Watch Vet Surgery Live on Monday 2nd April at 4pm!

In a special Vets’ Surgery Live, TV vet Luke Gamble and Blue Peter favourite Peter Purves will be answering questions from pet owners live from Blue Cross Animal Hospital on Monday 2nd April.

As part of Be Lungworm Aware month, Luke and Peter are helping dog owners spot the causes and symptoms of the potentially fatal parasite, as well as how to avoid it.  They will be taking questions and offering their top tips on how to keep your dogs happy and healthy.  A live lungworm examination will also help you spot the signs that your pooch needs treating.

Submit any questions you'd like to ask Luke or Peter using the form below and they will do their best to answer as many as possible.

Lungworm (A. vasorum) is a parasite that dogs become infected with through eating slugs and snails which carry the larvae of the parasite.   Once inside the dog's system, the parasite travels through the lungs, ending up in the heart.  If the infection is left untreated, the dog’s health can rapidly deteriorate and can be fatal.

Recent research shows 36% of vets confirming a diagnosis of the potentially fatal parasite in practices across the UK. This has more than doubled since a survey in 2008, when the figure was 16%.  This increase can be attributed to various factors including climate change making for milder conditions so that infected slugs and snails can survive for longer.

And there is concern from vets that despite the increase in cases over the last four years, the level of awareness of the disease amongst pet owners is very low with more than a third of dog owners surveyed saying they have never heard of lungworm.

Join us live from the Blue Cross Animal Hospital to learn how to help keep your dog happy, healthy and lungworm free.