why oh why oh why does it have to happen that just when my puppy starts to ask to go outside for the toilet on her own does she have to suddenly discover slugs ?? for weeks ive been taking her outside every half hour and making her go, then just as she learns to ask to go out, she finds a slug. now whenever she goes out she spends hours hunting and destroying the local slug population.... mmmmm nice...

anyone else have a puppy or a dog with an equally delightful little habit ?

bleh :P

I seem to remember this being discussed quite a while ago ...and someone saying that eating slugs can be dangerous for dogs ..so I had a search and found this [link http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?tid=28873&hilite=slugs#199738]Old Thread[/link] in which someone mentions that slug eating CAN lead to heart worm ..so be careful :)

Melody :)

We keep suckler cows and as soon as the calves are born my Springer is straight out there hunting calf poo. Yummy! Ever seen a dog with yellow lipstick! :D

Ooh slugs, yukky, I hate 'em. Melody's right though, they are dangerous, but they're OK if you cook them first. :D :D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3204299.stm

Kath.

Oh Yuck!!! maybe British slugs aren't as dangerous as Austrailian ones tho'?
Cat Truffles & rabbit sweeties are my dogs' favourite diet anyway. And they share it with us by breathing over us afterwards. :D

Slugs and snails are dangerous for the dogs as one of my puppy buyers found out a couple of yrs back when her vet changed the worming protocol I'd set up. Within a few wks the puppy was badly infected with LUNG worms causing her to exhibit pnuemonia type symptoms, all it took to clear up was a 7 day course of Panacur 10%. I now recommend to all my puppy buyers they should continue with the panacur worming protcol until the pup is 6mhs old then do a swap over on each quarter explaining why I am advising them this way.

Was this in the UK Schip? Not that I'm doubting you, it's just that I understood that Heartworm & Lungworm were extremely rare in this country.

Yes Anwen this was in England, London actually, as far as I am aware heartworm is not a problem here but LUNG worm has been around in sheep for a very long time if you read the box and bottle of Panacur it tells you it is a treatment for LUNG worms. I used to use sheep Panacur many many yrs ago to rid my parrots of worms both intestinal and respitary ones too, mind had to dilute it coz the vet would give it to me in a 5ml syringe to do about 30 parrots lol.

Thanks, Schip. Well, you learn a lot here don't you? I never knew Parrots had worms either!

i've always wormed my puppies every month till 6 months and then quarterly thereafter so hopefully lily will be ok.... am worried now.... might have to do a slug flinging session, oh how my new neighbours will love me (just moved house) :D

Lungworm is transmitted by slugs and snails and therefore your dogs should not be allowed to chew/eat them. It is more prevalent in the South West of England and Wales. If your dog has a cough it may not be kennel cough but lungworm; the symptoms include weight loss. A bronchial lavage does not always reveal them but the vet may put you on a 7 day course of Panacur.

did you know that if you chuck snails 'not sure about slugs' just over the fence
they come back !!

Yes...my Dobie pup started to do the same with dead, semi-desicated slugs.

It's not all bad though.

Quote:

"If you have pets, species such as the European black slug will eat dog and cat faeces and turn it into fertiliser. "

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/wildbritain/breathingspace/myspace/content.shtml?39

I have noticed this myself the last few mornings - slugs everywhere devouring any poo they can find. Great service! Not so much for me to scoop. :-)

my 4 month old cat has just started bringing home chewed up worms.

Yes, my shepherd pup collects them. He brings them in and rolls them around a bit, and then they escape. I've so far found one halfway up the stairs, and one on top of the dining room door :D
I know they can cause a problem, so if I see him with them I remove them sharpish! A typical boy :D

Same as you, slugs and snails, oh yes, and leaves, plus brick and concrete!

Poppy will take great delight in going out, getting a snail, bringing it back in, dropping it at your feet to show you what she's got, then, just as you're about to pick it up, she'll grab it and run round the kitchen and lounge with it.  Once you've given up chasing her, she'll settle down on the rug in front of the fireplace, crunch the shell and leave you the body - yuk!

Slugs, she will just chew round in her mouth til all the "insides" are round her mouth, then she'll leave the skin.

Leaves, she will strip the leaf from the veins and scatter the lot over the lounge floor. 

Bricks and concrete, she will crunch and if you're not quick enough, swallow.  Luckily all these nasty things do seem to come out in her poo.

i have a jack russel puppy called holly and she loves slugs although she wont eat them she will sit outside for ages playing with them and if she can she trys bringing them in the house , i actually found a dead one in her bed yesturday ..... i am quite shocked i didnt think for a minute that dogs would get so much fun out of slugs......

I've never had a dog bother with snails and slugs until recently.  My papillon puppy is forever bringing them in, as well as worms, and I'm constantly having to chase round after her to retrieve them.  Didn't know they could be dangerous though.  Trouble is I don't always spot when she brings them in.  I had been a bit suspicious lately that I had a few resident snails and/or slugs as I had noticed snail trails appearing overnight.  Got up rather early the other morning when it was still dark and found 3 slugs in the kitchen yuk.  

She also bringing in bricks, sticks, rubble, hay from the rabbits hutch, leaves and anything else she can find. 

anything that moves,insect wise our border terrier eats  if he can catch it whether it be daddy long legs, spiders, flys etc,seems to really enjoy playing with them to like a cat!

Copper (BT) loves eating flies and spiders etc as well - however, there was a particularly huge spider in the livingroom a few weeks back and both him and I were up on the sofa :D  So much for "my dog the protector!"

CG

my boy doesnt eat slugs, the little grotter rolls in them so they burst on his back..yuck!!

Harry25 - haven't got a Flatcoat have you!!

My 12 week old FCR plays with slugs and crunches on snails and concrete!! I get to him most of the time but as you say, you take him out to relieve himself and the little blighter gets distracted by all the slugs and snails for half an hour.

And I never knew that if you threw them over the fence they came back! Every day is a school day!!