Top 5 Summer Dangers for Dogs

TICKS – These parasites attach themselves to dogs and hook into their skin.  Their bloated bodies will be full of your dog’s blood.  Can give a dog (and humans too) a very nasty, sometimes fatal disease.  They are more often seen in summer months, if you walk your dog in long grass check for them when you get home.   They can suddenly appear from anywhere though.   Don’t try to pull them off – it’s a job for the vet or you can spray with Frontline (from the vet) which zaps them instantly.

GREEN SLIME – Who would think that a few slurps of slimy water would be a killer?   The action of the sun on the micro-organisms in still and stagnant water turns it green and it is then toxic and can prove fatal.   Keep water dishes clean and out of direct sunlight, change water often.   If you are out on a walk never let your dog drink standing water or even go into it.  A swim in green slime water may be his last ever.   Symptoms are shaking, slobbering, panting, distress – the only way to save your dog’s life is to get to the vet as soon as possible.

CORN COBS – When it’s barbecue weather (although we’ve not seen much of it so far this year) we all love a hot buttered corncob – and so will your dog.   But while we have the sense not to eat the hard stalky inner, your dog might  just be thinking butter and wolf the lot down.   You might not see him do this.   He could have gone on a dustbin recce and found a corncob in the trash.   When he suddenly becomes ill and miserable a few hours later, it will be a mystery what has caused it.  Only a trip to the vet and an operation to remove the cob will save him.  Corncobs cause blocked intestines and are usually fatal unless surgically removed.   A big op… a very poorly dog …. and a big bill.

SLUGS AND SNAILS – My dog would never eat a slug so what’s the problem here?   It’s always best to use organic and harmless to animal slug pellets just in case.   The ones with pesticides in will cause untold problems if a dog does decide to go French and gobble one up.   I’ve seen cats eat them.  Ugh!   Their poisonous so deal with these slimy pests so that your pets aren’t tempted.  (half a grapefruit will be full of slugs in a few hours – or a saucer of beer – how you dispose of them is up to you!)   If your dog isn’t eating them he can still become very ill by licking their slimy trail and catching lungworm.   This is a serious and horrid disease that can make your pet very ill.   If you have lots of slugs in the garden and your dog is coughing a lot, ask the vet to test for it.   Treatment for lungworm is successful if caught in time.

STRAYING – When the weather is warm we tend to leave doors open more than usual.   It’s a temptation for a dog to go off on a walkabout.   The trouble is that they sometimes go farther than they think, or get picked up by well meaning people who take them out of the area in an ill-advised rescue attempt.   We’ve heard of dogs taken to Sheffield from the Barlow side of Chesterfieldk and then of course, they’re handed in to a Dog Warden in another area.  How can you ever find your dog again.   If your dog does go missing, advise (by phone and in writing) every Local Authority Dog Warden Service within 100miles.   Get your dog microchipped if you want to get him back home.  It’s the safest way to find him again.