Don’t let these slimeballs ruin your poor dog’s health
I LIKE dog walking in the rain for lots of reasons. It’s always nice and quiet on my local cycle track when it is chucking it down.
All but the die-hard professional cyclists hang up their lycra.
The horse riders shut the stable doors before the horse has bolted.
The amateur pooch owners stay indoors. I get to justify the money I have spent on waterproof clothing.
And my Labrador gets wet. Which sounds bad but you should see the joyous look on her face when you bring out a warm towel and the pleasure she experiences as you ruffle her coat vigorously makes it all worthwhile.
But then there are the snails. Pre-dog walking, I had never noticed them before but warm weather and rain has them sliding in a suicidal manner across the wet tarmac.
Quite why they do this, rather than remaining safe, deep in the lush undergrowth, is beyond me, but they appear in their hundreds.
Which increases the risk of walking dogs picking up lungworms, as these snails, who will feast on infected dog faeces that are left in the vegetation, are very likely to be carriers.
Lungworm (sometimes more correctly referred to as French heartworm) is caused by a parasite called angiostrongylus vasorum.
The adult worms live cosily in the blood vessels of dogs, close to the heart, occasionally producing substances that can prevent the blood clotting, especially if there are large numbers of them.
They lay eggs, which hatch into larvae that then burrow through the walls of the blood vessels into the lungs.
The dog then coughs these up and swallows them, so that they pass unharmed through the intestines and out in faeces. (I promise I am not just making this up.)
When faeces are not properly poop-scooped (bad people!), along comes your average slug or snail who ingest the larvae.
Eating the snails or licking their trail can infect the unsuspecting dog. Once back in the dog, the larvae migrate to the blood vessels and mature into adults so that the whole horrific lifecycle can begin again.
The clinical signs of lungworm in canines are varied and include coughing, breathlessness, unexplained bleeding or bruising and general ill health.
Fortunately, as you might expect, my dog is treated monthly to prevent infection. Depending on your and your dog’s lifestyle, it may be worth considering doing the same.
In this case, prevention is better than cure. Use the money you put away for a rainy day.
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