05/07/2025
Food for thought
Careful Letting Dogs Run Through Long Grass in Gorleston – It’s a Health Nightmare! 🐶🌾
I know it's a common sight in and around Gorleston and the Norfolk countryside – dogs bounding through overgrown fields, long grass areas behind parks, and uncut public footpaths. Trainers even encourage it as “great stimulation.”
But let’s be honest: in our area, these long grass fields are crawling with dangers that far too many are ignoring.
🌾 Grass seeds (foxtails): This isn’t just a “summer thing” — these sharp seeds are a major problem across Norfolk. They can pierce your dog’s skin, bury into paws, ears, eyes, even lungs. Vets in Gorleston and Great Yarmouth will tell you they see it every single summer — painful infections, surgery, and big bills.
🐜 Ticks and fleas: Our countryside (especially the common dog-walking spots near Burgh Castle, Fritton, and the marshes) are hotspots for ticks carrying Lyme disease. Not to mention fleas that bring tapeworms and skin issues. You might not see them now, but they’ll show up on your sofa later.
I get that dogs need stimulation. I get that distraction training is important.
But letting them plough through long grass “just because they love it” is not enrichment — it’s exposure to parasites and injury.
Why take the risk when there are safe, maintained spaces nearby?
If you wouldn’t walk barefoot through it, don’t send your dog nose-first into it.
We’re lucky to have beautiful places in Gorleston to train and walk our dogs — but let’s use some common sense and stop romanticising risky behaviour.
