excessive thirst

4 Rainy Season Dangers You Might Not Know Of

Each year, certain parts of North America are bombarded with rain. While this may be good for the garden, high rainfall can potentially pose some real threats to your dog.

1. Mushrooms

During the rainy season, mushrooms may pop up in your yard with more frequency. There are thousands of species of mushrooms, but thankfully only about 100 are poisonous. That said, mushroom identification is very difficult, so it's hard to tell which are poisonous versus which are benign. As a result, whenever you see mushrooms growing in your yard, make sure to remove them immediately and throw them away to prevent accidental ingestion by your dog. If your dog does get into a mushroom, contact your veterinarian immediately about inducing vomiting to get any potential toxin out.

Certain types of mushrooms may cause organ injury including:

  • Gastrointestinal injury (signs include drooling, not eating, vomiting, diarrhea)

  • Liver linjury (signs include vomiting, black tarry stool, yellow skin)

  • Kidney injury (signs include abnormal urination and thirst)

  • Cardiovascular injury (signs include a very slow or rapid heart rate)

  • Neurologic injury (signs include hallucinations, tremors, seizures)

When in doubt, get to your veterinarian immediately as it's easier - and less expensive - to treat early on versus once clinical signs have developed.

2. Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis, a bacteria-like spirochete, is carried naturally by wildlife, like rodents and raccoons. In high rainfall situations, it’s prevalent in the environment. In dogs that have exposure to water sources, contaminated by wildlife urine (puddles, streams, ponds, etc.), transmission can occur. Canine leptospirosis can result in liver injury and acute kidney injury.

Signs of leptospirosis include:

  • Vomiting

  • Not eating

  • Malaise

  • Yellow skin

  • Excessive thirst

  • Urination

As leptospirosis can accidentally be transmitted to humans, it's important to talk to your veterinarian about prevention, including vaccines.

3. Mosquitoes

While mosquitoes may seem like just a pesky insect to you, they can be life-threatening to your dog. That's because mosquitoes can carry Dirofilaria, which transmits heartworm infection to your dog. Thankfully, there is a very effective preventative in either a topical or oral form. When in doubt, use year-round control to prevent problems from mosquitoes. If your dog has thin fur or skin and is more predisposed to getting bitten, use Skin So Soft or a topical insect repellent that repels mosquitoes. Talk to your veterinarian to be safe before applying anything.

Click here to learn more about heartworm disease in dogs.

4. Toads and frogs

Depending on where you live in the United States, certain types of toads - specifically the Bufo marinus or Bufo alvarius - can be poisonous to dogs. In fact, a dog drinking water from an outside dog bowl, that had a poisonous toad sitting in it, can result in clinical signs of:

  • drooling

  • panting

  • walking drunk

  • a racing heart rate

  • a very slow heart rate

  • even seizures

Frogs are not toxic, but can cause gastrointestinal upset when ingested.

To be safe, supervise your dog outside to prevent accidental ingestion of dangers like toads and frogs. When in doubt, contact your veterinarian or ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435 if you think your dog is ill or could have ingested something poisonous.

If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian -- they are your best resource to ensure the health and well-being of your pets.


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dog health

Diabetes Ketoacidosis (DKA) - A Complication of Diabetes in Cats and Dogs

Unfortunately, as veterinarians, we are seeing an increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats. This is likely due to the growing prevalence of obesity (secondary to inactive lifestyle, a high carbohydrate diet, lack of exercise, etc.). You're probably wondering if you just had a dog or cat diagnosed with diabetes mellitus—what do you do? First, we encourage you to take a look at these articles for an explanation of the disease:

This article will teach you about life-threatening complications that can occur as a result of the disease; specifically, a life-threatening condition called diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) so that you know how to help prevent it.

What is DKA?

When diabetes goes undiagnosed or difficult to control or regulate, the complication of DKA can occur. DKA develops because the body is so lacking in insulin that the sugar can’t get into the cells — resulting in cell starvation. Cell starvation causes the body to start breaking down fat in an attempt to provide energy (or a fuel source) to the body. Unfortunately, these fat breakdown products, called “ketones,” are also poisonous to the body.

