An important animal on a working farm that is often overlooked in the health plan is working – or indeed family – dogs.

Regular worming is vital for a clean bill of health and veterinary advice includes worm control for adult dogs every three months through adulthood.

More frequent worming is recommended for pups and vets advise worming approximately every two weeks until they reach 12 weeks of age and then transferred over to the three month timeframe for adult dogs.

This information should also be documented and available for inspection in Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb and Dairy Assurance Scheme audits.

Protection against external parasites ie, fleas, mange mites and ticks is also important.

Ticks can also carry diseases which are dangerous for dogs if exposed to them. Many products provide three month protection and can tie in with worming protocols.

Vaccinations

It is especially important that pups are vaccinated correctly as these are the most susceptible group of dogs to many of the potentially lethal diseases vaccination protects against.

A primary course of two vaccines are required for many diseases with an annual booster required thereafter. Your vet will be best placed to map out an annual vaccination programme.

Canine cough is the most common infectious disease of dogs in Ireland. The disease is highly contagious and affects dogs of all ages. The symptoms include a dry, severe cough not too dissimilar to whooping cough in humans and can weaken the immune system and be a predisposer to pneumonia.

Leptospirosis is possibly the most widespread zoonotic disease worldwide resulting in Weil’s disease in humans.

There are several different strains of leptospirosis and due to the chance of contact with rodents and urine-contaminated water, farm dogs are one of the high-risk groups for exposure.

Parvo is another common disease and can be spread on shoes, clothing etc leaving dogs exposed. It can cause heart damage in young dogs. There is no specific treatment meaning vaccination is all the more important.

Infectious canine hepatitis (ICH) is another highly infectious viral disease of dogs which can cause mild signs in some individuals but may be fatal in others.

Again, there is no specific treatment.

Last but not least distemper is an uncommon disease due to successful vaccination but where it hits can be deadly. It can initially cause mild issues before potentially progressing to serious neurological issues and seizures.