Can dogs catch poision oak??

[Bowbldr]

I catch poision oak bad, I mean go to the hospital with my eyes swollen shut bad.

I assume dogs can carry the oil on their fur but my GSP has little if any "fur" on her belly, just skin. She's just a pup but she's starting to learn about birds in a field with a flowing marshy creek with lots of fresh, bright green poision oak.

Any chance of her catching it ???

[GsPJustin]

We absorb the poison oak residue through the pores in our skin, and since dogs don't have them I suppose that they can't get it quite like we do. I wouldn't let her go running through it if at all possible. I know i pet a Brittany with it on her fer, and my hand got a rash, but she was not effected by it. They have more fur than gsp's though. A good rinse in the creek before you leave would probably solve any problems she might have. I would be most concerned about it getting in her ears mouth and in between the toes.

[bobman]

she wont but,

you can get it from the residue on her fur so if you are affected by it you might want to keep her out of it.

[Theresa]

The dogs can carry the urushiol oil on their coats but not be sensitive to it themselves. And, some dogs ARE sensitive also.

An old time remedy that still works today; get some Fells Naptha laundry soap - comes in a bar from Walmart or most drugstores will carry it -and was with that in cold water. It removes the urushiol from the dogs coat (and other oils also, so don't be shy about a followup conditioner) very effectively and is cheap.

[birdshot]

my experience with the poison oak / ivy is your dog will give it to the kids, then you will have to play dumb about what the rash is and where it could have come from. if playing dumb will not work blame the neighbors kids.