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Hi,
     My mum used to have a lab cross with we suspect weine, a beautiful dog and very well behaved, full of life. He used to love chasing stones I threw for him into the streams ( field drainage ditches). Sam at the age of 4 developed a mysterious illness that was similar to acute diabetes but wasn't, he was even tested for cushing's disease and again came negative. He deteriorated so much that eventually the vet threw his hands up and after a night of deteriorating further admitted defeat and we had poor Sam put to sleep.

Having just moved house and searching for suitable field nearby to run Shea on were he wont get up to his eyes in thick mud, I have found one that is perfect, surrounded by crop fields but big enough to hold his interest, only problem being in the corner there is a ditch which I presume has filled with rain water and is a little swampy so of course Shea has fallen in love with it and drinks from it without allot I can do to stop him. Now i am absolutely paranoid about the ditch having chemicals from the fields in it. We have no proof but suspect Sam was slowly poisoned over time as he would drink the water from the drainage ditches, could be completely wide of the mark but it seems strange he was a completely healthy dog and he was struck by a mysterious illness. I would hate to be taking a risk with Shea. Am I being too worried?

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I can understand your worries,and the loss of Sam must have been devastating for you.
Did the vet say he suspected Sam had been poisoned? I would have thought the main risk from ditches might be parasites or from algea.Of course they take the water run off the fields and if the farmer has been spraying then poison could be suspected.But your vet would have known this and would have investigated this possibility.
In my experience dogs will find water of dubious quality in the most unexpected places and no matter how you try,short of keeping the dog permanently on his lead,there is not a lot you can do.I would try not to worry ,whatever caused Sam's untimely death was probably not the water but it might ease your mind if you could find a field without any obvious 'dog water attractions'.
Hi Neil,
What part of the country did Sam and your Mum live? Did it have intensive agriculture as it is often the case in the UK? If this is the case, yes it is quite likely that the ditches got filled with whatever the farmer was putting on the fields before the rain. I never let my dogs even drink from puddles when I walk them....especially near roads as there can be some antifreeze from cars in these puddles. If it is not antifreeze, it could be high level of herbicides or anything that went on the nearby field. I would stop Shea from drinking outside your house....I know it is all training but in the end it might save his life!
Catherine> mum lives in the north west, Merseyside area, I'm currently in Cheshire which is very agriculturally intensive. The farmer is actually our landlord, will ask him but I know he can be a bit vague at times. I don't know if we could ever stop Shea from drinking outside home, we do take water with us on walks, but dogs will be dogs i guess.
We're in Kent and the farm land round here is fertilised with 'treated human waste', spread and then dug in to grow crops and for grazing land - possibly not the ideal but it's been going on in some areas for 40 years, ever since the EU ruling that it could no longer be dumped in the North Sea.. Interesting to note only 1 Supermarket in the UK refuses to buy fruit, vegetables and salad crops from a supplier who grows on land that has been fertilised with 'treated human waste' My main concern with ditches and ponds ( a very large one in our garden ) is rats although we have a contract with a pest controller to eliminate them. The 'Great Plague' started with rat infestation and our very friendly Pest Controller informed us over dinner last week that because of the cutbacks he anticipates another plague unless radical action is taken quickly However rats are on the increase due to cutbacks and they carry the most awful diseases so I would definitely keep our dogs away from ditches and ponds whenever possible. The other problem with water is slugs and snails poisonous to dogs when eaten.

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