STICKS
__________

Dog owners are putting their pets' lives at risk by throwing sticks for them.

A game of fetch can be anything but harmless, with dogs suffering as many injuries chasing and catching sticks as they do on Britain's roads. Owners are urged to use rubber throwing toys or a suitably sized ball instead.

Owners also risk thousands of pounds' worth of vet bills by throwing sticks. Vets say it is one of the most frustrating kinds of injuries. Many injuries are minor but some are horrific. They range from minor scratches to the skin or lining of the mouth, to paralysis of limbs, life-threatening blood loss, and acute and chronic infections. 

The problem is that sticks are sharp - and very dirty. That means that, as the dog runs onto them or grabs them in its mouth, the end of the stick can easily pierce the skin, going through it to penetrate the oesophagus, spinal cord, blood vessels or the dog's neck. Commonly, small or sometimes large pieces of stick break off and remain inside the neck. These sticks are usually covered in bacteria, fungi and yeasts from the environment.

Several dogs involved in a study died as a result of their stick injury and these deaths almost always involved resistant bacteria and infection that spread from the neck to the chest. What this research shows is that dogs that are allowed and encouraged to play with sticks can sustain serious injuries that result in bleeding to death, paralysis or acquiring infections that will kill them days or weeks later.

For owners the cost can be huge. There have been dogs with stick injuries whose treatment has cost up to £5,000 - but which have ultimately died. The good news is that there are plenty of healthy alternatives to sticks. Rubber throwing toys, Frisbees or just a simple tennis ball - all will keep a dog just as entertained as a stick - and a lot more safely too.