7 Questions That Should Help When Your Dog Consumed Too Much Salt

Have you ever wondered whether your regular dog`s food has too much salt into it? Making your own research about this topic will put your furry friend on the safe side.

Dog Consumed Too Much Salt

Commercial dog foods are sometimes high in salt and should be avoided at all times, as they may lead to sudden spikes of sodium levels in the blood. Reading the product`s label before buying it can go along way when it comes to your canine`s health.

Other foods can include lots of snack-type of foods that humans consume regularly (e.g. chips, pretzels or crackers), different types of deli meats, condiments (e.g. mayonnaise or ketchup, bread, dairy items, pizza or cheese.

It`s best to avoid most of the commercial treats for pets as well, as they
are quite high in salt. If the information regarding salt from the food package isn`t properly readable, you could get in touch with the company that manufactured to see if those pet treats are low in salt or not.

Just keep in mind that a great option for commercial dog treats are lean
meats and veggies.

However, even vegetables, such as potatoes or carrots, include high salt amounts. The broths and gravies added in canned foods include a considerable amount of sodium.

Additionally to the added liquids found in wet foods, the levels of salt are usually a lot higher in this type of products as it aids control the levels of moisture in this kind of foods.

What Are the Signs for Too Much Salt?

If your little canine friend has consumed a high amount of salt for a longer period of time, you may seem him drinking a lot of water at first. He might seem more tired than usual and may look like he`ll have his stomach swollen as well.

If he might have consumed too much salty foods, you may notice him become quite stiff all of a sudden – his muscles have lost some of their moisture.

It`s believed that sodium poisoning might lead to death, if no treatment is received. However, there`s no scientific studies to back-up these beliefs. Other signs may include:

  • Seizures & tremors
  • Diarrhea
  • Thirst & urination in excess
  • Vomiting
  • Accumulation of fluids
  • Lethargy
  • Swelling

You should call your vet right away if you think your dog has experienced sodium poisoning. You will need to have an idea about the amount of salt that was ingested, their normal diet and his weight and size.

If the sodium poisoning is somehow serious, your little friend needs to go to the emergency veterinary hospital immediately. Normal treatments may include checking for brain swelling, dehydration, IV fluids and observing electrolytes. A treatment might take up to 3 days to bring his level of salt to normal.

How Much Sodium Should a Dog Have a Day?

According to the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, dogs that are considered to be healthy and who weigh anywhere around 33 pounds needs to consume up to 100 mg of salt per day. On the other hand, other online scientific researches state that an adult dog should consume up to 0.07% per day in dry food. Obviously, lots of pet foods exceed the salt requirement quite a lot.

You should get in touch with your vet about how you should adjust the sodium amount depending on the size of your dog. Certain dogs, like those who experience heart problems, may need low salt dog foods, and your veterinarian is able to help you with the proper salt amount.

When Is Salt Unhealthy for Our Canine Friends?

Lots of dog owners disagree with added salt as they think it jeopardizes heart health and increases blood pressure.

However, this particular belief isn`t correct! Within a large range of salt intakes, our little friends maintain constant blood pressure and blood salt concentration.

Sodium restriction is considered a mainstay of therapy for heart diseases involving dogs, but there`s no evidence whatsoever of success.

It`s definitely not a great idea to give your dog foods filled with salt, such as pretzels or chips. He will become very thirsty and not only that you`ll have to do a lot of trips to the fire hydrant with him, but this may lead to sodium iron poisoning as well.

What about Sodium Selenite in Dog Food?

Sodium selenite is quite a controversial product when being
used in pet foods. And that is because even though this particular substance is an essential mineral when it comes to a normal function of cells regarding all animals, selenium can become very toxic when used in increased doses.

Even worse than this, the toxicity of this substance seems to be somehow related to the chemical form that is used to make every recipe.

For instance, there`s a research that involve rats suggesting that sodium selenite was almost 3 times more toxic than selenium yeast in its natural basis.

The most organic and natural selenium form produced by yeast is called selenomethionine. And if we consider human based research as well, this particular compound isn`t just less toxic, it mimics a lot more closer the
mineral form found in all kinds of fresh food as well. This means it is more
biologically available to the dog.

Is Orijen Dog Food Low in Sodium?

This particular recipe includes a good balance of meats, fruits and vegetables – some might say it`s good for humans as well. It`s also grain free with specifically selected carbs.

The Omega-3 fatty acids help a healthy skin and smooth coat. The vegetables were specially selected by vets to cleanse the dog`s body of toxins, maintain his metabolism at healthy levels and aid support his organs.

Getting close to our subject of interest, it`s also a very low salt food with a contain of salt of 0.3%.

What Benefits Do Low Salt Dog Food Offer?

Besides helping your canine friend with serious health problems like high blood pressure or heart disease (no scientific data, but that`s what it`s believed), a low amount of sodium in his diet brings a great deal of benefits which will improve and boost his health. Some of them are:

  • Like you may have already know, too high amount of food in your little friend`s diet will only make him thirsty. As we all know, too much salt makes us hydrate faster. And it`s the same with dogs, which means obviously a low amount of salt in your dog`s diet will surely keep him hydrated for longer periods of time, without necessarily needing him to drink water.
  • If your little fella has a high blood pressure, you`ll only help him lowering it and maintaining it down with a low amount of salt in his diet, preventing strokes and various heart issues on the long term.
  • For instance, if the dog experiences a heart condition, automatically it`s more difficult for his organism to process ions of sodium, which it`s recommended a low salt diet.
  • Diets with low amount of sodium lessen any chances of osteoporosis, making it very important for dogs that are already suffering of poor muscle or nerve function. This is usually common in older dogs and can be reducing the intake of sodium can improve the strength of muscles, aiding him to move better regardless his age or size.
  • If you have a discussion with your vet and he says it`s fine, a low amount of salt in his diet can aid prevent lots of health issues and make the trips to the veterinarian not become a routine.

What Do Scientific Research Say About Dog Salt Consumption?

According to recent scientific research, a sodium selection study was done on 5 dogs that got a specific blood amount.

Every dog cage contained a small bucket with water and one that contained NaCl solution of which the concentration was step-by-step increased each and every 4 days (0.29% to 1.76%) during 24 days. All intakes of liquids were quantified on a daily basis.

The ration between sodium solution and total fluid ingested dropped, in a dose-dependent manner, from 0.51 for zero salt in drinking water to 0.22 for the highest level of concentration. – Check for more!

Therefore, the dogs manifested reluctance toward salty water instead of a desire. The dislike was evident for amount of sodium added to dry, commercial dog food products, but might be worn out by the matrix of the food product.

Ingestion of sodium has a tendency of dehydrating cells by osmosis that leads to thirst by the very same neuroendocrine indicators as does the absence of water.

By raising dietary sodium content step-by-step (0.1 to 6.6 g) added sodium in dry dog food products led to a positive result.

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