LOWDOWN Summer 2013 page 23
HOUND HEALTH
SEASONAL CANINE ILLNESS AN AUTUMNAL SCARE
BY SALLY COOPER
Having had a wonderful cabin holiday with our two hounds in the Forest of Dean last May, in early October we set off again for a similar holiday but this time to Sherwood Forest in Nottingham.
The first couple of days were fine; the hounds were enjoying exploring all the local area including Sherwood Forest and the rest that Robin Hood country had to offer.
On the 3rd day of our holiday we took a trip to Clumber Park on a beautiful Autumnal sunny day. Peach managed to find something rather horrid smelling to roll in quite early on in our walk so before getting back into the car, I gave her an impromptu bath in the lake.
At approximately 4am the following morning, I was rudely awakened by Peach who was being violently sick. This didn’t immediately alarm me as she can do this while we are away (change of water etc.). However, when she refused to eat any of her breakfast at around 9am I knew something was wrong. Both of my Bassets would never refuse anything to eat unless something was up!
Buddy decided to try and take his opportunity to steal Peach’s breakfast to which she took exception and immediately gobbled the whole lot up.
Unfortunately, this was all promptly thrown back up again no more than an hour later.
All through the morning, she was extremely lethargic, wouldn’t drink and refused to take treats, again extremely unheard of for her! I was growing increasingly concerned especially as she wouldn’t drink anything. I stopped at a nearby shop while we were on a visit to Derby and bought a sports bottle of water and forced it down her to try and get her rehydrated.
We decided to return to the cabin and attempted to feed her and Buddy their dinner. Again it was refused but she did have a huge drink of water, she then jumped up onto the sofa and projectile vomited all of the water she had just drunk all over the wall! It was like someone had shot a water pistol!
At this point, we decided to call our Vet as they were still at the surgery
although fairly late in the day. We explained we had been trying to rehydrate
her but with the descriptions we had given him over the phone, he was not concerned that she would decline drastically overnight and explained we had
two choices in the morning, we could either find a local Vet to take her to or we could drive home and see him. We decided on the latter as we were due to come home the following day anyway. So we packed up and drove back through the night and first thing the following morning we were in the Vets.
The journey home was not a pleasant one for little Peach; she was still being ill and very lethargic however Buddy had absolutely no sign of anything.
Upon examination at the Vet, there didn’t seem to be any explanation for this mystery illness. First thoughts were that it could have been the grass that she had been eating but Buddy had also done that too and he had no signs and if it was something on the grass, surely they would both be ill?
The Vet decided to admit Peach for the day and she was hooked up to an intravenous drip of fluids and they ran blood tests.
At the end of that day, we collected Peach who was looking a lot perkier. The Vet explained all the blood tests were clear, all major organs were functioning normally and her fluid levels were back to normal. She had also eaten some of the food the Vet had given. We were sent away for the weekend and told to keep an eye on her.
The following Saturday and Sunday were fine, she seemed back to her old self again, eating, drinking, playing and generally being a Basset!
Then on Monday morning, she went backwards again, wouldn’t eat her breakfast and wouldn’t drink and was decidedly sluggish and lethargic. Another call to the Vet and he told me to take her straight in and he would do a scan on her tummy. The scan showed nothing at all out of the ordinary but again, she was admitted and put on a drip.
During our conversation with our Vet while we were in Nottingham, he had asked us if we had heard of Seasonal Canine Illness as apparently there had been a number of reported cases after dogs visiting that area and in particular Clumber Park.
Even though I am in the canine profession, I had never heard of this. Apparently it had mystified hundreds of Vets and it appears dogs gain symptoms and very quickly deteriorate with no explanation as to what it is.
Unfortunately there have even been cases of dogs dying as they quickly dehydrate and deteriorate through this mystery sickness bug.
The Vet asked whether we could go on to the Animal Trust website and complete a questionnaire about Peach’s experience and he would do the same to try and throw some light onto this mystery that has the Vets stumped.
The following Sunday evening there was an article on BBC’s Country file about this very thing and how it may be thought to be caused by a small harvest mite that is only prevalent during the early Autumn months (September to November) in forests and woods.
There does not seem to be any explanation and therefore treatment for this illness but in my own personal experience, I would recommend that if you are planning on visiting wooded/forest areas around autumn time to keep a very close eye on your hound’s health. If you notice they are not eating or drinking and are vomiting, get them to a Vet as soon as you can as dehydration in particular can kill a dog very quickly.
