Blue Green Algae - it's killing our dogs

Posted by Clare Bristow

I read this Toxic Algae Poisoning Alert today on the Cool Dog Hall of Fame. The post tells the heart rending story of how a dog owner recently lost his Border Collie to blue green algae poisoning after a swimming trip to a local river.

Earlier this week in my article on 5 Water Safety Tips I highlighted the danger of dogs drinking water from stagnant ponds and slow flowing rivers. Sadly, this story shows how real the danger is.

The facts about Blue Green Algae

Blue green algae 'blooms' in certain conditions and creates what looks like a floating pond mat, what we always referred to as 'pond scum' when we were kids.
The blooms can be variety of colors: blue-green, olive green, grey-green, yellow-brown or purple to red.
You can see the blooms in the water for up to a week but the toxins may be in the water for up to three weeks.
Algae blooms are most likely to flourish when there is little or no wind, the weather is warm (60 to 86 degrees F, 18 to 25 degrees C) and the water contains plenty of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus (for example from land run-off and poorly maintained sewerage disposal systems).
Symptoms of algae poisoning include - lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, stumbling and falling, foaming at the mouth, tremors and seizures.
It's difficult to be precise on the amount of water that needs to be drunk for it to be toxic, because it will depend on the size and condition of your dog and the nature of the algae; however it can be anything from a few ounces to a few gallons.
It's important to rinse your dog after he's been playing in the river - dogs can ingest large quantities of blue green algae from licking their fur.

There are no known antidotes for poisoning resulting from blue green algae poisoning. The best solution is to have an understanding of the conditions that blue green algae flourish in, and how to identify it.

I've found these 2 useful resources which show photographs of blue green algae blooming.

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Vermont Department of Health

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