The Not so Happy Water Dog

In July we took Madison to visit a friend at another lake. They had a little beach area where she could walk into the water. She was frantic about wanting to play in the water. Every time we would bring her up on land so we could sit and talk, Madison would frantically pull to go back to the water. We decided to put her on a line in the water so we could relax! She was having a great time, playing, pawing at the water, barking at the water. After about an hour we dragged her back on land with us. She wanted to return...we kept her on land for a while then let her go back to the water. After about half an hour we brought her back on land...now she was not so happy. Her breathing was labored and she had no energy. Her tail, normally curled above her back, was down, a sure sign of trouble. Kathleen immediately wanted to drive her to the emergency animal clinic in Fort Wayne (about 40 minutes) but I was not so sure. But Kathleen is usually right about these things so off we went...at high speeds at times and running several lights!! At the St. Joe Emergency Clinic - a great place - we discovered she had water toxicity, which can be fatal!! She had taken in so much water that her electrolytes in her cells were out of whack...too diluted. This can happen to runners sometimes if they take in too much water after a race. Boy are we bad parents!!!
Madison had to be put on an IV and kept overnight...it was kind of scary because she was in some danger. Luckily she pulled through and came home the next day...lesson learned, not by Madison, she is still a nut int he water, but one learned by the humans!