I am sure some of you have heard of the Capillary Refill Test that you can perform easily on a dog to see if its dehydrated - lift the lip, press on the gum and it will go white and should then go red again straight away on a hydrated dog. If it stays white or takes a long time to go red, the dog is dehydrated.
You can also pinch the skin to check the elasticity but this doesn’t work so well on a wrinkly hound!
I just wanted to share this experience as I had never heard of this before and would hate any of our fellow hound-lovers to have a similar experience.
Thankful to say we had good insurance and they paid out for all of Peach’s tests and treatments within a few days of submitting the claim.
We are off again on our lodge holidays again soon but this time to Cornwall so let’s hope by going in spring to a different part of the country the hounds remain healthy through their holidays!
By Sally Cooper
No greater pleasure have we found
Than sharing our home with a Basset Hound
There are two of them live here with us
That’s twice the joy and twice the fuss
There are some drawbacks to this though
With slobbery chops and heavy paws on your toe
I was once house-proud but I’ve now given up
With the amount of slobber that comes from one pup
They don’t ask for much our loyal house-mates
Just plenty of love and the occasional lick off the plates
They love their walks but also like the comfy chair
Some days I think they would just stay there
Oh what a welcome I always get
A wagging bottom and a kiss that’s far too wet
I couldn’t imagine life by the beach
Without my gorgeous Buddy and Peach
Poem & photo by Sally Cooper ©2013
hound health ☞
Having had a wonderful cabin holiday with our two hounds in the Forest of Dean last May, in early October we set off again for a similar holiday but this time to Sherwood Forest in Nottingham.
The first couple of days were fine; the hounds were enjoying exploring all the local area including Sherwood Forest and the rest that Robin Hood country had to offer.
On the 3rd day of our holiday we took a trip to Clumber Park on a beautiful Autumnal sunny day. Peach managed to find something rather horrid smelling to roll in quite early on in our walk so before getting back into the car, I gave her an impromptu bath in the lake.
At approximately 4am the following morning, I was rudely awakened by Peach who was being violently sick. This didn’t immediately alarm me as she can do this while we are away (change of water etc.). However, when she refused to eat any of her breakfast at around 9am I knew something was wrong. Both of my Bassets would never refuse anything to eat unless something was up!
Buddy decided to try and take his opportunity to steal Peach’s breakfast to which she took exception and immediately gobbled the whole lot up.
Unfortunately, this was all promptly thrown back up again no more than an hour later.
All through the morning, she was extremely lethargic, wouldn’t drink and refused to take treats, again extremely unheard of for her! I was growing increasingly concerned especially as she wouldn’t drink anything. I stopped at a nearby shop while we were on a visit to Derby and bought a sports bottle of water and forced it down her to try and get her rehydrated.
We decided to return to the cabin and attempted to feed her and Buddy their dinner. Again it was refused but she did have a huge drink of water, she then jumped up onto the sofa and projectile vomited all of the water she had just drunk all over the wall! It was like someone had shot a water pistol!
At this point, we decided to call our Vet as they were still at the surgery
although fairly late in the day. We explained we had been trying to rehydrate
her but with the descriptions we had given him over the phone, he was not concerned that she would decline drastically overnight and explained we had
two choices in the morning, we could either find a local Vet to take her to or we could drive home and see him. We decided on the latter as we were due to come home the following day anyway. So we packed up and drove back through the night and first thing the following morning we were in the Vets.
The journey home was not a pleasant one for little Peach; she was still being ill and very lethargic however Buddy had absolutely no sign of anything.
Upon examination at the Vet, there didn’t seem to be any explanation for this mystery illness. First thoughts were that it could have been the grass that she had been eating but Buddy had also done that too and he had no signs and if it was something on the grass, surely they would both be ill?
The Vet decided to admit Peach for the day and she was hooked up to an intravenous drip of fluids and they ran blood tests.
At the end of that day, we collected Peach who was looking a lot perkier. The Vet explained all the blood tests were clear, all major organs were functioning normally and her fluid levels were back to normal. She had also eaten some of the food the Vet had given. We were sent away for the weekend and told to keep an eye on her.
The following Saturday and Sunday were fine, she seemed back to her old self again, eating, drinking, playing and generally being a Basset!
