Seasonal Canine Illness

Seasonal Canine Illness

SCI can affect dogs of any size, shape or sex and it causes dogs to become very ill, very quickly after being walked in woodland.
Cases of this mystery illness are generally seen between August and November. SCI can affect dogs of any size, shape or sex and it causes dogs to become very ill, very quickly after being walked in woodland. Some dogs unfortunately don't survive.
The most common clinical signs are sickness, diarrhoea and lethargy. If you suspect your dog is showing signs of SCI then please contact your vet immediately.

Thanks for the heads up, it's certainly something to watch out for at this time of year.

They think it might be caused by a mite, so they're advising people to use an insecticide spray on their dogs before they walk through woodland.

Definitely contact the vet straight away if those symptoms pop up, as quick treatment hugely increases the chances of a full and speedy recovery.

Flea/mite spray or is there a specialised one Eleanor?

I think it's a specialised one available from vets.

Yeah, just looked it up. It's called fipronil spray.

Cheers

we suspect our 2 may have been exposed to this and both made a full recovery within 36 hours , biggest problem is its very vague and symptoms are common to many problems , hope they get a little further with the diagnosis soon

I remember your two were very ill a little while ago, Dave! I hadn't realised it could have been SCI. Poor things!

Eleanor wrote:I remember your two were very ill a little while ago, Dave! I hadn't realised it could have been SCI. Poor things!

In all honesty Eleanor it was just a matter of placing the symptoms and time of year with an illness . Spoke to the nurse at the vets and ultimately its a case of many dogs this time of year being grouped with the same illness as a possibility . Until people are 100% sure of the circumstances and the symptoms then nobody will know for sure

It's a good thing that vets are aware of the illness then, so they can react quickly at this time of year if they see symptoms matching it.

Eleanor wrote:It's a good thing that vets are aware of the illness then, so they can react quickly at this time of year if they see symptoms matching it.

Only thing is they are reacting to symptoms and not illness as nobody really knows about it

They seem to think it's related to walking in woodland.

Until they specifically pinpoint the definite cause, all they can do is look at the symptoms, I'm afraid. Luckily, the symptoms aren't anything new in canines and they can be treated. They are advising people to use the insecticidal spray along the underside of their dogs before any woodland walks, as they're very strongly leaning towards a mite species and are trying to find a way to control the mites, rather than the illness, to prevent spread.

these are the 'worst' places for SCI

Sandringham Estate or Thetford Forest, Norfolk, Sherwood Forest or Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire or Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk

There's a lot of research going on but at the moment it is all non conclusive

Thanks for the warning  

They really don't know what's causing it at the moment & they're clutching at straws. It may or may not be mites, but I'd be loathe to start spraying my dog with a powerful insecticide on the off chance. I'd rather avoid the woodlands for the autumn season.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of the research that is being done.

Thanks for the heads up guys