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Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
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Quills are full of air, the pressure makes the tip barb. The first thing you do is cut the end of the quill to let the pressure off so that the barb straightens, then pull it. If you dont cut the end of the quill, you are pulling a barb out.
A few in the nose isnt a big deal, if he takes a bite, then its a problem.
My lab is a pheasant dog, I have a small eye wash, a small set of needle nose with cutters, and something to use for a bandage when we go out.
@elemmac Sorry you had to go through that.
I had a dog that was a skunk hunter so I dealt with that a lot, but she also thought porcupine existed to play and had a few of those situations too.
One time I had to take her to the vet, but most of the time we were able to pull them like Varmintmist suggests.
Once you clip the end off, they come out pretty easy if they're not too deep.
 

Lauren

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Quills are full of air, the pressure makes the tip barb. The first thing you do is cut the end of the quill to let the pressure off so that the barb straightens, then pull it. If you dont cut the end of the quill, you are pulling a barb out.
One time I had to take her to the vet, but most of the time we were able to pull them like Varmintmist suggests.
Once you clip the end off, they come out pretty easy if they're not too deep.

Great to know! Rendl is more of a sniffer than anything, so even if it happens again, there’s a good chance it’ll be minimal quills again. Being the first time, I called the vet for advice, and they said to bring him in...but I’ve gotten quite a bit of advice since on when he should go, and when we could deal with it ourselves. Hopefully I never need to use that information.


I had a dog that was a skunk hunter so I dealt with that a lot, but she also thought porcupine existed to play and had a few of those situations too.

ugh! Skunks are the worst...that smell lasts forever. I remember a car trip with the family dog when I was a kid...1 day before we left to go home, the pup got sprayed. That was a rough 4 hour drive home!
 

Tricia

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Great to know! Rendl is more of a sniffer than anything, so even if it happens again, there’s a good chance it’ll be minimal quills again. Being the first time, I called the vet for advice, and they said to bring him in...but I’ve gotten quite a bit of advice since on when he should go, and when we could deal with it ourselves. Hopefully I never need to use that information.




ugh! Skunks are the worst...that smell lasts forever. I remember a car trip with the family dog when I was a kid...1 day before we left to go home, the pup got sprayed. That was a rough 4 hour drive home!
You'll need two people to handle Rendl for sure, but if you take a side cut(wire cutter) and snip the ends off, you should be able to pull them out easily for shallow quill situation.
 

Monique

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Yesterday Rendl learned: Porcupines do not want to be friends.
Poor pooch, hard to see, you want to help and you need to leave quills to the experts

Aww.

Cooper's one and only experience with a porcupine was, naturally, at 12500 feet of elevation at the apex of the hike. It would have been four rough miles back to the truck. None on his face - all in his mouth. I had nothing on hand to help him. He kept trying to close his mouth, but the quills would stop him. It was awful. I managed to pull all but one of them out by myself - imagine them being stuck in his gums, tongue, roof of mouth - but the last one in the roof of his mouth must have been really bad, because I couldn't get a grip before he'd wiggle away or close his mouth.

I was about in tears of desperation when I heard a young woman yell, "Hang on! My dad's a vet!" He came along, used that soft voice on Cooper (my voice had been ... Not exactly soft as I wrangled with him), and got the damn thing out. The vet commented that I was lucky, and that most dogs needed to be sedated for that.

The moment he was free, Cooper just started running along the trail, sniffing things with perked ears and happy tail, blood flowing from his mouth and acting like nothing had ever happened.

I called our vet the next day, but she said not to worry about it if he wasn't showing any signs of distress.

I guess it's like human wilderness first aid - ideally you want a professional, but in a pinch you have to make a call. I'm just amazed that more dogs don't get one in the eye.
 

Monique

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And to counteract those awful experiences, here's Loki on yesterday's hike!

IMG_20210410_134849.jpg
 

Lauren

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Aww.

Cooper's one and only experience with a porcupine was, naturally, at 12500 feet of elevation at the apex of the hike. It would have been four rough miles back to the truck. None on his face - all in his mouth. I had nothing on hand to help him. He kept trying to close his mouth, but the quills would stop him. It was awful. I managed to pull all but one of them out by myself - imagine them being stuck in his gums, tongue, roof of mouth - but the last one in the roof of his mouth must have been really bad, because I couldn't get a grip before he'd wiggle away or close his mouth.

I was about in tears of desperation when I heard a young woman yell, "Hang on! My dad's a vet!" He came along, used that soft voice on Cooper (my voice had been ... Not exactly soft as I wrangled with him), and got the damn thing out. The vet commented that I was lucky, and that most dogs needed to be sedated for that.

The moment he was free, Cooper just started running along the trail, sniffing things with perked ears and happy tail, blood flowing from his mouth and acting like nothing had ever happened.

I called our vet the next day, but she said not to worry about it if he wasn't showing any signs of distress.

I guess it's like human wilderness first aid - ideally you want a professional, but in a pinch you have to make a call. I'm just amazed that more dogs don't get one in the eye.
Oh my! I can only imagine the stress you (and Cooper) we’re going thru. I can’t imagine trying to get them out of his mouth in the middle of a hike. Yikes!

Amazing luck on meeting a vet on the trail too.
 

oldschoolskier

Making fresh tracks
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Our Jack has learn how to use her button language, Son Play, Mom Play Treat, every now and then she gets excited and pushes All Done, we laugh and say yes you are. This starts the dog language of barking.

I’ll post a video soon.
 

JeffB

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A lathe in your game room?
My late grandfather’s South Bend, manufactured in 1918. Still works, but now it’s my bar in the room I call the pub. Have his old radial arm saw too. Anyway, it’s not moving again - I had to hire a rigging crew to get it in here. Weighs about 4,000 pounds, but I love it. Have all his old stuff in various places around here. Still use his squares and hand planes. He was a machinist for the Navy and woodworker in retirement.

F9FB6C89-9D20-44DE-A777-0AD036CCEEFC.jpeg
 

JeffB

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Are you going to hunt with him, @JeffB? Or will he be doing it alone -- because he plans to hunt.
The only things I hunt are quail and pheasant. It’s all farm raised stuff from an outdoor club I’m a member of. I guess I’ll go down there and get a couple live quail, bring them home, and see how he reacts. It’s the strangest thing. He won’t leave my office except to eat and do his business outside.
 

VickieH

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I had a beagle-dachsund mix who, out of the blue, decided she was a rabbit dog. She was about a year old when it started. Every trip to my parents' house, she'd head straight for the gate to the fenced in fields and woods. She'd hunt, run a rabbit if she jumped one, then come back for a nap. And repeat it later in the day.

It's fascinating watching their nature come out.
 

chip inderhol

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My late grandfather’s South Bend, manufactured in 1918. Still works, but now it’s my bar in the room I call the pub. Have his old radial arm saw too. Anyway, it’s not moving again - I had to hire a rigging crew to get it in here. Weighs about 4,000 pounds, but I love it. Have all his old stuff in various places around here. Still use his squares and hand planes. He was a machinist for the Navy and woodworker in retirement.

View attachment 131119
That thing takes me back to high school. I went to a technical school here in Portland, and machine shop was one of my favorite classes.
 

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