CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Topic started by: julie1 on January 18, 2018, 11:40:56 AM
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Morning everyone,
Alabama Rot has come to the Midlands >:D The local vet has put out a warning; and a very local dog walking spot has had at least one death.
I have washed Kez's feet with a tea tree oil shampoo & will not walk her on Burbage Common, is there anything else I should do :shades:
I live in Hinckley Leicestershire, the warning from the vet was about a dog walked in the Sharnford area.
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Thanks for the wake-up call. The last time I checked, there were no cases within 40 miles of us. Now, there is one just outside the 20 mile zone. It will be everywhere soon.
Is tea tree oil safe on dogs' paws?
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Thanks...while not near here, wondered if there is a website that posts outbreaks etc, would be great to know this
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Thanks for the wake-up call. The last time I checked, there were no cases within 40 miles of us. Now, there is one just outside the 20 mile zone. It will be everywhere soon.
Is tea tree oil safe on dogs' paws?
I think tea tree products would be ok but I‘d be a bit careful about using neat oil as it can sometimes cause a reaction (OH always comes out in a rash)........
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Thanks...while not near here, wondered if there is a website that posts outbreaks etc, would be great to know this
I agree, lets hope someone knows of one.
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I used tea tree DOG shampoo, I would think this would be o.k. ;)
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Thanks...while not near here, wondered if there is a website that posts outbreaks etc, would be great to know this
I agree, lets hope someone knows of one.
Just googled it and found a website Alabamarot.co.uk where you can check areas.
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Thanks for the tip-off. You can register with the site for updates and alerts. Until I looked at the map I hadn't realised how widespread it had become in the UK
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I followed the link to the Vets4Pets map which you can check by postcode. There were several cases confirmed near me (within ten miles) but when I clicked on them, they were all more than two years ago. Also, none had a confirmed area where the dog had been walked and being in London, they may have picked up the disease when visiting elsewhere.
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"I think tea tree products would be ok but I‘d be a bit careful about using neat oil as it can sometimes cause a reaction (OH always comes out in a rash)........"
I wouldn't use any essential oil undiluted on the skin. Better to add to oil (almond) and massage in. However, having the babies spread oily paw-prints all over the floors and furniture may not be the outcome we want. I was mostly concerned about them licking the oils off their feet and getting ill.
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Just looked at map and nothing close - but will look often, plus areas where we go away to.
Scary how these things come along
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Here is the link,
http://www.vets4pets.com/stop-alabama-rot/
I wash bea's feet and legs in dilute Hibiscrub.
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I'm in the New Forest, which is where the disease was first identified in the UK about 5 years ago, when a small cluster of cases occurred within a few weeks. Because I walk my dogs in the Forest every day I've followed what's happened since then.
This is an extremely rare disease, a fact often forgotten because of the way the press tend to cover it, sometimes sensationalising it. In the 5+ years since it was first identified there has been around 100 confirmed cases in a dog population of more than 8 million. That makes the chances of any one dog contracting it so miniscule that I'm not sure I can do the math to calculate it. A dog is more likely to die of pretty much anything else you can think of than of Alabama Rot.
I'm not belittling the seriousness of it in any way. Just trying to give it some perspective. When it was first identified in the New Forest I learned the symptoms of it and then put it firmly to the back of my mind, knowing how rare it is. Two of the New Forest cases have been in areas where I regularly walk. One was a young Labrador, who recovered, either in spring 2017 or 2016. The other was a dog that sadly died, about two or three years ago.
I don't take any precautions beyond avoiding heavily wooded areas (which is quite easy to do in the New Forest) between about November and May, and rinsing paws off if they're muddy. There's actually no evidence to confirm, or not, that paw washing may help prevent it.
One of the many things not known about it is if it's an emerging disease, or if it's been around for a long time but hadn't been identified until the cluster of cases in the NF prompted investigation. So it's quite possible that the disease has been in the UK for a long time but never identified because of it's rarity. Deaths may have been attributed to other causes or simply recorded as cause not known.
So even though it's worrying when you hear of a case not far from home, please don't worry unduly. Learn the symptoms and if you want to avoid woodland or a localised area where there's been a confirmed case, and wash paws after walks, then do so. But please try not to build it up into a major worry.
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the Sandringham Estate around 2009/2010 posted warning notices of a mystery disease affecting dogs. This outbreak is now put down to Alabama Rot. We walked that estate many times before and after those years until last year.
