Damn Porcupines AGAIN, post 167... Nos decided to kill one... PICS POST 49

I've only seen a couple dogs tangle with porcupines more than once and the second encounter was obviously with a lot less committment on the part of the dog judging by the number of quills they picked up.
 
Congrtats on Nos' recovery...lucky for him that he isn't owned by one of the heartless pricks posting on here.

The only time that I ever had experience with more than 2 or 3 quills was when my dad's dog came in with a faceful of about 35 or 40. As we stood discussing the situation, he calmly sat down and started to pull them with his paws. Within an hour he was quill-free, save for two more we found and pulled the next day. No lasting ill effects...lucky, I guess.
 
Small, eh? I simply don't have give my heart the opportunity to connect with a species other than a human being. I have an understanding of what we are put here on this earth to do. We are to be stewards of creation. Putting $2k into a dog isn't being stewardly. It's being wasteful. Unless, of course, the dog is a trained tool and worth that much to replace to do the work. Now, human beings, they are a special creation and priceless!

That's my paradigm. What's yours?

My paradigm is that pets, once inside my home are members of the family. I have and will continue to spare no medical expense in saving them providing that the treatment will result in a good quality of life for them. Any money I saved by not treating them would be blood money and I don't deal in blood money.
 
Well folks, he is one sore puppy!!! Sleeping at my feet & for the first time NOT enthusiastically eating!!! (Wonder why, frig that's gotta be sore!!!) Even with melted cheese, Nos had a hard time swallowing the antibiotic pill...

Anyhow, here's the pics I promised. As you can see, I'm not sure it's possible to remove this amount of quills in a dogs mouth, without putting the dog under anesthetic to do it...

Cheers
Jay

NOS_001.jpg


NOS_002.jpg

Jes*s Christ, did he leave any quills in the porcupine?. IMO you did right that is definately a general anaesthetic job. I emailed my vet these pics and she says you did all right money wise.
 
Don't feel too bad about the 1300 or so. I dropped more than seven hundered on two surgeries for a pet rat. Saving her life was money I never minded spending, And I am one cheap b*stard.
 
My other dog just got porky'd!

Two dogs in a few weeks. The old fellow, who should know better, was out with me while I was setting up a trail cam in a field. He was doing his usual thing, sniffing and snorfing. All of a sudden he comes over and frantically paws his muzzle. I couldn't see anything, and pulled up his lips to see bloody gums. Finally I made him open his mouth - full of tiny quills. Off to the vet again.

I went back to the scene of the crime, and found a big porcupine with a dead baby. Lucky for me, the pooch didn't tangle with mama, who expired suddenly.

New rule on the farm - i see a Porky, it gets a bullet.:mad:
 
Slow moving, squat and one hell of an easily tore up soft underbelly, only thing mother nature gives those rats is the most brutal form of defense imaginable.

Good on you for having those quils pulled out, you made the right choice.

For the 50 to 200 buck life cap types, if your that broke, dont own a dog.
 
Well, here's an update post op 11 days... Nos is COMPLETELY back to normal, in fact, he was pretty much normal 3 days following the incident...

We have found 41 additional quills since the surgery, most of them in the first few days, a couple in the days that followed that & then none for a couple days WHEN, this morning, I petted him & we found two more near his left eye...

We continue to hope NONE of these quills that are migrating through Nos's body, go anywhere they shouldn't!!!

To everyone who wished Nos & us well, thank you!

Cheers
Jay
 
The first two times my dog tangled with a porcupine, I hauled him to the vet, paid the bill and all was good. The third time happened when money was a bit tight, so I sawed off a 8" piece of the bottom of the Christmas tree, tied it into his mouth, sat on his neck and head (he was a 150lb Alaskan Malamute) and had my wife pull them out with pliers. There was only about 20 this time.

He never went near a porcupine again.
 
Glad hes doing ok. You'll be pulling them out for a while.

My dog has a great ability to learn from his mistakes. Tangled with a porky once, got a few quills in the snout, now he won't go near them. He'll point and growl, but he stays away. Got trampled by a cow only once. Again, he won't go near them.

In our area, we shoot them on sight. If we see sign of them, the hunt is on.
 
Glad to see you made the right choice Jay! Looks like nos is a lucky dog to have a good owner!

