Dog Community

Gophers and dogs???

Posted : 3/17/2006 4:27:23 PM

Hi, everyone!
I took my dog to the local off-leash dog park for a hike the other day, where we usually go several times per week at least. There are lots of gophers that live there, and my dog loves to stalk them and pounce on them, sometimes sticking her nose into their holes and rooting around after them. (she will give it up when I say "leave it" so I let her do a little pouncing before I call her off, since she has so much fun doing it, but I never let her actually kill or eat a gopher) Recently we have had several days of rain, and there were a few puddles of standing water in the park that are taking a while to dry up, and during our most recent walk, Banjo ran to the edge of one of the puddles and started to lap up the water. I saw it and called her off as soon as she began, and she stopped after one single "lap", so I don't think she got much water at all--it's possible she didn't actually get any (and she didn't step into the puddle and get wet). But, on the way out of the park, I noticed a sign posted that said "WARNING: do not let your dogs drink from the puddles of standing rain water, since your dog can contract a quickly fatal disease from the gophers who also drink from these puddles." The sign did not say what the disease was, and did not give a telephone number or website where we could get more info. I have spent the day online, looking for any info about such a disease, and have found nothing at all.

Have any of you heard anything about such a disease? If so, can you tell me something about it--symptoms I should watch for, etc? My dog shows no signs of illness at this point (it's been over 24 hours since she tried to drink the water)--do I need to contact the vet anyway? And if it's so easily contracted, is it also possible for her to catch it if she's hunting gophers in their burrows? (like i said, she doesn't eat them, but she does stick her nose in there) My dog has all her vaccinations and is overall very healthy. Thanks in advance for any info!! [

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cakana

Posted : 3/17/2006 4:35:24 PM

I remember reading on a different board that some folks had trouble with their dogs drinking or even swimming in some stagnant ponds, but I think it was all back east. I'm in California and have never heard anything out here. Sorry I can't help, but you might try calling a vet office and ask if they've know anything.

agilebasenji

Posted : 3/17/2006 4:50:10 PM

I'd also suggest calling your local vet and ask them. I do know dogs that drink from standing water can get Giardia.

I do know that prarie dogs (or mice/fleas that live with/on them) can carry the plague and/or the Hunta virus. depending on where you live, of course.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 3/17/2006 8:46:10 PM

Did the sign look like someone just wrote it up or more like something the city would post? If the city posted it, they should have some info. If this is an actual dog park, I would hope that the city would take care of anything that was posing a danger to the dogs even if it means getting rid of the gophers.

Ginger

Posted : 3/17/2006 10:26:33 PM

I was wondering about that myself, FuzzyDogsMom. I wondered about a sign that neither gave the name of the potential illness nor a phone number/website where you could get further information, and it did not provide any instructions on what you should do if you think your dog has drunk the water. That struck me as odd. Hundreds of dogs visit that park every day, and if there was some kind of fatal disease that was easy to catch, I would think they would need to do something about it (more than one tiny sign). The park *is* an official off-leash dog park but I think it might not be a "public" park (what I mean by that is I believe it was a piece of land that was purchased by a local family and donated to the city with instructions that it was to be used as an off-leash dog park) so I'm not even sure who is "in charge" of stuff like that, but there must be some oversight. The sign was small and type-written on a piece of paper, and stapled to the post of a pre-existing sign. Also, it was posted at just one of the three entrances to the park, and quite far from the location of the standing water. That's why I didn't happen to see it until I was leaving--I entered at an entrance that had no sign, and when someone saw me calling my dog away from the water, they mentioned that they had seen something posted about it, so I went looking for it--and I had to walk *all* over the park to find it. I would think that if it was an "official" thing, they would have posted a sign at every entrance, and/or near the standing water itself--it seems like a "quickly fatal disease" should be a pretty big deal to the parks service or whoever is in charge of that issue. Maybe someone (a private citizen) DID put that sign up themselves.

Well, thanks everyone for your input--I think I agree with you all, I'll just call her vet tomorrow and run it by them to make sure there's nothing we need to worry about. Thanks, everyone! [

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Patt

Posted : 3/17/2006 10:37:56 PM

I don't know where you live but it could be in a Lepto area. I would check with your vet also you could call the Health Dept they should be able to answer your question or tell you who to call. Here is a link for more info.

