Leading vets are warning dog owners about the dangers of throwing sticks for their pets to fetch after a reported rise in life-threatening injuries, writes .

Grace Webster, president of the British Veterinary Association in Scotland, told owners on Wednesday to stop throwing pieces of wood after a report of a dog in Scotland being badly injured after it got a 10cm stick stuck in its throat.

Instead, throwing rubber sticks from pet shops, balls or Frisbees were safer alternatives, Webster told the Times (£). She said: “Throwing sticks for your dog can be dangerous and lead to horrific injuries that can be very distressing for both you and your dog, such as causing cuts to their mouths and tongues or, as in this case, getting the stick lodged in their throat.Even when the initial wound is treated, splinters of wood have often got stuck and require subsequent operations.”

Sean Wensley, president of the British Veterinary Association, said vets nationally were familiar “with the very serious, potentially life threatening injuries that can be caused by throwing sticks for dogs”. “Our colleagues in practice are seeing probably around one stick-related injury a month. Others say it’s more than that.”

bbabo.Net