"In nearly all cases this will be mild, cause a yelp and then the dog recovers.
- Dr Charlie Blackwood
A number of dogs have swallowed bluebottle jellyfish in recent days, alarming their owners.
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Warrnambool's Joy Wakefield took her 13-week-old Airedale Kelpie cross Louie to the Hopkins River Mouth on Wednesday morning. She was shocked when Louie sniffed and then swallowed what she thought was a piece of plastic.
"I thought 'he shouldn't be eating plastic' so I pulled him away," Mrs Wakefield said.
"When I saw there were so many at that part of the river I got really worried and was wondering what they were and where they came from."
Mrs Wakefield said she was shocked to discover from another person at the river mouth they were jellyfish.
"I started to worry as I know jellyfish can be poisonous."
Mrs Wakefield said she did some research and decided to contact her vet.
"She said that since he ate them, his mouth and throat could have been stung and to check those," Mrs Wakefield said.
"I checked him out and he had no visible redness in his mouth or feet as well cause he could have stepped on them," Mrs Wakefield said.
Her vet told her to keep an eye on him overnight.
Thankfully, he is back to his playful self.
Warrnambool Veterinary Clinic senior veterinary surgeon Charlie Blackwood said a sting could be painful for a dog in the same way it is for a human. "If the dog eats a bluebottle it may have a sore mouth and possibly an irritated oesophagus," Dr Blackwood said.
"In nearly all cases this will be mild, cause a yelp and then the dog recovers.
"Sometimes the pain may be more severe and some ulceration could result. If the dog swallows the bluebottle and the oesophagus is irriated, the dog could be reluctant to eat."
Dr Blackwood said another issue could be irritated feet from walking on the tentacles.
"If they do eat a bluebottle, encourage drinking fresh water or even flush the mouth out with water if that is easy," he said. "If the dog is in extreme pain or very off colour, talk to your veterinarian. They may decide to examine the dog and prescribe pain relief and even gut protectants." Another Warrnambool dog Winnie gave Chloe Deakin a scare when she swallowed a bluebottle while walking along the beach on Thursday night.
She is also recovering well.
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