Parks Bar info needed!

[Jared]

Hey All, I recently rescued a puppy and have taken her fishing with me a few times. She likes to play in the water at Hammon Grove but Parks Bar she is a little hesitant to get in. The problem is she drinks from the water at Parks Bar even though I bring water for her. Does anyone know if the water is safe enough for her? I can't get her to stop drinking it without just parking further away from the bank so she can't get close enough.
Thanks
Jared

[PV_Premier]

It won’t be a problem. The Yuba is “fairly” clean and dogs generally have iron stomachs. Maybe try to keep her from drinking water that is clearly stagnant/not flowing.

[Darian]

It's true that dogs have an iron stomach but they can contract giardia. According to backpacking books I've read, almost all untreated surface water below 10,000' contains giardia. Maybe direct your question to a vet.

[tcorfey]

I think there is an algae that can kill dogs don't remember if it is a blue algae or a red algae? But there was a warning on the Russian River for dog owners last summer I believe.

Regards,
Tim C.

[Ed Wahl]

Yes Jared that water is plenty safe.
Most water is.
The stagnant water is iffy.My dogs have drank more than most of that too without any problems.

If you see the blue green algae don't let her drink it. It's poisonous. The rest, including puddles after a rain is just fine. If she develops diarrhea I would suspect giardia, but it's easily treated by a vet.My dogs have never come down with it in several generations of hunters.
Let her play in the water all she wants, we all do. She'll be fine.
Ed

[aaron]

1. Let your dog be a dog. 2. Leptospirosis vax if its going to be an outside dog.

[John H]

My dog drinks out of the gutter all the time. She eats food scraps she finds laying around downtown if she gets to them before I stop her. A chicken wing someone threw in the bushes is a big score for her. She also likes to eat dried fish bones she finds on the shoreline. She seems to have a pretty good idea of what is safe for her. She has never been sick.

[lee s.]

John,
I would be extra cautious about the fish bones. We were around a dog that got salmon poisoning from chewing dead salmon in Washington state. She survived, but never fully. Always looked emaciated after that.
Button too, gets to be a dog, until we're around dead salmon. Then she's confined to the boat or visual contact.
....lee s.

[John H]

I have heard about salmon and dogs. We don’t get on salmon rivers much. She just likes the dried up bones anyway. She has found carcasses and seems to have no interest other than rolling in them.

I do appreciate the advice. I am sorry to hear that happened to your dog. If I ever got my dog sick or killed my wife and daughter would kick me out of the family. They already think I lead a reckless life so blame would come easily to me.

[JasonB]

I would definitely talk to your vet a little on this topic! While dogs do tend to be able to handle a lot of things we cannot, they are not even close to being impervious to any and all toxins. I do not know the specifics on water quality on that section of the Yuba, other than anecdotal experiences that our dogs drank from it and were ok. I will say that my wife and I have both moved more in the direction of giving them water from a known source when possible, and are fairly vigilant about not letting them “forage” on whatever “goodies” they may find. There are a surprising number of serious toxins in everyday items that some people would never suspect: chocolate and raisins for example, and xylitol which is a very common artificial sweetener but very toxic to dogs. It’s worth talking to your vet to get a more complete picture, as well as knowing what you may (or may not) be able to do in case of accidental poisoning. A good friend recently lost a very sweet puppy that they had for less than a month due to leptospirosis (main suspect was dirty water source), so do your homework before assuming everything will be fine. Most likely your dog will survive all kinds of mischief that it shouldn’t, but there’s no reason to leave any more to chance than you need to.
JB

[Jared]

I remember that. I'll leave her home when I hear about any concerns

[Jared]

Thank you all for the advice. She hasn't had any issues yet so until things look iffy I'm just gonna let her do her thing. Now I need to figure out how to get her to swim. She goes in chest deep but no further. And panics when I'm out of reach

[lee s.]

Sounds like she will have you trained shortly..... ;-)
....lee s.

[Jared]

Yeah it's a give-and-take thing

[Bob Loblaw]

I fished the Yuba yesterday, STINKING HOT! One more thing to watch out for. I saw a huge rattlesnake when I parked right under the bridge. That little fire road that goes up up to the left he was in the little culvert. Thing was 6 feet long and scared the absolute poop out of me.