Ruger attackes his first porcupine

[dugger13]

He found his first one, 1 mile from the car.

http://youtu.be/yGLD5X5Gh-Q

[mudhunter]

Always carry pliers with you, a leatherman tool is what I carry, when grouse hunting. That didn't look to bad, you can pull them out and keep hunting. Dog ok?

[jcbuttry8]

correct me if I am wrong, but I have always been told that if you clip the quil and drain it then push it in then pull it, it is easier on the dog. It will release the barbs. Had alot of porcupine in OK but never had a dog attack one.

Joe

[southwayno]

Funny he is still wagging his tail

[Ricky Ticky Shorthairs]

Clipping the end is a wives tale. Grab as close to the base as you can and give it a yank, not a pull, a hard yank.

Doug

[Buckeye_V]

Ricky Ticky is right. Pull as firmly and quickly as possible while the dog is still in "shock." I had a femaile get into one pretty bad and we pulled them out fairly quickly and she was back to hunting in about 20 minutes.

[dugger13]

Luckliy the porcupine was a smaller one. I pulled a bunch out with my multi-tool as I laid on him before the movie was taken, but the dog wouldn't let me open his mouth to get those out. They were in his tongue and gums pretty bad. Also the porky bit his ear, he had a pretty big piece missing from it. You can see the blood everywhere in the video. It wouldn't stop bleeding.
Off to the vet i went, they pulled the rest and stitched his ear up for me after hours.
Hopefully he had his fill of porcupines.

[DonF]

Don't count on it being the last one. Most, not all, the dogs I've seen get them seemed to hold a grudge and get into them again. I've never understood why they do that. Old friend of mine had a shorthair that would get into them a lot. The quills are two parts, the white and the balck. Some people believe the white is hollow and cut it hoping to make it looser. Vet let me look at some under a microscope once. The white is hollow but the black is about like bone and has barbs on it like a harpoon. Grab with pliers and jert them out. I used to have a set of sergical clamps to pull them with. Lost them when the house burned, really miss the and can't remember where I got then. Keep them in a hunting vest. Stick them in a convient pocket and clamp the in.

[jcbuttry8]

That is good to know. My wife is a nurse so may have to snag a set from her. Hope I never have to try it. I'm sure we have em out here but never seen one. In OK saw tons. We actually had a herd of cattle that got into them. Over 20 cows with quills. No calves though. The vet told us they will move around in small groups. Don't know how many it took to get 20 cows. But definitely felt it in the vet bill.