Spring/Summer 2025 Newsletter - Holmer Veterinary Surgery

Symptoms: Dogs may be bitten by adders if they accidently tread on them and disturb them resulting in bites to the lower limbs – this may be observed by sudden limping, pain, swelling and two puncture wounds. In some cases, curious dogs may be bitten on the face, this can be particularly dangerous if the swelling becomes so severe that it affects the patient’s ability to breathe. Systemic signs associated with adder bites can include – vomiting, nausea, ataxia (wobbly gait), lethargy and severe cases may lead to collapse and shock.

Treatment: If you suspect your pet has been bitten by an adder you should seek immediate veterinary attention for advice and to help manage the symptoms. The area is likely to be very painful and often analgesia is indicated, amongst other supportive treatments, such as fluid therapy. There is an antivenom for adder bites, however, this treatment is not easily obtainable and therefore mainly used for severe cases.
Prevention: It is important to plan ahead: check whether you are in an at-risk area for adders and stick to the marked paths. Prevention of adder bites involves being mindful where there are high populations of adders, particularly in heathland, moorlands, wood edges, coastal areas including sand dunes. It is advisable to keep dogs on a lead as this can help to prevent dogs from disturbing adders.
It is important to remember that adders, amongst other UK native snakes, are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which means that it is illegal to injure, kill or sell them.

Grass seeds

Unfortunately, grass seeds can create a worrisome problem for our pets. As our pets enjoy running through the grass and meadows, the sharp ended grass seed can become embedded within the coat and skin, between toes and into ears, noses and eyes. The most commonly affected areas for grass seeds are often between the toes in the interdigital space and within ear canals.

Symptoms: Grass seeds cause a local foreign body reaction with local irritation, pain and swelling. When embedded in the skin an open wound with a discharge may be identified, seeds commonly enter the skin between the toes and the dog may become lame and lick the area. Seeds in the eye cause redness, swelling and ulceration, the pet will be seen to squint, develop a discharge and rub the eye. Dogs with grass seeds in the ear will often shake their heads and rub their ears, grass seeds in the ear can lead to infection and/or ear drum perforation. Grass seeds can be inhaled causing coughing and/or sneezing and if trapped up the nose a nasal discharge. Migrating grass seeds from inhalation or seeds travelling through the skin can result in life threatening complications with fever, pain, inappetence, laboured breathing, collapse due to development of severe infection in the chest or abdomen.
Treatment: Manual removal of grass seeds is required, for which the patient may need to be sedated or undergo an anaesthetic. Once removed antibiotics and analgesia are often prescribed. Not all grass seeds are easily located and/or accessed, for these cases imaging may be required, referral for more advanced imaging may be necessary. Patients with symptoms of migrating grass seeds need urgent medical attention and intensive therapy.
Prevention: Where possible avoid your pets running through long grass. Routinely checking your pet, especially after a walk, to check for and remove any seeds on the feet or coat. Feeling your pet to assess for new swellings, particularly in the feet, is imperative and contacting your vet if you have any concerns or believe that your pet may have an imbedded grass seed.

Weed Killer

Weed killer can come in a variety of different preparations with different ingredients and concentrations, some of which can be very harmful for our pets, and include ingredients such as paraquat and diquat, amongst others that can also be toxic. Our pets can become exposed to weed killers by coming into contact with herbicide sprays and bottles within the household, spillages outdoors or walking over surfaces that have been treated, resulting on the herbicides being present on their feet and coat where they can then lick the product off and ingest it.

Symptoms: Depending on the product encountered different clinical signs may be present, these may include local irritation of the skin, eyes or mouth. If ingested, gastrointestinal signs may be present, such as inappetence, drooling, vomiting and diarrhoea. Certain types of herbicides can also result in neurological signs (ataxia, depression and seizures). Certain herbicides can also affect the lungs causing difficulty breathing, along with causing damage to the liver and kidneys and may potentially be fatal.
Treatment: If you suspect your pet has been exposed to weed killer or other herbicides phone your vet immediately, especially if they are showing symptoms, your vet can then formulate a plan regarding the necessary next steps. It is very helpful if the name of the weed killer and the ingredients are given as this can dramatically aid in assessing the severity of the situation and help with deciding the necessary treatment plan. Treatment may include external decontamination (washing the pets coat), induction of emesis to empty the stomach, activated charcoal may be used to help reduce intestinal absorption. Other supportive measures may be indicated, such as antiseizure medication or fluid therapy, depending on the symptoms your pet is displaying.
Prevention: Using pet friendly methods of keeping weeds at bay, such as manually pulling weeds can really help to prevent exposure. Keeping pets away from recently treated areas is essential. Ensuring that herbicide bottles and products are safely stored out of pet reach in closed containers.

Symptoms: Symptoms of foreign body ingestion can include vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, inappetence, dehydration, collapse, if left untreated life-threatening peritonitis can develop. If the FB is a skewer this also has the potential to penetrate into the chest which a severe life -threatening infection (pyothorax) with increase respiratory rate and effort, fever, lethargy and/or damage to the lung or heart with potentially fatal consequences. Pancreatitis symptoms also include vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, inappetence, fever, dehydration and in severe cases collapse, rarely this can be fatal. Ingestion of material contaminated with cleaner can cause oral or digestive tract ulceration, result in vomiting and/or diarrhoea, difficulty eating may be observed.
Treatment: If your dog has been observed eating something off of the BBQ which they shouldn’t owners should call their vet for advice. For obstructive foreign bodies dogs will require surgery or may need to be referred for endoscopic removal of the foreign material. Treatment of pancreatitis generally involves admittance for fluid therapy, pain and nausea management. Intensive care management is required for pets who develop peritonitis or a penetrating foreign body (bone shard, skewer). Oral and GI ulceration are managed with supportive therapy, pain management, antacids and gastro-protectants.
Prevention: Safe monitoring and management of the BBQ during and after use. Careful handling of waste preventing unwanted access by the dog. Care when treating your dog to food from the BBQ avoiding giving too much high fat food e.g. sausages, meat fat. If you notice your pet has scavenged something they shouldn’t try and remove it from them carefully, this may involve bribing them with something else!

Pros and cons of castration:

Dogs:

Cons:

Spring and Summer Pet Perils(disclaimer this is not an exhaustive list!)

Heat Stroke

Fly Strike

Spring bulbs

Adder bites

Blue Green Algae

Grass seeds

Sticks

Weed Killer

Barbeques

Solar radiation