Symptoms of DKA

Clinical signs of DKA include the following:

  • Weakness

  • Not moving (in cats, hanging out by the water bowl)

  • Not eating or complete anorexia

  • Vomiting

  • Excessive thirst and urination (clear, dilute urine)

  • Large urinary clumps in the litter box (anything bigger than a tennis ball is abnormal)

  • Weight loss (most commonly over the back), despite an overweight body condition

  • Obesity

  • Flaky skin coat

  • Excessively dry or oily skin coat

  • Abnormal breath (typically a sweet “ketotic” odor)

  • Diarrhea

In severe cases DKA can also result in more significant signs:

  • Abnormal breathing pattern

  • Jaundice

  • Abdominal pain (sometimes due to the secondary problem of pancreatitis)

  • Tremors or seizures

  • Coma

  • Death

What can cause DKA?

When DKA occurs, it’s often triggered by an underlying medical problem such as an infection or metabolic (organ) problem. Some common problems that we see with DKA include the following:

  • Pancreatitis

  • Urinary tract infection

  • Chronic kidney failure

  • Endocrine diseases (e.g., hyperadrenocorticism [when the body makes too much steroid], or hyperthyroidism [an overactive thyroid gland])

  • Lung disease (such as pneumonia)

  • Heart disease (such as congestive heart failure)

  • Liver disease (such as fatty changes to the liver)

  • Cancer

Diagnosing DKA

While diagnosing DKA is simple, by looking at the blood sugar levels of dogs and cats and by measuring the presence of these fat breakdown products in the urine or blood, treatment can be costly (running between $3-5000). A battery of tests and diagnostics need to be performed, to look for underlying problems listed above, and treatment typically requires aggressive therapy and 24/7 hospitalization.

Treatment of DKA

Treatment, typically, is required for 3-7 days, and includes the following:

  • A special intravenous catheter called a “central line” (placed to aid in frequent blood draws)

  • Aggressive intravenous fluids

  • Electrolyte supplementation and monitoring

  • Blood sugar monitoring

  • A fast acting or ultra fast acting insulin, regular or Lispro, typically given intravenously or in the muscle

  • Blood pressure monitoring

  • Nutritional support (often in the form of a temporary feeding tube)

  • Anti-vomiting or anti-nausea medication

  • Antibiotics

  • Long-term blood sugar monitoring and a transition to a longer-acting insulin

Thankfully, with aggressive supportive care, many patients with DKA do well as long as pet parents are prepared for the long-term commitment (including twice-a-day insulin, frequent veterinary visits to monitor the blood sugar, and the ongoing costs of insulin, syringes, etc.).

Preventing DKA

By following your veterinarian’s guidelines and recommendations you can help regulate and control your pet’s diabetic state better and monitor your pet carefully for clinical signs. For example, if your pet is still excessively thirsty or urinating frequently despite insulin therapy, they are likely poorly controlled and need an adjustment of their insulin dose (of course, never adjust your pet’s insulin or medications without consulting your veterinarian).

When in doubt remember that the sooner you detect a problem in your dog or cat, the less expensive that problem is to treat. If you notice any clinical signs of diabetes mellitus or DKA, seek immediate veterinary attention. Most importantly, blood glucose curves (when a veterinarian measures your pet’s response to their insulin level) often need to be done multiple times per year (especially in the beginning stages of diabetes mellitus).

If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian.

Related reading:


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dog health, cat health

Signs of Poisoning in Pets

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Signs of poisoning in dogs and cats can range tremendously based on the underlying poison. If you think your dog or cat has been poisoned, call your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline at 855-764-7661 immediately for assistance. When it comes to poisoning, the sooner you treat your dog or cat, the better the outcome.

While this list is not exhaustive or complete, some common signs of poisoning generally include:

Gastrointestinal signs

  • Vomiting

  • Diarrhea

  • Drooling/hypersalivating

  • Inappetance

  • Nausea

Internal bleeding

  • Coughing of blood

  • Vomiting blood

  • Pale gums

  • A racing heart rate

  • Weakness or lethargy

  • Collapse

Kidney failure

  • Halitosis (“uremic” breath)

  • Inappetance

  • Vomiting

  • Diarrhea

  • Excessive thirst or urination

  • Absence or decreased urination

Liver failure

  • Jaundice/icterus/yellow discoloration to the gums

  • Weakness or collapse secondary to a low blood sugar

  • Dull mentation, acting abnormally

  • Vomiting

  • Diarrhea

  • Black-tarry stool (melena)


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