Autumn Is Coming: Early Season Hazards for Highland Dogs
You can feel it already on the early walks: cooler mornings, heavier dew, the first hint of the season turning. Autumn in the Highlands is glorious dog walking weather, but it swaps summer's hazards for a fresh little list of its own. Here's what we start watching for from September.
Wasps and bees
Late summer wasps are sluggish, grumpy and everywhere, and dogs will snap at them. Most stings mean a yelp and a sore lip. Call the vet if your dog is stung in the mouth or throat (swelling there can affect breathing), gets stung many times, or shows signs of an allergic reaction like sudden facial swelling, hives or wobbliness. A sting you can see in the skin can be scraped out sideways with a fingernail or bank card.
Windfall fruit
Fallen apples, plums and brambles ferment where they lie, and a scavenging dog can get a surprising dose of alcohol from rotting fruit, plus cyanide-containing pips and stones in quantity. The odd blackberry off the bush is fine. Hoovering under a fruit tree is not. Watch gardens and old orchard corners on your routes.
Mushrooms and fungi
Damp autumn ground brings fungi up everywhere, and while most are harmless, a few in the UK are seriously toxic. Nobody expects owners to become mushroom experts. The practical rule is simpler: treat every mushroom as off the menu, and if your dog does eat one, photograph it and call the vet.
Conkers and acorns
A little further into the season, conkers and acorns both carry toxins that can cause vomiting and worse, and conkers are the perfect size to block a gut. Some dogs completely ignore them; the fetch-obsessed and the hoover-mouthed need watching under the big trees.
Darker evenings
The light goes fast up here once September gets moving. It's worth sorting the visibility kit now: a reflective collar or lead, a clip-on light for the dog, and something bright for you. If your dog's recall is only reliable when they can see you, dusk walks are lead walks.
Harvest time
Fields are busy with machinery, stubble can be sharp on paws, and freshly cut fields are often followed by muck spreading. Keep dogs close around working farmland and rinse paws after stubble walks if your dog is tender-footed.
The Pawkies bit
The turn of the season is our favourite time out on the trails: cooler air, fewer midges, and dogs with a spring in their step again. As the days shorten, a midday walk also does double duty, giving your dog their daylight leg stretch while you're at work.
Book a walk or get in touch for a chat. 🐾