Pepsi Saved My Dog's Life
Believe it, or not, drinks like Pepsi and Coke may actually keep your dog healthy and safe! Here’s my true story.
I had just taken my dog to a nearby open field, where I waited patiently for her to sniff around and do her business. That’s when I heard her sneezing and hacking uncontrollably.
The foxtail can be fatal to a dog that ingests it.
The sound was painful to listen to, and as I got closer to my dog, I saw drops of blood coming from her nose.
The first thing I noticed around us was the foxtails. They were everywhere. They are basically weeds, very dangerous and deadly weeds.
Apparently, she had been sniffing the ground and snorted up a #foxtail. Now that dry barbed weed was lodged deep in her snout. And I couldn’t see it to extract it.
She sneezed dozens of times. But sneezing was making the situation worse. She seemed panicked to get it out. I knew that eventually, a foxtail could snake its way into her body, where it could potentially pierce a vital organ if I didn’t act quickly.
I’m going to say this as clearly as possible: Foxtails are extremely, extremely dangerous to dogs and other animals like horses.
Jetta ingested a foxtail, but was treated by a can of soda. It worked!
The biggest single problem with foxtails is that when they are ingested by a dog, they are difficult, if not impossible, to pull directly out because of nature’s design. A foxtail implants itself in a dog’s paws, ears, mouth, etc… like a fish hook does in a fish. Ever try to pull out of stubborn fish hook?
I was freaking out. But then I remembered something a friend (www.sealionlabs.net) told me about foxtails and how a carbonated soda can actually help. Hint: It’s a lot like mineral oil.
I happened to have a can of Pepsi in my vehicle the day Jetta snorted up a foxtail. I remember my friend telling me to use a carbonated soda if my dog ever sniffed up a foxtail. I grabbed the soda and gently tipped a teaspoon full of it directly into Jetta’s nose until she sneezed the foxtail and soda out. She didn’t like it and shook her head in protest while continuing to sneeze. Then she stopped sneezing and looked at me with a toothy grin.
Apparently, carbonated soda and the ingredients to formulate it (Coke, Pepsi, or whatever brand) coats the dry barb enough to make them go limp. Once it gets soaked by the soda it will slide out of the snout with a sudden sneeze.
After that episode, I always carry a carbonated soda with me. There are other homeopathic dog emergency methods of dislodging a foxtail that I understand work well too, like mineral oil, which is available over the counter. But the great thing about carbonated soda is… you can also drink it when you get thirsty!
To read more about foxtails check out this working dog forum, where others share similar stories of foxtails: www.Retrievertraining.net.
