dogs and porcupines

[rockinmywaypa]

dogs and porcupines

This evening I thought I had enough time to get in the last 3 loads of round bales so headed to the field with my son and the dog following. Just get into the field and son thinks he sees a "groundhog" on other side of field.Kate he yells and points. She takes off running and I look over at the last moment and see what's up to realise that that ain't no groundhog. End of hay, off to house for needlenose pliers and I figured blanket for sure. Pulled out 64 quills and the dog never ran or growled once. I was impressed.

 

[Junkman]

Re: dogs and porcupines

I am all too familiar with porcupine quills and dog. My Weimeraner (deceased) loved to hunt them. The first couple of experiences he only got a few quills. Then something in him "broke" and he killed one by biting and shaking. That was one bad experience. A couple of hours under anesthesia at the vets. Then he did it again. Another trip to the vets. This time, the vet said that the next time, don't bring him there. Find another vet. This is my best friend telling me this, so I knew for certain that he really meant it. He did it once more, but this time, it was a small baby porcupine, so he wasn't that badly quilled. Then for some unknown reason, he never went after another. All 3 that he killed were in one summer. Now, if I see a porcupine in the yard, I immediately try to capture it in a metal garbage pail and relocate to another part of town that doesn't have any homes and is all wilderness. I have also used Grub-Ex to keep the grubs to a minimum. If there are no grubs in the lawn for them to go after, they don't come around the house. So far, this Weimeraner has only found one, and she chased that one up a very small tree. All I had to do was put the barrel under the limb and use the shovel to knock him/her into it.
One thing that I learned about quills is that they expand from the heat of the animals body that they are embedded in. You cut them first with diagonal cutters and then pull them out. The dog should be on antibiotics as a safety precaution against infection. Thank goodness that we don't have any skunks around here that I know of... Just deer and raccoons... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Make sure that the dog is current on his rabies vaccine before going to the vet. If you haven't read this post, it is very enlightening... "My dog fought a raccoon"

 

[rozett]

Re: dogs and porcupines

I know exactly what you mean. Bubba seemed to have an intimate relationship with the porcupine across the street. Three times he came home with a face full of quills. The last time required a simlar vet visit because one of the quills broke off at the skin line. Maybe he has scared it off, but we haven't seen it in over a month. On the other hand, maybe the Fisher has returned. And that can't be good for Bubba. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif