two are at the beach almost everyday, winter included!!

They love the water and go in even when it's freezing!! They have learned that the salt water does not taste very good so they no longer drink it. They had many drinks when they were younger and it did give them funny tummies!

I just make sure they have plenty fresh water and I use a groomers dryer to get rid of the sand and it does a great job drying their coats. It is the best investment I've ever made!

They have never had any ill effects from spending time at the beach.

 

[DSudd]

Annemarie do you run into any issues with skin problems from the salt water?

 

[Annemarie]

No, we have never had any skin problems or ear infections.

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

Ours only go to the beach occasionally, but we don't even bother to hose them off when we get home since they're mostly dry by the time we get there. The beach we go to is about an hour away. The salt water doesn't seem to bother their skin at all.

 

[DSudd]

I just want to make sure that we do everything we can so Rocky does not end up with any kind of issue from the salt/sand. He has never really had a skin issue, but he can get an ear infection at any given time.

Thanks for the advice guys!