Then on Monday morning, she went backwards again, wouldn’t eat her breakfast and wouldn’t drink and was decidedly sluggish and lethargic. Another call to the Vet and he told me to take her straight in and he would do a scan on her tummy. The scan showed nothing at all out of the ordinary but again, she was admitted and put on a drip.
During our conversation with our Vet while we were in Nottingham, he had asked us if we had heard of Seasonal Canine Illness as apparently there had been a number of reported cases after dogs visiting that area and in particular Clumber Park.
Even though I am in the canine profession, I had never heard of this. Apparently it had mystified hundreds of Vets and it appears dogs gain symptoms and very quickly deteriorate with no explanation as to what it is.
Unfortunately there have even been cases of dogs dying as they quickly dehydrate and deteriorate through this mystery sickness bug.
The Vet asked whether we could go on to the Animal Trust website and complete a questionnaire about Peach’s experience and he would do the same to try and throw some light onto this mystery that has the Vets stumped.
The following Sunday evening there was an article on BBC’s Country file about this very thing and how it may be thought to be caused by a small harvest mite that is only prevalent during the early Autumn months (September to November) in forests and woods.
There does not seem to be any explanation and therefore treatment for this illness but in my own personal experience, I would recommend that if you are planning on visiting wooded/forest areas around autumn time to keep a very close eye on your hound’s health. If you notice they are not eating or drinking and are vomiting, get them to a Vet as soon as you can as dehydration in particular can kill a dog very quickly.
I am sure some of you have heard of the Capillary Refill Test that you can perform easily on a dog to see if its dehydrated - lift the lip, press on the gum and it will go white and should then go red again straight away on a hydrated dog. If it stays white or takes a long time to go red, the dog is dehydrated.
You can also pinch the skin to check the elasticity but this doesn’t work so well on a wrinkly hound!
I just wanted to share this experience as I had never heard of this before and would hate any of our fellow hound-lovers to have a similar experience.
Thankful to say we had good insurance and they paid out for all of Peach’s tests and treatments within a few days of submitting the claim.
We are off again on our lodge holidays again soon but this time to Cornwall so let’s hope by going in spring to a different part of the country the hounds remain healthy through their holidays!
By Sally Cooper
No greater pleasure have we found
Than sharing our home with a Basset Hound
There are two of them live here with us
That’s twice the joy and twice the fuss
There are some drawbacks to this though
With slobbery chops and heavy paws on your toe
I was once house-proud but I’ve now given up
With the amount of slobber that comes from one pup
They don’t ask for much our loyal house-mates
Just plenty of love and the occasional lick off the plates
They love their walks but also like the comfy chair
Some days I think they would just stay there
Oh what a welcome I always get
A wagging bottom and a kiss that’s far too wet
I couldn’t imagine life by the beach
Without my gorgeous Buddy and Peach
Poem & photo by Sally Cooper ©2013
hound health ☞
Having had a wonderful cabin holiday with our two hounds in the Forest of Dean last May, in early October we set off again for a similar holiday but this time to Sherwood Forest in Nottingham.
The first couple of days were fine; the hounds were enjoying exploring all the local area including Sherwood Forest and the rest that Robin Hood country had to offer.
On the 3rd day of our holiday we took a trip to Clumber Park on a beautiful Autumnal sunny day. Peach managed to find something rather horrid smelling to roll in quite early on in our walk so before getting back into the car, I gave her an impromptu bath in the lake.
At approximately 4am the following morning, I was rudely awakened by Peach who was being violently sick. This didn’t immediately alarm me as she can do this while we are away (change of water etc.). However, when she refused to eat any of her breakfast at around 9am I knew something was wrong. Both of my Bassets would never refuse anything to eat unless something was up!
Buddy decided to try and take his opportunity to steal Peach’s breakfast to which she took exception and immediately gobbled the whole lot up.
Unfortunately, this was all promptly thrown back up again no more than an hour later.
All through the morning, she was extremely lethargic, wouldn’t drink and refused to take treats, again extremely unheard of for her! I was growing increasingly concerned especially as she wouldn’t drink anything. I stopped at a nearby shop while we were on a visit to Derby and bought a sports bottle of water and forced it down her to try and get her rehydrated.
