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Fall is finally here, and it won’t be long until the ground is covered in fallen leaves. Does your dog love jumping into a huge pile, feeling the leaves crunch beneath their paws? While leaf-jumping is a quintessential fall tradition, it’s not without its dangers. Learn what can lurk in autumn leaf piles and what to look for to keep your dog safe this fall.
Leaf litter is an integral part of the seasonal cycle of nature. Decaying leaves provide shelter, food, and moisture for a wide variety of molds, mildews, insects, spiders, beetles, grubs, and ticks. Deep leaf piles can even offer shelter for animals like hedgehogs, snakes, mice, and rats.
Dogs that dash through leaf piles may disrupt its creepy-crawly inhabitants. They may hunt small animals that lurk in the leaves, potentially risking a bite or scratch. At worst, they may risk picking up ticks that carry serious viruses including Lyme or Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Mold and mildew in leaf piles is generally not a health hazard, though it could cause irritation in dogs that suffer from mold allergies. Allergens cling to fur and paws, tracking these irritants into your home.
Leaves can also cover up mud, poop, trash, discarded food, broken glass, and other gross, potentially dangerous things. There’s no way to know what’s going on under the leaves, especially in public areas.
While it’s best to avoid allowing your dog to play in leaf piles altogether, the temptation to dive into the crunchy leaves can be hard to resist.
To minimize your dog’s risk of encountering mold, insects, ticks, spiders, and other dangers lurking in leaf piles, keep these precautions in mind:
Now that you’re in-the-know on what can lurk in the leaves, you’re ready to enjoy the fall outdoors with your dog. As always, protect your dog year-round with flea and tick and heartworm preventatives, and make sure your pup always has access to fresh, clean water.