I can't believe some of the a**holes in this thread. I value my dogs a hell of a lot more than many members of the human race. When it comes to my dogs and the vet the issue isn't "how much is it gonna cost me?" but "what is best for my boys?". These aren't even trained hunting dogs, matter of fact they don't do ANYTHING usefull, other than keep me happy and sane.

In the last year and half we have spent over $12k at the vet on our 4 year old collie, Muskwa. First, we found out he was epileptic, second he ate a big rock and it plugged up his bowel, third he managed to open a cupboard and eat all of his epilepsy meds and OD'd. Not exactly the smartest dog, but we love him, and so he gets whats best for him.

It's incredibly rare to meet a better person than a dog.

Curious here... How does a dog behave OD'ed on epilepsy meds? Super-zombie like? Sick? High as a kite?

Inquiring minds would like to know? :yingyang:

(PS... Be happy the dog will take pills without fuss! One of my greatest frustrations with any of my pets!!)
 
Small, eh? I simply don't have give my heart the opportunity to connect with a species other than a human being. I have an understanding of what we are put here on this earth to do. We are to be stewards of creation. Putting $2k into a dog isn't being stewardly. It's being wasteful. Unless, of course, the dog is a trained tool and worth that much to replace to do the work. Now, human beings, they are a special creation and priceless!

That's my paradigm. What's yours?
You sir, are a manly man. That other guy can go hug a tree.
 
My dog cost $2k as a puppy. He's a titled dog. We have pet insurance which I HIGHLY recommend you guys look into. Covers 80% of most vet bills. Look into it.

My dog is most certainly part of my family and I wouldn't think twice about doing what's best for him.

People have different ideas about dogs. Farm dogs are free and live outside. Shoot em if they aren't useful anymore. No different they killing a cow that isn't useful anymore. My dog lives inside and is my buddy. Does more for my well being (going for walks, playing, astounding me with his vast intellect etc) than any massage, spa, accupuncture etc put together. That's just me though.

All the best
 
i think it all depends on what your doing, if the dog was my companion i would pay up to the value i paid for the dog, anything over that is too much IMO, i'd get a new one. Dont get me wrong i appreciate and care for a lot of animals and my aquarium is proof of that (you dont want to know what i spent on fish) but its a quality of life thing. I suppose thats why i will never spend that much money for an animal, because quality of life is all they have.
 
I had a GSP ##### that never did learn to leave porcupines alone. I got to be pretty good at pulling quills, because she gave me lots of practise. Pretty smart dog but porkys made her crazy.

Pull the quills asap, it gets harder the longer they are in there and the dog tends to try and bite or break the quills off which complicates the situation enormously.

To pull the quills you need to imobilize the dog or it ain't gonna happen. I used a blanket and 20 ft piece of nylon cord. Wrap the dog fairly tightly with the blanket leaving the area you want to harvest uncovered. Wrap the cord around the outside of the blanket and tie it off tight enough to immobilize but not so tight you cut off circulation. Use a pair of pliers to pluck out the quills. Grab the quill as short as you can and pull straight out.

I've saved myself thousands of dollars in vet bills by doing it myself and never had any bad results. The dogs actually seem to appreciate it.
 
I have been a friend of Jay for many years and though I don't get to see him and his family much any more I will always remember the "enthusiasim" that dog has. I have no doubt that that porky went down hard. If I know anything about Nos, this is fact "instinct driven" that dog is well trained but man if it wants to do something it does it. I think your right Jay. Time for a shock collar. I know you don't need it for training him but if it keeps you from going broke at the vet then do it. A good dog is always worth the $$. I would put a dog down if it was was suffering or bit someone. My last dog never bit anyone... Except Jay once.... That's OK though.... another story eh Jay lol

Moe
 
Go ahead flame me out; I've got big shoulders.
After the third time our boxer tangled with a 'Porky" she got wise to our attempts to hurt her ( her opinion I'd imagine ). Like it's our fault...
Into the kennel with her; one of those 2.5' X 3.5' things.
Open one long side on two garbage bags. Built a little tent around the kennel. Spray a can of ether down at the floor of the kennel ( type is important some brands are purer than others).
Quickly tear off the bags, pop the clasps on the kennel top & remove the quills from the sleeping dog.
2 minutes later they are up looking for a drink of water.
Grew up on a Ranch and saw lots of impromptu veterinary work done.
 
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