We decided to return to the cabin and attempted to feed her and Buddy their dinner. Again it was refused but she did have a huge drink of water, she then jumped up onto the sofa and projectile vomited all of the water she had just drunk all over the wall! It was like someone had shot a water pistol!
At this point, we decided to call our Vet as they were still at the surgery
although fairly late in the day. We explained we had been trying to rehydrate
her but with the descriptions we had given him over the phone, he was not concerned that she would decline drastically overnight and explained we had
two choices in the morning, we could either find a local Vet to take her to or we could drive home and see him. We decided on the latter as we were due to come home the following day anyway. So we packed up and drove back through the night and first thing the following morning we were in the Vets.
The journey home was not a pleasant one for little Peach; she was still being ill and very lethargic however Buddy had absolutely no sign of anything.
Upon examination at the Vet, there didn’t seem to be any explanation for this mystery illness. First thoughts were that it could have been the grass that she had been eating but Buddy had also done that too and he had no signs and if it was something on the grass, surely they would both be ill?
The Vet decided to admit Peach for the day and she was hooked up to an intravenous drip of fluids and they ran blood tests.
At the end of that day, we collected Peach who was looking a lot perkier. The Vet explained all the blood tests were clear, all major organs were functioning normally and her fluid levels were back to normal. She had also eaten some of the food the Vet had given. We were sent away for the weekend and told to keep an eye on her.
The following Saturday and Sunday were fine, she seemed back to her old self again, eating, drinking, playing and generally being a Basset!
Then on Monday morning, she went backwards again, wouldn’t eat her breakfast and wouldn’t drink and was decidedly sluggish and lethargic. Another call to the Vet and he told me to take her straight in and he would do a scan on her tummy. The scan showed nothing at all out of the ordinary but again, she was admitted and put on a drip.
During our conversation with our Vet while we were in Nottingham, he had asked us if we had heard of Seasonal Canine Illness as apparently there had been a number of reported cases after dogs visiting that area and in particular Clumber Park.
Even though I am in the canine profession, I had never heard of this. Apparently it had mystified hundreds of Vets and it appears dogs gain symptoms and very quickly deteriorate with no explanation as to what it is.
Unfortunately there have even been cases of dogs dying as they quickly dehydrate and deteriorate through this mystery sickness bug.
The Vet asked whether we could go on to the Animal Trust website and complete a questionnaire about Peach’s experience and he would do the same to try and throw some light onto this mystery that has the Vets stumped.
The following Sunday evening there was an article on BBC’s Country file about this very thing and how it may be thought to be caused by a small harvest mite that is only prevalent during the early Autumn months (September to November) in forests and woods.
There does not seem to be any explanation and therefore treatment for this illness but in my own personal experience, I would recommend that if you are planning on visiting wooded/forest areas around autumn time to keep a very close eye on your hound’s health. If you notice they are not eating or drinking and are vomiting, get them to a Vet as soon as you can as dehydration in particular can kill a dog very quickly.
I am sure some of you have heard of the Capillary Refill Test that you can perform easily on a dog to see if its dehydrated - lift the lip, press on the gum and it will go white and should then go red again straight away on a hydrated dog. If it stays white or takes a long time to go red, the dog is dehydrated.
You can also pinch the skin to check the elasticity but this doesn’t work so well on a wrinkly hound!
I just wanted to share this experience as I had never heard of this before and would hate any of our fellow hound-lovers to have a similar experience.
Thankful to say we had good insurance and they paid out for all of Peach’s tests and treatments within a few days of submitting the claim.
We are off again on our lodge holidays again soon but this time to Cornwall so let’s hope by going in spring to a different part of the country the hounds remain healthy through their holidays!
By Sally Cooper
No greater pleasure have we found
Than sharing our home with a Basset Hound
There are two of them live here with us
That’s twice the joy and twice the fuss
There are some drawbacks to this though
With slobbery chops and heavy paws on your toe
I was once house-proud but I’ve now given up
With the amount of slobber that comes from one pup
They don’t ask for much our loyal house-mates
Just plenty of love and the occasional lick off the plates
They love their walks but also like the comfy chair
Some days I think they would just stay there
Oh what a welcome I always get
A wagging bottom and a kiss that’s far too wet
I couldn’t imagine life by the beach
Without my gorgeous Buddy and Peach
Poem & photo by Sally Cooper ©2013
hound health ☞