i take my lot up to the common every day and today one of mine is very poorly.
Yesterday Ruby was off lead up there and i noticed her sniffing around under a tree, i called her back and she was ok, later that day after another walk i came home to a sick mark (no sick it had been eaten) after Ruby refused her tea we assumed it was her and kept an eye on her, shes ok now still off her food but the vet says shes ok. However this morning one of my boys Basil has been sick several times, weve seen the vet who says he has a gsatric upset and has given him a couple of jabs to ease the sickness and pain, hes still very off colour and very quiet, :( we figure its him that ate rubys sick last night :gag: anyway a friend has called to say shes looked where Ruby was sniffing and theres a dead rabbit half eaten so that must have been what she was sniffing at and probably ate some, weve noticed alot of dead rabbits up there recently so be careful if you dogs prone to eating whilst off lead as i wouldnt want anyone elses dogs to end up ill too. anna.x.

I saw 2 people taking away dead rabbits yesterday afternoon, and they were both commenting that they were all maggoty and smelly, and if they had been up there as long as they had been dead then their dogs would have found them on previous walks.

Thank you for posting this Anna- I was going to post similar. I hope Ruby and Basil get back to peak fitness soon.

see this is what worries me as i know some people dont like us dog walking up there, Us as in everyone not just me. Ruby would never chase and kill a rabbit despite been a lurcher but ive no doubt all of mine would scavenge a dead meal if there was one, apparently this ones looked very dead and it was right next to the main path which i thought was odd as surely a fox or another dog would have taken it, all the dead ones weve seen recently have been very visible and weve bagged them and binned them. I hope someone isnt doing this on purpose, my dogs are my life and if anything happened to them id be broken, some people just dont see dogs the way we do though. anna.x.

Hope theyre feeling better soon -and that it's not a case of someone leaving dodgy carrion around for dogs to eat.

basils been admitted to the vets, he continues to be sick and in obvious abdominal discomfort, hes having rehydration and bloods done. I hate leaving him there but i know he'll be well acred for, i just cant wait for him to be home. anna.x.

is it possible to have one of these bunnnies analysed by perhaps the RSPCA if you suspect something underhand Anna? I'll not make comments about the situation until it's known for sure :suspect:

I hope your doggles haven't suffered any lasting damage from this :(

all 3 of mine who go off lead up there are now sick so yes i think i may just do this. anna.x.

If they didn't all eat the manky rabbit, it could be that it is a gastric bug that they have rather than a poisoning incident

there was a case of it going round about this time last year, and several forumers reported very sickly dogs, some requiring drips

it may be a good idea for dogs not to be exercised off lead up there for a while :(

So sorry to hear about your dogs Anna, I really hope that its a bug and nothing more sinister :(
Will be thinking of you , hope that they are all feeling much better real soon and that Basil is soon home with you.

Just spoken to the vets, Baisl perkier, hes not taken anything orally yet but they will try him with water later tonight and if he keeps that down he will try food in the morning, hopefully he will be home by tomorrow evening. anna.x.

Oh Anna, poor you and the doglets. I hope Basil comes home soon. I hope it is not anything sinister.:suspect:

Get well soon Basil mate :love:

Thanks for letting us all know Anna. I do hope they're all feeling better soon.

Maggie has had to be seen by the vets again this morning after sicking up blood, hes given her some drugs and she will be monitored, he feels its a winter bug so please anyone who walks up on the common either stay away for a while or be very careful as if it is indeed this is from there as its where we walk everyday and its would be very contagious. i know a couple of weeks ago someone mentioned theyd seen sick with blood in but we never thought anything of it as we hadnt heard of any dogs been unwell. Basils still in the vets ive been to see him this am and will go again tonight for goodnight cuddles. anna.x.

Maggie has had to be seen by the vets again this morning after sicking up blood, hes given her some drugs and she will be monitored, he feels its a winter bug so please anyone who walks up on the common either stay away for a while or be very careful as if it is indeed this is from there as its where we walk everyday and its would be very contagious. i know a couple of weeks ago someone mentioned theyd seen sick with blood in but we never thought anything of it as we hadnt heard of any dogs been unwell. Basils still in the vets ive been to see him this am and will go again tonight for goodnight cuddles. anna.x.

Oh Anna poor Maggi and Basil, and poor you, what a worry for you, I was thinking that they would be improving now... they are in good hands.
Hope that you see a big improvement real soon x

The rabbits most likely died from myxomatosis. The winter has done little to slow the utbreak of last year and I am still getting many reports of wild rabbits being found in the late stages of the disease.