[linkhttp://www.dhpe.org/infect/Lepto.html]http://www.dhpe.org/infect/Lepto.html[/link]

Ginger

Posted : 3/18/2006 4:36:03 PM

Patt--Thank you for that link! I have heard of Lepto, but never knew much about it. It sure sounds like it *could* be what they were referring to, although I'm still not positive. I'm not sure either if I'm in a Lepto area--I'm in CA, the central coast area (Santa Barbara), and although I wouldn't exactly call it a "tropical area" (the link says the disease is most common in tropical areas), we have had quite a bit of rain over the past month or so. I checked Banjo's vet records and she did receive the DHLP vaccine (the distemper, parvo, and lepto combo vaccine--don't know what the "h" is) in mid-June, which makes me feel better...but, I also read that the current Lepto vaccines only provide 6-8 months of protection, so I guess it's still a potential concern. I will call my vet today, and let her know that Banjo may have had minor contact with the water, and confirm if it's Lepto that they're worried about.

Thanks for the input...after I call my vet, I'll let you know what they say, if anyone's still curious! [

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Patt

Posted : 3/18/2006 11:16:32 PM

I'm in No.CA. I do not vaccinate for Lepto as I have a Dachshund and it is definitely not recommended for small dogs. You would have to decide if your dog REALLY needs it. I've read quite a bit on it and I will not vaccinate my dog for Lepto. DHPPC stands for distemper, hepatitis, parvo, parainfluenza, corona.

Ginger

Posted : 3/20/2006 3:51:36 PM

Hi, again, I thought I'd follow up with everyone and tell you what my vet said when I called her office to ask about the "quickly fatal disease" that dogs can catch from gophers at our only off-leash dog park in Santa Barbara. My vet said she had never heard anything about that--her office received no warning/announcement to pass on to their patients, and she hadn't even heard of any unusual cases of dogs becoming ill after playing there lately from any local vets. She speculated that it might be Lepto (good job, Patt!), but she wasn't positive--she said she'd look into it and call me back. She also said that it wasn't necessarily a major crisis if my dog's tongue touched the water once the other day--that it was not very likely that she would have any problem, but just in case, I should just watch for any symptoms of illness (lethargy, lack of appetite, diarrhea, etc) and bring her in if I see any, and she should recover if treated as soon as symptoms show up.

Also, thanks again, Patt, for the further information...I will definitely do some more reading before we decide whether to vaccinate Banjo for Lepto next time we're in the vet's office. I appreciate the heads-up that there may be some real negative consequences to the vaccine. How are the risks of the vaccine different for small dogs than they might be for medium-sized dogs and larger dogs (do you know?) (Banjo weighs just over 50 pounds.)

Thanks again!

cakana

Posted : 3/20/2006 4:15:05 PM

Hi Ginger - I'm in Northern California (Sacramento area) and my vet recommended against giving the Lepto vaccine. I'm not sure if things are different in So. Cal. or not, but the following info scared me away from wanting to give it anyway. It does mention "small breed dogs" and using more caution, but doesn't give a body weight.

From the UC Davis Vet School website:
Canine Leptospira Vaccines
Multiple leptospiral serovars are capable of causing disease in dogs, and minimal cross-protection is induced by each serovar. Currently available vaccines do not contain all serovars, efficacies against infection with the targeted serovar are between 50 and 75%, and duration of immunity is probably about 1 year. However, leptospirosis is not uncommon in Northern Californian dogs with exposure histories involving livestock and areas frequented by wild mammals, the disease can be fatal or have high morbidity, and also has zoonotic potential. Therefore, we suggest annual vaccination of dogs living in/visiting rural areas or areas frequented by wildlife with vaccines containing all four leptospiral serovars (grippotyphosa, pomona, canicola and icterohemorrhagiae), ideally before the rainy season, when disease incidence peaks. The initial vaccination should be followed by a booster 2-4 weeks later, and the first vaccine be given no earlier than 12 weeks of age. In general, leptospiral vaccines have been associated with more severe postvaccinal reactions (acute anaphylaxis) than other vaccines. Whether the recent introduction of vaccines with reduced amounts of foreign protein has reduced this problem is still unclear. Vaccination of dogs in suburban areas with minimal exposure to farm animals or forested areas is not recommended. Anecdotally, the incidence of reactions has been greatest in puppies (< 12 weeks of age, and especially < 9 weeks of age) and small-breed dogs. A careful risk-benefit analysis is recommended before considering vaccination of small breed dogs at risk of exposure to leptospires.

Patt

Posted : 3/20/2006 5:01:06 PM

Your welcome! I looked for info on small dogs and can#%92t find a thing. I would think it would be under 20# maybe their systems can#%92t handle it. Trixie weighs 11-12#

[linkhttp://www.caberfeidh.com/Lepto.htm]http://www.caberfeidh.com/Lepto.htm[/link]

Towards the middle of this article they have a para on Lepto, looks like you continually update the boosters as it doesn't last long.
[linkhttp://www.caberfeidh.com/Revax.htm]http://www.caberfeidh.com/Revax.htm[/link]

Possibly that note was to scare people, maybe it was someone that doesn#%92t like the dog park. Good luck!