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What To Do If Your Dog Encounters Poison Oak

August 23rd, 2009

It’s around this time of year that your pup will encounter the most “wee beasties” of all kinds. But pests aren’t the only threat folks…

This time of year, our dogs face a variety of outdoor nasties (ticks, fleas, skunks, bees, etc.) that challenge the well-being of both the animal and human companion. One such adversary is poison oak, and in beautiful Northern California we love our outdoor hikes, but we hate Western Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum). Poison oak has a surface oil on its leaves and twigs called urushiol that often causes an allergic reaction.

When an eager and inquisitive dog explores its surroundings and encounters poison oak, the urushiol rubs off onto the dog’s coat or, worse, the dog’s face. While the urushiol on the dog’s coat does not in and of itself cause problems, the urushiol can get onto a human who may the pet the dog’s coat or onto carpet, furniture, or other surfaces that may be touched by a human or another pet.

Urushiol on a dog’s nose, snout, and eyes, however, provides the greatest opportunity for allergic reaction on your pet due to the exposed and sensitive skin. This results in inflammation, itching, and oozing (weeping blisters). It normally takes about a day for the rash to appear; for those with severe reactions it’ll worsen during the next few days. Depending on how it is treated and dealt with, the rash persists typically one to two weeks, sometimes longer – ugh! The resulting dog’s scratching of the affected area often compounds the affliction.

Our mobile pet grooming business recently received a call from one of our clients requesting our services to resolve a poison oak encounter by their two golden retrievers. “We just cleared out a portion of our backyard, including a huge growth of poison oak, and the dogs got into the stuff. Help!” Note: freshly-cut leaves and branches of poison oak expose more urushiol toxin thereby exacerbating any direct contact – yikes, a recipe for disaster! One of the humans had indeed gotten the toxin on her arms and hands by touching the affected coat of one of the dogs.

The primary remedy that we used in treating the dogs was a fabulous product called Tecnu, which removes the harmful oils. The product can be applied before a rash has started (as a preventive measure for when one first becomes aware of the poison oak encounter) or as soon as the rash appears. According to the directions, you saturate a cloth with Tecnu and wipe down the pet’s coat, then follow with a pet shampoo. We followed this procedure on both dogs, thoroughly wiping down each dog’s entire coat with Tecnu, then a thorough shampoo and rinse. Both dogs also had several small oozing sores on their snouts from the poison oak, so we avoided wiping down the affected areas on the snouts (per Tecnu’s instructions). If either dog had a severe rash on the face or snout or a rash in or around the eyes, I would have recommended the owner take the dog to the veterinarian. For severe reactions a prednisone prescription is necessary to stop skin damage, especially if the eyes are involved. Now, since the Tecnu only removes the oil, it won’t immediately resolve the rash or eliminate the acute itching.

The client has reported no more subsequent poison oak problems with these dogs and we have since returned to groom both retrievers and found no lingering evidence of the poison oak affliction. Yay!

In the end, the best a dog owner could do is to recognize the possibility of a poison oak (or poison ivy) encounter early and take preventive measures per the Tecnu regimen to avoid any rash outbreak. Of course, please take early and immediate steps to identify and carefully remove any and all poison oak or poison ivy from your yard or common areas frequented by your dog. Doing your best to reducing exposure to this toxin is good for your dog and good for you.

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This information was provided to K9 Cuisine, courtesy of Dave Ely of Aussie Pet Mobile. They provide mobile luxury grooming services to cats & dogs all over Northern California. Their grooming products are ensured to be eco-friendly and biodegradable, lessening your pooch’s carbon footprint as well as your own.

Tags: dog, dogs, pet care, pet health, poison oak, Tecnu
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