Porcupines

[wyoelkfan15]

On the bright side Ruger got me a limit on huns over the weekend. On the other hand he picked a fight with THREE different porcupines Saturday. Quick visit to the vet and a $250 bill later he's on the mend.

Anyone have any tips on training a dog off of getting into these prickly suckers?

 

[pabearhunter]

You would think they would learn their lesson. NOPE they will do again the next time they find one.

 

[MThuntr]

A friend's pointer got into several different porcupines last year on consecutive hunts. I think he spent $1k on surgeries with a quill dangerously close to the dog's eye. He opted to take the rest of the season off.

 

[Tradewind]

it's that tail flip the porky does that always catches them. I 'borrowed ' a champ retriever (ribbons and blood lines, etc) for a weekend in ND and
it managed to find a porcupine in western ND with hardly a tree to be found. 8 quills. Pulled them w/ a quick jerk (one at a time) w/ my leatherman
and gave him part of an aspirin. called it a weekend after that

 

[Hunting Wife]

When our dog was younger, the first couple of porcupines we ran into, we would take her downwind and as she approached and sniffed to see what it was, we would give her a fairly good shock. She avoided them for 9 years.

She has pointed a bunch of porcupines over the years since then, but never went after one until a couple summers ago. We were on a hike, of course, and a couple miles from the truck. She scented it on the breeze. I honestly expected her to put up some sharpies or something the way she was acting. But nope. I pulled what I could with my fingers, then when we got to the truck I stuffed a rolled up bike inner tube between her teeth so I could get the ones in her mouth with some pliers. She has not gone after another, yet.

About half done plucking her nose. She was being very good, but I’m pretty sure she was just waiting to die.

 

[kiwi hunter]

Haha nice pic tho
If you can get hold of electric necklace sure teaches them fast of what they can and cant

 

[Blueeagle]

OUCH!

 

[Mallardsx2]

Pulled 400 out of my old bmc male. It was a mess of epic proportions.

 

[gouch]

My dad's GSP Dutchess, got swatted once and would never get within twenty feet of a porcupine after that.

When my first GSP Jake was young he pointed a porcupine, and that thing swatted him in the nose. He took offence to that and jumped on that critter's back and tried to kill it. When all was said and done, Jake had more quills in him than the porcupine had left in him. Many years later he went into a bush, yelped once and came walking back out. He sat down in front of me looking up as to say, " You mind pulling these quills outa my nose for me boss?"

 

[Johnny Bravo]

I hear they taste good, hope y'all are shooting those critters and eating them.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Better than a skunk! We have had to pull a few out of our dogs noses over the years.
When the wife's horse got a nose full we pulled them much the same. That was a RODEO!

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I’d rather have a dog hit with a skunk than a porcupine. Quills can and do work into the dog and can cause complications down the road. I’ve found one working out of a dogs nose months later, and also found them abscessed under the skin.

 

[Elkmagnet]

I’d rather have a dog hit with a skunk than a porcupine. Quills can and do work into the dog and can cause complications down the road. I’ve found one working out of a dogs nose months later, and also found them abscessed under the skin.

We have probably been lucky to get them all out. So no long term issues. In that scenario I'll take the poky every time.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

We have probably been lucky to get them all out. So no long term issues. In that scenario I'll take the poky every time.

I had a wirehair that got hit REALLY bad once. Back of the mouth and throat. He had some really severe behavioral issues down the road and I always wondered if a quill worked into his brain and accessed.

 

[Elkmagnet]

I had a wirehair that got hit REALLY bad once. Back of the mouth and throat. He had some really severe behavioral issues down the road and I always wondered if a quill worked into his brain and accessed.

I could absolutely see it going south for a dog. My lab would likley get popped in the nose and back off. My German shepherd will attack anything that hurts him. He hates ground wasps and yellow jacket nests. He will fight them to the death. I imagine him getting into a porcupine and having a really bad outcome like you describe. I hope we don't find out.

 

[Hunting Wife]

My former boss (the vet) had several stories of quills migrating through sinuses, into the brain, into lungs, into the eye. Makes me paranoid about the one I might miss.

 

[44hunter45]

I hear they taste good, hope y'all are shooting those critters and eating them.

Not bad. No need to waste a bullet. Whack 'em on the end of the nose with a stick. Light's out.
Skin them like you measure a cat's tail.

I don't know if they still do. Fur buyers would buy them back when I was a kid.

 

[Birdbander]

My dogs and I encounter a good number of porcupine in the spring while woodcock banding. The worst are the very young porcupine. Their small quills are very different to see in a dogs mouth. I've been fortunate and have only had one dog get hit a little and never again was interested.
Avoidance training with a young dog really pays off.

 

[wyoboypt]

Shock caller. They work fantastic if your dog isn’t retarded.

 

[Flynarrow]

A friend lost his Airdale on its 18th porky....they don't learn without some help. Some anti porky gun dog training sessions are advertised along with anti rattler and anti skunk. Personally my pointing dogs wear shock collars and as soon as I can tell it is a porky they get a high level shock......works well.