Toxic algae


There is nothing better than finding a spot where you and your dog/dogs can spend the afternoon swimming.  Away from all the crowds you know of a place where there is a great little pond.  But that pond may hold a toxic substance dangers to humans but more so for your dog.

I remember several years back hearing of a couple of canine deaths caused by algae.  Being that it is mid summer and the temperatures are rising I felt that I should give everyone a heads up.  We use to run our dogs in a creek not too far from our house.  It would go from deep and raging for months after the rainy season to a mere trickle at dryer times.  After hearing about the algae deaths we stopped allowing them to run in the water all together.

Not all algae is bad but the blue green type can become toxic in the warmer weather.  As the water levels drop and the temperatures rise a toxic potion can result.  Many people who commonly swim their dogs in fresh water need to be aware of the dangers.   Not all blue green algae is blue or green, it can be shades of brown, red or orange as well.  Sitting water or stagnant ponds are the worst.  Below are several articles on the subject; please take care.  

Pet connection

VT Vet

Algae

The news guard

1 comment:

  1. FANCY the Red Standard PoodleTuesday, August 02, 2011

    Hi Y'all,

    Those of us who have retrievers and commonly train on water are aware of the algae. Generally, I prefer to keep dogs out of any body of water this time of year.

    One of the worst habits for a dog to have is drinking from bodies of water. Sooner or later they'll drink from something that is contaminated, even if it is antifreeze in a puddle of rain water.

    Y'all come by now,
    BrownDog's Human

    ReplyDelete

Love to hear from you.

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