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Originally Posted by janeandy  Google is getting some hammering since we brought Ryman home last week! The vet mentioned letting him out in the garden but with all this rain we have lots of snails/slugs and snail trails...can someone please let us newbies know what we should be doing to prevent our puppies getting ill from accidently eating one? I've read some form of tablet they can take to stop is it Lungworm? sorry if I've got the wrong diagnoses...perhaps someone can put us right? Thanks in advance! |
IT IS POSSIBLE YOUR DOG CAN GET SICK FROM EATING SLUGS. THE EASIEST WAY TO PREVENT THIS IS TO FENCE OFF THE GARDEN SO HE CAN'T GET TO IT OR FENCE IN A SMALL SECTION OF THE YARD JUST FOR RYMAN. SLUGS CAN TRANSMIT LUNGWORM TO YOUR DOG AND MAKE HIM VERY ILL. . YOU MAY WANT TO SPEAK TO YOUR VET IF YOU SUSPECT RYMAN HAS EATEN THE SLUGS. I FOUND THIS ARTICLE ONLINE :
Dogs do eat the most disgusting things and the majority of them don't cause too much of a problem. Your dog however does seem to have become quite sick, whether its from eating slugs, eating something else or even perhaps another cause entirely.
Eating the slugs and snails themselves doesn't often cause too many problems. However, if you or your neighbours have used slug bait then this may be toxic to dogs. The one that springs to mind immediately is one with the ingredient Metaldehyde which can cause extreme signs of vomiting and seizuring in dogs at toxic doses.This is often a characteristic green colour in nature. Check with your neighbours and your family to make sure no-one has been using any poisons or baits in the surrounding areas.
Another concern about eating slugs is that they can harbour the parasite lungworm which can pass through your dogs body into the lungs where they can cause severe problems, even leading to bleeding disorders and death.
Whenever your dog is showing severe signs of persistent vomiting or diarrhoea then I would always urge you to get your dog checked over by your vet. They might ask you questions about which parasite or worming treatment you regularly use, this is so that they can rule out a diagnosis of lungworm. They might also ask you about any slug baits, pellets or other chemicals you might have used on the garden. If you have used such compounds then its important to take the packet with you so that your vet can see the compound it contains and what concentration it is present in.
They might also want to check that the signs of sickness aren't related to something else entirely and do further investigations.
Keep us updated as to your dogs progress.