Gun Dog Forum

Hi all
Opinions needed here: This evening when we took the dogs out in the yard, i could hear a critter crying right as we opened the gate. I assumed it was a young groundhog as we have many out this way this time of year. Needless to say, as we got down in the yard, both dogs headed for the creek...very normal for them so i didnt assume they were after anything. Next thing i know, they're barking like lunatics, i heard the little critter cry again, and then our bigger dog lunged and grabbed it. Turns out it was a baby raccoon. She killed it right there. Both dogs are very up to date with vaccines, and it was just getting towards dusk, so it wasnt as if the coon was behaving strangely by being out. Would you take any further action? Our vet can do a rabies booster they said, but neither dog is late on their shots. Would you send the coon in for testing to the game commission? Or just stop worrying? Thanks!

I personally wouldn’t worry too much, I believe I read that there is growing evidence that the every three year protocol is overkill. Fleas and ticks on the other hand would likely be of concern.

If the dogs are current on vaccines, you have nothing to worry about.

Alrighty - thanks guys.
Yes - both of our dogs are current on their vaccines and regularly receive flea and tick meds.
I appreciate the replies - gives me peace of mind!

Something to not worry about, but to be aware, is ACIP (coondog paralysis). It's rare, serious but recoverable, and might not be something your vet has seen before.

My jagd has killed dozens of coons with no problems other than the occasional wound, but I mark the encounters on the calendar just in case.

So true. Just discussing that on our Ontario Out of Doors forum. TWO members are dealing with coon paralysis with their dogs right now. Apparently , nothing much can be done but hope the dog recovers.


"I’d never heard of it. Although not limited to any specific breed, anybody (particularly those that actually hunt coons with dogs) have any experience with this in their dogs?

Unfortunately, we are currently dealing with our near 5 year old yellow lab Bailey for what the Vet suspects is Idiopathic Polyradiculoneuritis, colloquially called Coon Hound Paralysis. Bailey always did sit a bit side-saddle and I did suspect we would be dealing with potential hip dysplasia in later years, but this is different. It is described as a sudden inflammation of nerve roots and peripheral nerves. It can be attributed to contact with raccoon saliva (hence the colloquial name) but there are other suspected causes.

Last Friday he started the day seemingly normal, even on our morning walk. However as the day progressed, his side-saddle sit became more pronounced and I noticed him laying down often. Later that evening, his hind end became weak which is the typical starting point of this affliction and it can eventually include all limbs and neck. He’s on meds since Saturday so I hope we got a quick start. From what I’ve read, there isn’t really any continuous med regimen for this. His front legs and neck seem not too bad. Recovery can be measured in months but we hope we got started before it got too advanced.

At this point, the “diagnosis” of Coon Hound Paralysis is the Vets best guess based largely on there not really being much pain as there might be if it were a herniated disc / nerve pinch or other spinal injury. I keep massaging the legs and “tickling” the paws to see if he jerks them in response. The right-rear leg is the worst with the left-rear leg more responsive but still deficient. Such is the downside of pet ownership that we have all had to experience one way or another. We’ll just have to ride this out and see where we end up. It does not appear to be life-threatening in Baileys case as it hasn’t progressed much and there are subtle hopeful (wishful?) signs of improvement so that’s good and most (not all) info on-line suggest recovery from Coon Hound Paralysis is a high probability. We hope so. This affliction was cited on-line to be fairly “rare” but once you start researching it on-line and find so many discussions/reports of it, one has to wonder............." Private member

Thank you for the note - I had never heard of that until now.
I will certainly keep it in mind.

shags wrote:Something to not worry about, but to be aware, is ACIP (coondog paralysis). It's rare, serious but recoverable, and might not be something your vet has seen before.

My jagd has killed dozens of coons with no problems other than the occasional wound, but I mark the encounters on the calendar just in case.

This is specially of they got into the urine of the coon.

Rabies and distemper are the other concerns



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