Lucy very unwell

chucknorris

zaksmum wrote: »

I only know what the vet told me, that it's present in many rivers too.

Lucy was in a river when she became ill - a free flowing river, but muddy. The vet said it's around the edges of rivers so maybe some big rivers might be safe and perhaps smaller ones are not? And apparently it's more widespread during a period of hot weather.

I'm not taking any chances though. My dogs can cool off with water from the hosepipe from now on. If I'd known this stuff was potentially fatal to dogs I'd never have allowed them anywhere near it.

But the point is that the algae is quite obvious, just don't go near a river that has it, it is one of the first things that I look out for, not all blue green algae's are toxic, but it is best to assume so. As I was saying I usually swim Ozzie (my lab) in a lake but it can get quite murky in the height of the summer, but more to the point there are a few small ponds in the vicinity that definitely have algae growing there, but my local river does not, so I take him there in the height of the summer. The river isn't great most of the time because I usually end up arguing with fisherman about my dog jumping in the water near them.


All dog owners should read this:


http://www.alfiesblog.com/an-entlebuchers-waggy-tails/heard-nasty-blue-green-algae-poisonous-dogs/

zaksmum

chucknorris wrote: »

But the point is that the algae is quite obvious, just don't go near a river that has it, it is one of the first things that I look out for, not all blue green algae's are toxic, but it is best to assume so. As I was saying I usually swim Ozzie (my lab) in a lake but it can get quite murky in the height of the summer, but more to the point there are a few small ponds in the vicinity that definitely have algae growing there, but my local river does not, so I take him there in the height of the summer. The river isn't great most of the time because I usually end up arguing with fisherman about my dog jumping in the water near them.


All dog owners should read this:


http://www.alfiesblog.com/an-entlebuchers-waggy-tails/heard-nasty-blue-green-algae-poisonous-dogs/

Thanks for that link chucknorris.

I honestly had never heard of this algae before. I didn't even realise there was a river where we were walking as it was down a steep embankment and quite dried out.

I just saw Lucy going down the embankment - she was off lead because we were in a remote rural area - and went over because sometimes she struggles to get back up a steep slope. Saw that she was covered in mud and that she was in a shallow river and in that same second she drank from it.

The river did have a lot of murky scummy stuff round the edges of it but even then I didn't realise the danger, just that I wanted to get her out and away from it as it looked horrible.

It was only the next day that Lucy became very ill and I knew we had a big problem.

I can't believe my poor old girl nearly died because of this stuff - I'm shocked to the core. And awareness needs to be raised, especially in this hot weather, because dogs will try to cool off and conditions are perfect for the algae to thrive.

chucknorris

zaksmum wrote: »

Thanks for that link chucknorris.

I honestly had never heard of this algae before. I didn't even realise there was a river where we were walking as it was down a steep embankment and quite dried out.

I just saw Lucy going down the embankment - she was off lead because we were in a remote rural area - and went over because sometimes she struggles to get back up a steep slope. Saw that she was covered in mud and that she was in a shallow river and in that same second she drank from it.

The river did have a lot of murky scummy stuff round the edges of it but even then I didn't realise the danger, just that I wanted to get her out and away from it as it looked horrible.

It was only the next day that Lucy became very ill and I knew we had a big problem.

I can't believe my poor old girl nearly died because of this stuff - I'm shocked to the core. And awareness needs to be raised, especially in this hot weather, because dogs will try to cool off and conditions are perfect for the algae to thrive.

When I noticed a very green pond a few years ago (and I mean bright green with no clear water visible at all) I wondered if it might be harmful to my dog, so I googled it and was quite surprised at what I found. My first thought was 'why the hell isn't this more widely known', I think that there should at least be notices on vet's walls. Like you I was astounded that something so toxic to dogs wasn't particularly well known.

zaksmum

It's worth spreading the word. I'm sure dog owners will be much more careful about letting dogs go in lakes, streams or rivers if they were made fully aware about the dangers of this algae.

Paradigm

zaksmum wrote: »

Why would the leptospirosis vaccine become ineffective after 6 months if they only give it annually though?

Unlike viral vaccines (parvovirus, distemper and adenovirus), which have been

shown to give immunity for several years and therefore may not need annual boosters, Leptospirosis is a

bacterin-based vaccine that gives very poor lengths of immunity. In fact,

clinical evidence suggests that bacterinderived vaccines may not even provide

immunity for 12 months, which means that even annual boosters may not give enough protection

Taken from http://www.canine-health-concern.org.uk/Dogs%20Today%20Lepto%20Article%20Nov%202006.pdf

I've seen other articles that were even more pessimistic

zaksmum

Paradigm wrote: »

Taken from http://www.canine-health-concern.org.uk/Dogs%20Today%20Lepto%20Article%20Nov%202006.pdf

I've seen other articles that were even more pessimistic

Very surprised about that.

Paradigm

zaksmum wrote: »

Very surprised about that.

So was I! Luckily I don't live in an area with a history of Lepto, my vet can't remember when she last saw a case.

joansgirl

My local lake is infested with blue-green algae at the moment. I keep warning other dog owners but they just think I'm exaggerating when I tell them it could make their dog ill.

My dog has had numerous stomach upsets this summer and they can all be traced back to water so now she stays on the lead when we're near any.

Our local council used to put up notices warning people about the algae but so far this year they haven't bothered.

Katiehound

I've been away for the last 3+ weeks so only just reading posts on here. Sorry to hear your dog has been very ill... but recovered (or recovering) Blue-green algae is notorious and has been around for some years, it especially seems to thrive in hot sunny weather- which is of course the very time that dogs want to cool off.
I'm lucky as I am not far from the sea..... but shan't be going with 2 hounds with imperfect recall as I know they can egg each other on... and race into the sunset!

zaksmum

I suppose the sea is the only safe outdoors water for the dogs to cool off in.

Just been to our local park where the Giants were and was horrified to see several dogs in the lake that's closed due to the presence of the algae.

Signs everywhere saying it can be fatal to dogs and nobody's taking a blind bit of notice!