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the Sandringham Estate around 2009/2010 posted warning notices of a mystery disease affecting dogs. This outbreak is now put down to Alabama Rot. We walked that estate many times before and after those years until last year.
Are you sure about that? I know the Sandringham Estate is one of the areas known to have been affected by Seasonal Canine Illness over the last few years, and that's an entirely different disease to Alabama Rot.
Edited to add. The deaths at Sandringham noted since 2009 have been caused by Seasonal Canine Illness, not Alabama Rot.
http://www.aht.org.uk/cms-display/seasonal_illness.html
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the Sandringham Estate around 2009/2010 posted warning notices of a mystery disease affecting dogs. This outbreak is now put down to Alabama Rot. We walked that estate many times before and after those years until last year.
Are you sure about that? I know the Sandringham Estate is one of the areas known to have been affected by Seasonal Canine Illness over the last few years, and that's an entirely different disease to Alabama Rot.
Edited to add. The deaths at Sandringham noted since 2009 have been caused by Seasonal Canine Illness, not Alabama Rot.
http://www.aht.org.uk/cms-display/seasonal_illness.html
my mistake was under the impression that it was a name change
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I totally agree with elaine,
If we listened to every report to every possible disease etc then what kind of life would our dogs have ?
If you Know the risk and the symptoms you can make an informed decision.
I avoid heavily wooded area's which dosn't bother Bea at all and when she gets particularly muddy I then wash her feet and legs in the dilute solution.
If there is an area that has had confirmed cases then no, I probably wouldn't visit which is a shame.
Sharon.
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We live near Cannock Chase in Staffs where there has been a recent outbreak and a dog died 😢.
We still go there but avoid muddy woods. We take a small garden pressure sprayer out with us if we go in the car and spray their legs and pads thoroughly after walking, as advised. I think you have to take the best precautions you can but also allow the dogs freedom to exercise, run around and be happy. If we listened to all the reports about stolen dogs, poison food lying around and other diseases we would never take them out! 🐾🐾🐾
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The seasonal canine illness does seem to have had a wee bit more press notice due to a certain Mam, when we were in Trough of Bowland there were several signs last October warning of it Crown land me knows. Same with the Sandringham Estate.
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For anyone in the Brighton area, a case has been reported in a dog that is walked primarily in Stanmer Park.
It’s a real worry. I walk Kinsey in Friston Forest and lots of other places near Seaford that are terribly wet and muddy at this time of year. I wash her paws off once home but don’t like the fact that her paws get wet so often. She's gradually getting used to the hairdryer!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Seem as tho' there is not much more we can do >:D as with everything else that's nasty you learn to live with it. >:(
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There was a news item on BBC South tv on Thursday or Friday about a vet (not from Anderson Moores) doing some research into whether a bug/bacterium known in fish might be linked to Alabama Rot. Apparently this bug is active during cold wet weather and releases toxins and causes lesions in fish. Did anyone else see this report?
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http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/20/breakthrough-identifying-cause-fleshing-eating-alabama-rot-deadly-dogs-7245310/
Yes, The link above is to a report on it.
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There was a news item on BBC South tv on Thursday or Friday about a vet (not from Anderson Moores) doing some research into whether a bug/bacterium known in fish might be linked to Alabama Rot. Apparently this bug is active during cold wet weather and releases toxins and causes lesions in fish. Did anyone else see this report?
I did, and I was looking for a link to it earlier today to watch it again, but couldn't find one. The vet who was interviewed thinks it may be caused by a bacteria that thrives in cold freshwater. When she started researching it she came across a report from many years ago suggesting a link to dog deaths (I'm not sure when or where). If it is this particular bacteria it dies quickly once out of it's natural environment. So if any trace was to be found on an infected dog it would on the skin, or skin lesions, shortly after the dog had come into contact. A post mortem wouldn't find any trace of the bacteria.
That was my understanding when I watched the interview, but as I'm not a scientist and because my husband was talking to me about something else at the time, I may be wrong! That's why I was trying to find a link to watch it again.
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My goldfish got fin rot when the water went green! Stagnant puddles In woods and fields where other creatures roam are unpleasant. The fish recovered after the pond was cleaned out and chemicals added.
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Just read the report. Hope they‘re on to something and that a cure can be found for this horrible disease!