Posted by The San Francisco Dog Walker – Excerpt from Save McLaren Park Newsletter
Ticks are currently abundant in McLaren Park. Tom Scott of Save McLaren Park said, “In the past two weeks alone I’ve found 3 different ticks on me. I don’t recall finding any ticks in the previous 8 years that I’ve been going to the park. My dog remains tick-free thanks to the medication she uses.”
Suggestions when going to the park: Apply mosquito repellent, especially to your legs and even if you’re wearing pants. Also, it’s a good idea to check yourself after returning from the park. Ticks tend to go for warm moist areas, such as armpits and groins.
Tom explains, “the ticks I found on myself have been identified as Dermacentor variabilis, also known as American Dog Tick and Wood Tick. This species is not known to carry Lyme Disease, but it can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. It’s unlikely, though, that the ticks in McLaren carry this disease. I don’t think this is an urgent health concern for park users, but something to be aware of.”
Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by home Depot and various Garden Supply stores  contains a lethal ingredient called ‘Theobromine’, which is lethal to dogs and cats. Cocoa Mulch is a mulch that is used for retaining moisture around plants in the garden and is popular because it smells like chocolate, which is also, really attractive to dogs. They can ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in San Francisco.
The ingredient Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker’s chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine. Â A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later in San Francisco. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.
This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1 AM on Wednesday but the owner didn’t call my emergency service until 7 AM.
I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn’t seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet and the doctor there was like me – had heard something about it, but… Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 & 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours. The dog’s BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At that point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.
He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn’t control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to Euthanize.
This is a very sad case – great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler’s. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern. Onions, chocolate, cocoa, avocados and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too.
I came upon a Dog Walker in McLaren Park while he was on his cell phone discussing an issue with one of his clients. As he was preoccupied and had his back to his pack of dogs, he didn’t notice that one of the dogs was drinking from a muddy puddle of water. As a fellow SF Dog Walker, I thought I would help him out by shooing the dog away from it. When he got off the phone, he said that I need not bother doing this in the future; that he lets his dogs drink from puddles and has been doing so for over 10 years and nothing has happened yet. He then reminded me of the time that I informed him that one of his dogs was eating a dead seal on the beach. He informed me that the dog had been eating dead sea lions on the beach for years and nothing had happened yet.
As a SF Dog Walker, I know from research that puddles in San Francisco Parks are often sources of drinking water for racoons, rats and other wildlife and can cause a dog to develop bouts of vomiting, diarrhea, by infecting the dog with Giardia, a water borne disease. Additionally, if a dog is eating dead or coming into contact with dying seals on the beach, they are potentially being exposed to Leptospirosis – a serious and deadly situation.
These two diseases are currently very active in San Francisco and both are contagious to dogs and humans and can be passed from dog to human. What this means to the average San Franciscan is that the family dog may be exposing your family to very serious illnesses if they are regularly drinking from muddy puddles in the parks or eating dead or dying seals on the beach.
Puppy Socials are hour-long play sessions where puppies get to play off-leash in a supervised setting. Puppies who get to play with lots of different puppies during their early months learn how to communicate better with other dogs, learn confidence around other dogs, and are much more well-adjusted as adults.
Just playing with other dogs in your house or the neighbor’s dog isn’t enough – they need to learn to be comfortable around unfamiliar dogs too.  Dogs have different communication styles and the more dog language your puppy understands the less likely there is to be a misunderstanding between dogs. Supervision is important when puppies play too. Shy puppies can get bullied and become fearful.
Also, at this young age a puppy is learning how to use their teeth. We want them to learn how to inhibit their bites so that their teeth don’t damage other dogs or people when they’re adults. Simply telling them “NO” when they bite won’t teach them anything about jaw pressure.
Who is eligible to attend Puppy Socials?
Puppy Socials are for puppies aged 8 weeks to 6 months. Check the Internet to find one that fits your needs.
