You will know which of these meetings is an emergency, which is only a nuisance, and what must not be done in each case.
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An animal that goes outside eventually meets something other than people and its own kind. These meetings are not equal: some sort themselves out, one or two are counted in minutes.
Its hairs sting and they come loose at the slightest disturbance, even without touching the caterpillar: a line of them on the ground, a fallen nest, a shaken branch is enough. A dog sniffing or mouthing takes the dose on its tongue and muzzle.
The signs come fast: heavy drooling, a swollen muzzle, a tongue changing colour. A tongue turning purple or black means tissue is dying, and part of it can be lost.
The immediate step is to rinse generously with clean water, without rubbing, wearing gloves, then go to the vet without waiting. Rubbing drives the hairs in, and waiting costs tissue. This is a late winter and spring danger, tied to pines and oaks.
A dog snapping at an insect gets stung on the tongue, the palate or the throat. The swelling that follows happens exactly where it obstructs breathing.
On the body, a single sting is watched: pain, a small lump, and it passes. What changes everything is the location inside the mouth, the number of stings, or a whole-body reaction with vomiting, dullness or laboured breathing.
Nests in a hedge or in the ground raise a different problem: an animal that disturbs a nest takes several stings at once. There, the amount of venom becomes a subject of its own.
A dog finds one nosing through a stone pile or a sunny bank. The bite leaves two small punctures, and swelling sets in over a few tens of minutes.
What you do: limit movement, carry the animal if its size allows, stay calm, and get to a vet. Effort speeds the venom through the body, and that is the one variable you control.
What you do not do: cut, suck, apply a tourniquet, or give a human medicine. Those old moves worsen the local injury without removing any venom.
A toad taken in the mouth releases an irritant secretion through its skin. The reaction is dramatic and quick: massive drooling, an animal rubbing its muzzle, very red gums.
Rinse the mouth with clean water, head pointed down so the water runs out rather than being swallowed, for several minutes. Then ring a vet, especially if the animal stays dull, trembles or is sick.
Toads are mostly out in the evening and after rain, and a garden with a pond will hold some. Going out with a torch on damp evenings settles much of this, without changing anything else.
It rolls into a ball, the dog insists, and comes away with a few spines in its muzzle or lips. It hurts, it is worth a consultation if the spines are deeply embedded, and that is where it ends.
Hedgehogs often carry fleas and ticks, which do not settle readily on a dog but can pass through the garden. That is one more reason for the check on the way in, not a reason to drive hedgehogs off.
The real subject is the reverse of what people assume: the hedgehog is the one at risk. A dog chasing it every evening in the garden will move it on or worse, and separating them by the hour of the outing is the better answer.
The most widespread rodent baits work by blocking clotting. A poisoned rodent becomes slow, therefore easy to catch, and the poison carries on into the cat or dog that eats it.
Secondary poisoning is quiet at first: tiredness, pale gums, breathlessness, sometimes a nosebleed or dark urine. Several days can pass between the prey and the signs.
A hunting cat in an area where cellars are being treated is exposed without anyone deciding it. If you learn that a rodent control campaign is running, watchfulness goes up a notch, and anything unusual becomes a reason to see a vet.
The sandfly is a very small fly, active mostly at dusk and at night, from late spring into autumn. It transmits leishmaniasis, a serious and lasting disease in dogs.
Its range mainly concerns Mediterranean areas, and it is shifting. This is local information by nature: a vet in your own town knows what comes through the door, a general text does not.
Prevention exists, combining parasite control, a possible vaccination, and keeping the dog in during the hours when the insect feeds. The detail is decided in consultation, because it depends on the place and on the dog.