F ing. porcupines

powdergun

powdergun

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
244   0   0
I was out walking the dog down a fence row when he got real interested in something in the tall grass. I called him to me and he comes out of the grass with a snoot full of quills.

He let me pull them all out without any struggle and he was fine after that. Do I need to take him to the vet or does it suffice to just remove the quills and the dog seems fine.

He has eaten with his usual vigor and shows no sign of any irritation of his nose. This is my first time dealing with this so any and all advice is welcome


Thanks
 
Just make sure you got all the quills out and none are left in the dog or broke off part way and left a piece in the dog as you were pulling them out. Ones left in MAY cause infection. Other than that he should be fine.
 
Wouldn't hurt to take him to a vet and get them to clean up his wounds. They would be able to see anything that might be getting infected and deal with it before it becomes a real problem too.
 
I've pulled a pile of quills over the years. You don't need a vet unless he has them where you can't get at them to pull them out when he's awake.
If he let you pull them out without a fuss I expect you won't have to pull any again...smart dogs learn.
 
^^This

Been down this road many, many times over the years with numerous dogs, rockeye is correct, even the vet will miss some, some break off under the skin sometimes, the dogs body will slowly push out quills and it wont hurt him unless they are located where they might cause damage like an eye. Sounds like a good dog if he didn't get too many and let you pull them out. My dog has had quills broken off below the skin that work themselves out months after with no ill effects.
 
I had a dog tangle with a porcupine one time and about a month after she was running across the lawn and just dropped and started pawing at her eye. I thought she had been stung by a bee as her eye was starting to swell right up. I took her to the vet and he did surgery to remove a quill from her eye. He told me he had seen it before where the quills broke off in the nose work their way up and if is not lucky to come out the eye they will go into the brain and kill the dog. It is very important to remove all the quills the best you can. I also have a deep dislike for porcupines.
 
BrotherRockeye said:
I've pulled a pile of quills over the years. You don't need a vet unless he has them where you can't get at them to pull them out when he's awake.
If he let you pull them out without a fuss I expect you won't have to pull any again...smart dogs learn.
Click to expand...

Haha. Thats hiliarios. My grandpa's dog was so smart that he would find her waiting in the truck to go to vet with a mouth full of quils. This happened sometimes a couple days in a row. Dog was smart, stupid!
 
A vet who removed a mouthful of quills on one of my labs years ago told me a quill can work its way into the organs and kill the dog. He told me to keep feeling the dog daily for any quills he may not have gotten that day as the dog had chewed them and broke them off inside his mouth. About a month later I was rubbing his snout when I felt the tip of one appearing. Out with the pliers and out with the quill. That was the only one he had missed. Sadly some dogs as the vet explained to me get a hatred on once stung and will go after every porky they encounter which was the case with my lab. His second round I got lucky as he backed off fast with a noseful of quills. His third encounter was not good and he had to be put down.
 
The only time my Lab encountered one and got quilled he got about 2 doz quills in the snout. I made him sit, placed a towel over his head and eyes and held it tight under his head to stabilize his snout. After that it was very easy to remove the quills. He has since encountered others but has learned not to touch them.
 
If one of ours gets into it with a porkie it does to the Vet unless it's only a couple of quills. Quills can migrate internally and cause serious injury or infection leading to death. The chances of breaking one off are reduced if the dog is under sedation.

I kill every porcupine I see on our property and have notched a couple on nearby concession roads with the truck.
 
Quills are barbed and work their way forward. Quills in the lips will come out on the inside of the mouth for example.

I have seen both ends of the smart/stupid dog with quills act.

My uncle had a big Black Lab that got such a hate on for pokies that he eventually had to be put down. Every one he killed made him hate them all the more. The last one he tangled with he ripped to shreds and had quills half way down his throat.

One of my Rotties got quills one time. After that he would circle them and bark until I came out and shot it. He used to keep them under spruce trees for me, sometimes for hours.

My kids current Pyrenees was a slowish learner...the first 2 times I had to tape his yap shut and hold him with my legs so he couldn't bite me when I pulled the quills. The third time he put up such a fight I said fine, keep em for a while. The next day he was all over me til I pulled the quills and didn't have to tape him. He hasn't had a quill since.

Vets can be a long way off depending on where you live. If you have dogs in the country yer gonna have to deal with it sooner or later.


It's like I used to tell folks that would slow down or swerve for my dogs coming into my driveway. I told everyone to drive in like there were no dogs there. If the dog wasn't smart enough to get out of the way I wanted to know before I put thousands of dollars worth of food down it's throat. :)
 
Hopefully your dog learned to stay away from porcupines!

My dog Nos had his run in & it cost me dearly! We pulled quills for months afterwards...

Cheers
Jay
P.S. Here he is just before the start of 4.5 hours of quill pulling when he killed the porcupine...

NOS_002.jpg
 
Wow! Jay that is a crazy pic. To date (knock on wood) my 9 yo lab has not gotten into a rumble with a porcupine or skunk. He did shock the hell out of my wife by ripping a gopher apart but that is the extent of his wildlife encounters.
 
Looks like AVAH. How was the vet bill? caught that up there. Better than I would have thought.
Jay said:
Hopefully your dog learned to stay away from porcupines!

My dog Nos had his run in & it cost me dearly! We pulled quills for months afterwards...

Cheers
Jay
P.S. Here he is just before the start of 4.5 hours of quill pulling when he killed the porcupine...

NOS_002.jpg
Click to expand...
 
My Lab found one out hiking a few months back. He flipped the thing up by the belly and it ended up rolling down a hill. How he got away without getting any quills in his face I'll never understand by thankfully he did!
I know the idiot is going to do it again too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom