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Lungworm - the danger of eating slugs and snails

Good point, Nancy--I planted quite a few hostas last spring and they barely made it through summer because of the slugs.
 
Shay said:
Hi Lisa....I have been wonderig how George was doing since you first posted about his cough. I am just heartsick to hear this news. You are so kind to post this information for us, which I know must have been difficult. I have never heard of lung worms, but we have to give our dogs here in the south USA, and I guess everywhere here where there is a mosquito problem, a monthly tablet for prevention. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Rest in peace little Georgie *ng*l
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I havent been around Cavalier Talk that long, I am so sorry. I was under the impression this happened way in the past. I lost our lab this fall at 15 and it is hard. A new dog for me didnt replace Jessie, but it did provide the opportunity to enjoy a dog again. Give it time.
 
Lisa, how heartbreaking. :( I'm so sorry this happened to you. :cry*ing:

Thank you so much for posting about this; you never know how many will be helped by the information! :flwr: :flwr: :flwr:
 
Lisa,

I'm glad to see that you found the courage to post about George, your heart is slowly healing from you tragic loss.

Your post will make a lot of people aware about slugs..... I knew there was a reason why I liked to pour salt on them and watch them shrivel. The next one will be for George..

I'm sure George would love to see you happy again and a little bt bundle will do just that. Did you find the breeder from the info I gave you?
 
Kirsty, I managed to find a lovely breeder near my mom in the Midlands. I have been able to visit a couple of times and stay over at my parents.

Thanks for the great tips on getting rid of slugs Denise. Little George will have given them something to work with so a new pup will be even more at risk now :(

And thanks everyone, it means a lot that you've taken it seriously :flwr:
 
Lisa thank you for sharing George's story with us. I've not heard of any snails or slugs in my area. But, I'll ask around. I'm very sorry for your loss.
 
Tragically, another cavalier puppy, 8 months old and belonging to a lady on another list, died this morning, from lungworm. She was only taken ill last night, when she vomitted blood.

This was in Surrey. I had thought that this was only a problem in other countries, though I had heard of heartworm in Wales , among other places.
 
How sad to hear about yet another one from this same thing. :(

Thank you for posting about your George, Lisa. I had never heard of lungworm before. Here in New England we worry about heartworm, and we give Interceptor once a month because it also covers whipworm (prevalent in the dirt here in New England, apparently). I will be extra vigilant about slugs and snails in the future. We don't have lots in our yard, thankfully, but both of our Cavs will scarf up all kinds of things before you even blink an eye.

I do hope that you will soon get a new puppy--there's nothing like it to mend a broken heart after a loss. We lost our dear little Lhasa in the summer of '05, and then--very happily for us--discovered Cavaliers, and now have two. I have to say that I just love B&T's--we came ~this close~ to picking one (he would have been my first choice at that point but my husband and son were also voting).

Best wishes to you. :flwr:
 
I'm so saddened to hear of another puppy dying of this. I can't believe vets don't have big posters up in their waiting rooms warning us of the dangers of slugs, snails and lungworm, I knew George had eaten them, I even looked it up on the internet but like many of you guys I kept reading that it wasn't in the UK. If I had seen a poster in the vets with a couple of the symptoms on it I would have had him there like a shotand I know I would have put 2 and 2 together. These hotspots really do exist in Wales, Surrey and Cornwall and it only takes an affected dog to go on holiday somewhere else in the country and it is spread even further. Please guys, mention this to your cav owning friends, Cavaliers are the most common breed to become infected with this and they are such a delicate breed they are so vulnerable to it's effects. Maybe even suggest to your vets they pop a poster up.
 
thankyou so much for posting about this,I never knew anything about this before,I will certainly be aware of this from now on,so sorry that you lost your precious pet through this though :( :( :(
 
lungworm reply

I just read your alert and Iam so glad I did. my 2YEAR OLD cavvy charlie is constantly nibbleing on slugs and trying to get at the snails I had no idea of the dangers involved with this.I will certainly be more vigilant now.
THANKYOU for informing us about this and I Know only to well how an incompetent vet can break your heart. take care
 
Thank you George for sharing your tragedy, I am so very sorry for your loss, and can't imagine it happening.
Our Cav, Sofee Marie contracted lungworm a few months ago. We live in New England, just North of Boston, MA. My vet told me it was transmitted from eating feces of fox/rabbit/deer, such as when the dog eats grass, or the constant eating of woodchips that Sofee loves so much.
We were prescribed Panacur and it worked. Her stool sample last month was clear and it never progressed past the coughing stage. Luckily the vet caught it in a routine puppy fecal sample test. I thought she was just choking from playing too much at night, I didn't realize it was actually coughing.
So, it can happen in areas other than England and I've yet to see a slug in our area.
Take care
 
Yep, fox faeces is part of the life cycle, I have the woods at the end of my cul-de-sac and I often see foxes. Possibly there are tiny slugs in those wood chips or on the grass but so glad you caught it early Momay, I know it took me a while to realise George was coughing, I just thought he was getting over excited and clearing his throat but still he was bleeding/panting etc as well so that should have alerted the vet.

Cavvycrazy, please mention to the vet that your Cav is eating slugs as he might already be infected. The vet 'should' know the risk in your area (mine didn't) and a simple course of Panacur will make sure he's ok (it won't do him any harm even if he's not infected) if it's not caught early it can cause a sudden death sometimes without even the cough appearing so better safe than sorry. I have read reports of it being in Birmingham so it's not a huge leap up to you.

A routine puppy faecal test is such a good idea, we don't have that.

So glad to hear George's passing is doing some good, thanks for posting guys
 
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