All this talk about Alabama Rot and SCI has made me think about what we can do about keeping our dogs safe. It seems that wherever we walk them they are at risk of catching something. It is so frustrating that we don't have any concrete evidence about what is causing these. Some woods are ok, some are not. Is this Alabama rot just confined to wooded areas ? SCI was supposed to be most evident during August to Nov but as we haven't really had a cold winter should we still be vigilant ? I sometimes walk my girls in Rendlesham Forest, which is one of the forests in the SCI trial, I now wash them down afterwards but I wonder whether I should hose my girls down after every walk to reduce the chance of anything being picked up? As owners we try our best to protect our dogs from everything from ticks to Parvo, but it seems that we are coming up against more and more things that we just can't protect against and I find that so frustrating. We try to allow our dogs freedom to run, chase, swim in rivers, roll in mud and jump in puddles and yet I almost feel that we are putting our dogs at risk by doing this. Pounding the pavement on lead 100% of the time appears the only way to guarantee to keep our canine friends safe BUT I didn't get a dog to do this. Chloe
Re: What can we do to keep our dogs safe from all these killer viruses? Hi Chloe , it is quie concerning but I think we have to bear in mind that the risks are still very very slim indeed . Our dogs are just as much at risk of catching one of thesee diseases as they are at being attacked , getting into difficulties in water etc. Its all about balance really and on balance , I think we just have to carry on as we wish to . Obviously , if there is an outbreak of a disease in our immediate area, we would have to rethink, but I agree , we dont have dogs to pound the pavements
