-
Quick Tour
Connect. Share. Learn.Welcome to ActiveRain, the #1 social community for real estate professionals.- Explore the world's largest storehouse of real estate knowledge
- Access free training on ActiveRain University
- Share the experience of life in the real estate industry
- Grow your business through real estate blogging
- Blogs
-
Resources
Product Reviews Curious as to what others in your profession think about a certain product or tool? AR's community takes the time to leave honest and transparent reviews of their experiences so you can be a bit wiser about your purchase.
- Broken down by categories and subcategories for easy finds
- Get an unfiltered look at what real users are saying
- Leave a review yourself for others to benefit from
- Add new products as you use them and gain points for doing so
|
;)
;)
Find VA real estate agents and Charlottesville real estate on ActiveRain.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
© 2013 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
17 Comments on Pet Safety- Blue Green Algae and fish ponds and birds of prey taking small dogs
Becky, this is something most people would not know or think of. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. If you post a picture of a pond, you might get more readers. Just my opinion!
thanks again!
Good warning on Hawks... I was searching the Internet to see if hawks would snatch a small dog and found your AR post. Just yesterday on Friday, while meeting with a new listing client on a wooded 20 acre tract of country land, the owner and friend showed up with 2 little Chihuahua dogs, which were not leased. When I first saw this the thought crossed my mind that it was not wise to let these small dogs run about in the wooded land unleashed. I did not mention this and now wish I had because only hours later after I had left the property I got a frantic cell call from the crying pet owner that one of the dogs was missing. Apparently she had just turned her back for a moment and then it was gone. Vanished into thin air without a sound, they search for hours and even spent the night on the land in their car, but left this morning, without any trace of the dog. I am certain a hawk did snatch the dog. They did not hear any noise or see any hawk, but could not find the dog, just wondering if this could happen without any sound and that fast?
Ugh. Yes. I've heard of at least 4 reports of hawks snatching dogs within 6 feet of their owners. One was even leashed. Remember, birds of prey are fast for a reason.. they catch rabbits, mice and other small creatures who are very quick themselves. I'm sick to my stomach to hear of your clients' plight. So sorry you didn't run into my post a week earlier. Oh well, not much you can do about it now. In a way, it's better if it was silent. A pom once got snatched and the owner got to listen to it scream until the hawk flew out of site. Could you even IMAGINE???? :(
I always feel badly that my guys don't get out to play much, but I'm too scared to take the chance.
Stephen-
Basically, mine are just never out unless supervised. I *think* that the UV filter probably helps keep my pond safe, but I sure won't bet my dogs lives on that. I'll let you know if I can ever come up with a definitive answer. From what I've read, the blue green algae "blooms" are what are deadly. My understanding is that they are most prevalent in the late summer and early fall when ponds are rich in nutrients and the water tends to be warm. Apparently there is either an extra enzyme or a bacteria present during a bloom (an extreme rate of growth) that can kill a dog within 10 minutes of exposure. I've not had the chance to do extensive research about this yet, but from what I've read, they cautioned that the bloom can appear as a film on the surface or even a foamy bubbly substance. I think it's worst in water that is stagnant and many dogs get into trouble by swimming in this water and then licking their fur. A friend of mine had a neighbor who lost 2 bulldogs within 20 minutes of each other from exposure to a water feature that was apparently in bloom so it's just made me really concerned.
The reason that I suspect the UV filter probably helps the situation is that it breaks down the cells of algae. My pond is hardly stagnant. It's 2500 gallons and my pump/waterfall pulls 3500 gallons an hour. I chose the UV filter in spite of the cost of the thing ($450) because I just didn't want to risk using tons of chemicals since my animals were around. As far as kids, there are pond nets that can be placed over the surface, but I have a hard time thinking that this would be very attractive :). I purposely kept my pond a little on the shallow side so that hopefully there would never be a problem. My deep end is no more than 24 inches deep.
I'll let you know as I find out more about the blue green algae issue. Maybe someone will eventually respond who has some experience but I can tell you what... until I know for SURE that my pond is safe, my doggies aren't allowed near it! My fish however, are obviously really happy and health and growing like crazy so from their perspective the pond is GREAT!
Becky, any update on this? I just ran across it and went and did some research and a google images search on blue green algae bloom and it looks like it would be pretty obvious if you had a bloom in your fishpond. Plus, your fish would die first, which would give you a heads up if you're paying attention to it.
Lots of interesting info out there on this (I tried to stay away from the Panic! Panic! sites and stick to more factual ones, and only ones with photos of what one should beware of).
My dogs have 55 acres, with a creek running across it, so I wanted to be doubly sure.
Tricia-
I spoke to my vet about this very issue yesterday and he basically said that his recommendation is to keep the dogs away from the pond all together. He stated that the bloom could happen so quickly that dogs can get into trouble before you're even aware that there is a problem. He felt that my UV light was probably pretty helpful, but that there was no way to guaranty that it would keep the dogs safe. He felt like this was a pretty serious concern.
Becky
Tricia-
I spoke to my vet about this very issue yesterday and he basically said that his recommendation is to keep the dogs away from the pond all together. He stated that the bloom could happen so quickly that dogs can get into trouble before you're even aware that there is a problem. He felt that my UV light was probably pretty helpful, but that there was no way to guaranty that it would keep the dogs safe. He felt like this was a pretty serious concern.
Becky
Becky,
My goodness these are issues I never had heard of beofre. How awful for your clients, They must be heartbroken. No worries with my 6o plus lb. Bella... Do these birds of prey attack in suburban backyards?
Ginger
Becky, thanks for the info on the Algae bloom! My Koi pond is actually in the entry of my home and even though it's only 900 gallons I have a UV light in my main filer as well. All the same my dogs don't bother much with it and even the cats don't drink from it but I'll definitely know now to proceed with caution when we are out on our walks to steer the dogs away from anyone's outdoor ponds. I thought I'd share a photo of my pond with you...
Cheers, Emily~Celebrate Staging
Alexandra-
Thanks so much for sharing pics of your pond. I love it! I would think that since it's indoors, you wouldn't have to worry about blooms as badly but caution is never a bad idea!
Becky
I love your dogs' enclosure.
Large owls can also take small dogs as prey. Thanks for the informative post.
Kathy