DOG owners have been advised to exercise their pooches away from other pets because of a mystery illness affecting a number of animals.

The virus has swept through the dog owning community in Felixstowe with pets suffering vomiting and diarrhoea.

Vets say the only common factor is all the dogs had been walked at The Grove wood on the edge of town, though they could easily have caught it from any one of a number of places.

Wendy Scrivener, practice manager at Whitworth vets, Trimley St Mary, said: “The dogs had been walked at The Grove but they had also been walked at other places so it’s really difficult to say exactly where they might have got it.

“We are advising people to walk their dogs in quieter places, away from the more popular areas where dog owners usually congregate until everyone is clear of it.”

A Suffolk Coastal spokesman said the authority was not aware of problems at The Grove, but last year had warned owners about seasonal canine illness.

There had been concern then after animals experienced vomiting, diarrhoea and lethargy immediately after being in woodland areas of the district.

Has your pet been affected?