Salmon Poison and your best freind

Almost lost my Scotty Puppy this week. 4 days at the Summit Referral Vet Hospital in Tacoma saved his life. He was not eating, not wanting to move and when he did he was wobbly at best. He had just had Rabies shots and others. We thought it could have been a reaction to the vaccine. They did MRI, Brain scan, spinal tap, ultrasound, and many blood test. Finally they found the problem. Salmon poison !!!
How could that be ? I have fished for 50 years and have owned several dogs. I was always extremely careful with my dogs and Salmon and trout. Doctors told me he could have licked my boots after I cleaned fish in an area they don't have access to. There could have been a around my smoker when I was smoking fish. I am not sure but the red flag is up in our house and hopefully all of you are extra careful for your "best friends".

its a fluke called Nanophyetus salmincola, and has a life cycle similar to Henneguya Salminicola, which are the puss balls in meat, aka "tapioca disease"...

never let your dogs eat uncooked fish, or lick blood, or slime, or anything...

best is to just not let them eat fish at all, although some cook it and feed it to their dogs...

i wouldnt...

Glad your pup is OK and thanks for the good reminder. I NEVER let my dogs anywhere near any salmon, steelhead or other marine critters. Mostly, I make certain everything is completely cleaned and watched while handling fish (even fully cooked fish).

Lost a beautiful brown lab pup to salmon poisoning only a few weeks after giving it to my daughter for her 5th birthday (30 yrs ago now). Had a filet station set up at the back of the house, had a salmon laying on the table and it was close enough to the deck the pup could stick his head through the railings and lick the fins of the salmon. Came back out of the house with my knives and shoed the dog away saying "knock it off - you want to die?" having heard of salmon poisoning but never experienced it. The next day came home from work and the dog was curled up in the corner of the back yard barely responsive. Took him to the vet but it was too late and lost him later that evening. Not on all fish but enough not to risk it! Crazy when you see the sled dogs eating raw salmon in Alaska.

The bug is not in every system, so here in WA one watershed might be safe and then you catch fish in another......

One solution is to just wipe out wild salmon. I actually had that suggested by folks who lived on a system that had seen few or no spawners for decades. Now, there were carcasses.

The life cycle of the trematode N. salmincola requires presence of the snail Juga in the freshwater environment to complete its life cycle. The N. Salmincola worm carries a bacteria in salmon that is the actual pathogen that kills dogs. Systems in Alaska lack the snail, so there is no N. salmincola present, and they can feed salmon to their dogs without getting them sick.

N. salmincola has also been linked to poor marine survival in Puget Sound salmonids.

So sorry for your loss. I’ve had 3 dogs exposed to the bug over the years. 2 made it through then immune from it. 1 did not. Living near water ways where fish exist is tough to control. Roaming pups will find crap to roll, lick, eat whatever. But if they make it through the illness they won’t get it again.

Good info Milt & RnG!

The causative agent in k9 salmon posing is a rickettsia bacteria that is most prevalent in our Latitude. This is why Northern Alaskans can feed their dogs raw salmon with little concern. Not all of our fish have it but because the fish has to eat a snail that contains the rickettsia. Some will feed their dogs raw salmon purposely at a young age and monitor their temperature closely and as soon as there is a rise seek medical assistance since early detection is key. Once a dog has survived from a infection then it most likely be immune from future episodes. A risky endeavour but wise for some that plan on having salmon around the house routinely.

I have a brother in law that commercial fishes and is also the most active sports fisherman I know. I asked him once if any of his dogs got it. He laughed and said that everyone had. He learned years ago how to self administer the medicine so as soon as they show signs he gives them the needed medicine. I don't think he has lost any yet. All of them were immune after that.

You guys seem to know more about this problem, than I've seen. We had 28 years of yellow labs but now we just have cats. We never gave our labs salmon and we were careful not to expose them. But we give the cats a little cooked salmon now and then which they really like.

Do cats have a problem?

Thanks.

If you have fish and dogs around the same house, it's a good idea to have tetracycline and wormer on hand at all times and talk to your vet about how to administer it. Just waiting overnight is too long to get treatment started.

Only affects dogs/canines