Poisoning is not an accepted method of rabbit control as its quite inefficient so if thats whats happened the dogs have likely been deliberately baited :(

RABBIT OWNERS TAKE NOTE- Myxomatosis is still about, please get your bunnies vaccinated every SIX months.

I hope your dogs are better soon Anna.

The thing that was worrying everyone on the common is that the rabbits that are being picked up by the dogs have obviously been dead for a while, but were in a place that they would have been picked up by their dogs on previous walks, so the question cropped up about whether they had been put there deliberately.

ive just spoken to another dog walker who says her friends dog was taken in to the vets just like mine with vomiting and blood after eating a dead rabbit on the common so it does point to my first intial thoughts of ruby eating and sickinh up the rabbit them my others eating her sick, the only dogs not sick are ones who couldnt get to her sick, fingers crossed its contained to them. The rabbit ruby found was dead a while and was right beside the path medusa which we found odd too. anna.x.

see this is what worries me as i know some people dont like us dog walking up there, Us as in everyone not just me. Ruby would never chase and kill a rabbit despite been a lurcher but ive no doubt all of mine would scavenge a dead meal if there was one, apparently this ones looked very dead and it was right next to the main path which i thought was odd as surely a fox or another dog would have taken it, all the dead ones weve seen recently have been very visible and weve bagged them and binned them. I hope someone isnt doing this on purpose, my dogs are my life and if anything happened to them id be broken, some people just dont see dogs the way we do though. anna.x.
anna i think the rabbits have got mixy cant spell the full name but comes round every few years found one other day with no eyes as such ....not very nice but think thats it ...karen

Found a dead rabbit today again with no eyes,looks like mixy.
Could it be a virus amongst the dogs!!!!!Multi dog households usually show the problem up if it is very contagious.
A kind lady bagged up the rabbit and was getting in touch with Anna to see if she wanted it analyzing.Hope your hounds are better soon it's such a worry having poorly dogs.

Oh crikey what a worry Anna, kep us updated.

snuggles for Maggie and Basil tonight x

Basils still in the vets, ive been to see him twice today morning and tonight and tonight hes definately brighter but hes still not keeping fluids down when hes given water. if hes still sick tomorrow they will xray him and do a gastroscopy-camera in stomach- to see if hes got anythign in there that wont pass out. not had any calls from anyone re rabbit but i have missed a few unknown numbers, ? walking jobs or wether this lady has tried? the vet seems to think its a gastric bug from the common and because we have so many it shows so badly, anna.x.

Just to let all those who enquired know that Basil came home this afternoon after 4 days at the vets, hes tired, fragile but sooo happy to be home and is in his bed snoozing right now after a overkill of cuddles and kisses from a very elated mum and dad. The vet is sure its something the dogs ate rather than a gastric bug as none of them ever had the squits it was all stomach problems and gastric irritation/bleeding and my other 4 have touch wood been un affected, so please watch your off leaders for eating dead or rotten things on the common. anna.x.

Just to let all those who enquired know that Basil came home this afternoon after 4 days at the vets, hes tired, fragile but sooo happy to be home and is in his bed snoozing right now after a overkill of cuddles and kisses from a very elated mum and dad. The vet is sure its something the dogs ate rather than a gastric bug as none of them ever had the squits it was all stomach problems and gastric irritation/bleeding and my other 4 have touch wood been un affected, so please watch your off leaders for eating dead or rotten things on the common. anna.x.

Thank goodness Basil is now ok, poor lad must be as glad to be home as you are to have him back.
I hope that this is the end of a very unfortunate episode for you and your hounds :(

Glad to hear Basil is home and well anna. Did you ever get to the bottom of what it was? Have any rabbits been sent for analysis?

My dad walks his dog regularly on Wadsley and Loxley common and has seen several dead and dying rabbits showing symptoms of myxomatosis recently. He's seen the effects of the disease many times before and is very knowledgeable about this sort of thing, he's convinced that's what it is. He also has strong suspicions that it has been put down deliberately and has a good idea where it might have originated from. Has anyone any advice about who to report his concerns to?

apart from the RSPCA, it may be worth expressing this concern to the Environment Agency, though I'm not sure if you'd have to be more concerned at the issue of rotting corpses being left about the place rather than the poor bunnies themselves being killed off

Thanks. Do the RSPCA deal with wild animals though?

Thanks. Do the RSPCA deal with wild animals though?

Yes they do tackle illegal pest control, especially where it's in an area that is regularly used by domestic animals.