Salmon Can Be Fatal for Dogs

While the health benefits of salmon for humans are widely known, the Idaho Fish & Game administration has recently put out a warning to sport fishermen and hobbyist anglers: don’t take your dogs to the river with you.

The reason? Apparently, raw salmon can encourage the development of a particular parasite within the dogs’ digestive tracts, causing symptoms that begin with weakness, nausea, and vomiting, and can result in death within two weeks of contracting the illness.

The disease poses no threat to humans or other animals, it seems; in fact, raw salmon is a staple of many other creatures’ diets, including bears and some birds. The condition is also extremely responsive to treatment: if your pet has eaten raw salmon and exhibits any of the symptoms above, a quick trip to the veterinarian and a short course of antibiotics should do the trick.