After the dogs swam in Llyn Cop last week they were very itch, particularity Asha who was besides herself for days. I know common toads can cause an allergic reaction in some dos. ... Most cases of poisoning occur if dogs and cats play with, lick or carry toads in the mouth. They are a common cause of poisoning in dogs and, less commonly, they poison cats. Toads exude a milky white toxin mostly from poison glands behind their eyes, but elsewhere on their body as well. Dogs or cats that have ingested or mouthed a toad usually only develop hypersalivation (which can be profuse) with foaming or frothing at the mouth, vomiting and associated signs of distress. Thinking about this I wondered if swimming in the toad infested water on that day could have caused varying degrees of a reaction to the dogs skin, but I found nothing to confirm my theory.
What I did find though was Swimmers Itch. The main cause of swimmer's itch is much of the same as in humans. If your dog swims or wades in shallow water that is infested with parasites, your dog could be at risk for contracting swimmer's itch. In some cases, drying the dog off immediately after swimming can help clear the parasites away from your dog's skin. The reaction may last from 2 to 5 days and symptoms can last as long as 2 weeks. We always dry the dogs as soon as they get home, but I did find it odd that after this day at Llyn Cop all the dogs where itchy .. as I said some more than others. It lasted a few days for all of them .. Asha and Ziva I think taking the longest to get over it.
Today we've been back to Llyn Cop, not a frog or toad to be seen, they paddled but did not swim. Now lets see what happens over the next few days.
