When you and your pets are out and about, keeping them safe is a priority, so here are a few tips:
- Remember to use a lead when walking your dog near roads, rivers, ponds, on farmland and on dangerous beaches. When you do let your dog off the lead, make sure he can see and hear you and is well trained enough to come back when you call him!
- Bear in mind other potential hazards on walks - these include sticks (stick injuries can result when sticks are thrown), and stones (we have to remove stones surgically from dogs that eat them!).
- Avoid aggressive animals, and dead animals and birds (a number of infections can be caught from infected animals or their carcases).
- Other hazards include fencing (especially barbed wire), broken glass, and old bits of rusty metal - its always a good idea to keep dogs out of areas of thick scrub where you can't see what they have access to.
- When walking in the evening, use reflective jackets/collars to aid visibility.
- Cats are more difficult to protect, but it is advisable to make sure that all collars will break if caught up - we still see cats with injuries exacerbated by their collars. Use reflective collars to minimise the chance of an injury on the road, and try to keep cats close to home, preferably in at night, and in a routine that prevents them wandering too far.
