[Dalee100]

Hi,

I was out with my two Springers today. We were working a WMA just west of my house. My little female, Ring, hit scent and was trailing a bird when she went down. It looked like she tripped in a hole. She got back up and continued on and stopped and laid down briefly. My male Onee ran past her and flushed a hen, but Ring showed no interest. She came back to me and gave me a look that said "I'm done", so we quit.

I can see no external injury, and she walks just fine, no limp or anything like that. But she refuses to run or jump. I'm going to let her rest in the house for the rest of the weekend and all next week. I hope she hasn't damaged a leg.

I love that little wench dog .

Dale

 

[AG]

It is always a concern with my little muttses as well. Lots of rattlers here in AZ and I know that sooner or later our luck will run out.

My sympathy for you and your little wench. Keep us posted and best wishes.

 

[Ulysses]

Over the next several days, carefully observe how well she eats and carefully examine her stools and urine for any signs of blood or anything out of the ordinary. If she eats well, poops well, and pees well, then she doesn't likely have any injuries to her digestive system. If that's the case, then her injury is likely to be muscular/skeletal in nature. In that case, just let her be the judge of when she is ready to go back to hunting.

If she doesn't eat well for several days or shows blood in her stool or urine, I'd take her to a vet immediately. Also, check her over carefully for any swelling or for any tenderness in a particular spot. Tenderness may indicate a bruise, torn ligament, or perhaps even a broken bone.

In other words, just check her over and watch her closely. After a couple of days, you should have a pretty good idea of the nature of her injury. Good luck. I hope it isn't serious.

 

[pigeonhunter]

AG you should get your dog snake-proofed(I'm just assuming that they have not been proofed yet) . Most snake-proofing
classes only cost between 25-50$ and it works really well. When I was buying some food at petco my dog would not go near the snakes in the reptile section. And Dalee She'll be fine after a few days. When my dog opened the trash can and ate a bunch of chicken bones and fishing line and had his surgery for about week afterwards he didn't even want to play fetch. But then after his little post-surgery period we went quail hunting and limited-out. Take her to the vet and see what your vet says and spoil her rotten for the next few days :wink:

 

[AG]

I was going to do the snake proofing and was advised against it. It was 7 years ago and I can't remember why now. Hrrrrmm I see a new thread coming.

 

[Dalee100]

Thanks guys,

I talked to the breeder I got her from about it. He reminded me that her sire has had diabetic reactions when being worked hard. I should have remembered that myself, because I've knowen her sire since he was a maniac totally out of control pup. They are both very high energy dogs in the field.

His treatment for his dog is to carry those little packets of honey and give about half a packet or less a time or two during the hunt to prevent a spell. He's never had a problem since.

I will be consulting my Vet this coming week about it to be sure. Till then no more work for her. Just stay home and rest. She's gonna be mad!!!! But she'll get over it, I hope!

Dale

 

[Guest]

Dalee100:

As the owner of a snake proofed dog, I can assure you its worth the money. Of course if you only hunt the frozen tundra dont bother, but if a snake exists in your area. Do it!

p.s. I am so sorry to hear about your puppers, I was afraid she might have broken or fractured a bone from how you described it. Hope all is well...

 

[clayshooter25/25]

I don't live were snakes are a problem so what the heck is "snake proofing".

 

[AG]

Titanium plates are grafted to the skin of your dog so that snake bites don't penetrate.

J/K ... its aversion threapy for dogs. Dog meets defanged snake- dog gets shock. Repeat until dog doesn't want to meet snake.

 

[pigeonhunter]

It usually just takes once :wink:

 

[Dalee100]

Hi,

I'm not too worried about about snakes here. Yesterday the temp was in the low 40's, with freezing rain and a little snow.

Gotta love hunting Minnesota in the fall ! It will only get better and colder!

Dale

 

[Desertrat]

Sorry to hear about your dog. I am certainly not a vet.....but be real careful about hip dysplasia in spaniels....I had a Brit back in the 70's that almost the same thing happened to. Looked like he tripped up in a small streambed up in Washington,
got very lethargic for a week or so....and had to be euthanized.
You did not say what leg it was....but be careful of the rear ones!

 

[gbottger]

Dalee100 - Sorry to hear about your dog. Hope she is feeling better. Hey did you rub her down with your hands to see if she had any sore spots? I had a shorthair that took a nasty fall into a hole once and came up out of it fine only to sit down 25 yards away and not want to move. I ended up carrying him out of the field and to the vet. I rubbed him down and he didn't really show any signs of being hurt. The vet couldn't find anything external and shot some x-rays. He found a hairline fracture in one of his ribs.

4 weeks of rest and observation and then back for more x-rays and he was back to normal. It's something that is very easy to miss on a dog.

 

[Dalee100]

Hi,

Just an update about my dog. Took her to the Vet today. No physical injurys. But she has a low blood sugar problem. The Vet wouldn't say that it is genetic, only that it is more common than most people realize. Since most dogs don't work as hard and are only pets they never get stressed enough for it to show.

There's not much I can do about it, but he recommended carrying things for snacks for her. Like graham crackers or a sugar coated cereal. That and watch her close, don't let her over do it. But mostly she will be fine!

Dale

 

[pigeonhunter]

Yay! I'm glad she's okay.

 

[jlptexashunter]

Dale,
My oldest Vizsla suffers from the same problem. I've been looking over the internet for a liquid food for hunting dogs. It very easy to digest and from what I've read it is supposed to be great for dogs like ours.

In the meantime I've heard that a few packets of honey go a long way and also feed a lot of fat and carbos the day before, much like a long distance runner I guess.

Once I track this liquid supplement down I'll let you know. If anyone out here knows what the heck I'm looking for please let me know where to find it.

 

[Guest]

I am happy for you that you found out what the problem is. These guys can't tell us or the vet where it hurts. Vets are just about gods in my estimation. They rely on experience and gut feelings as much as formal training.

As for snakes in cold weather, I had my best dog just about get hit three times in 200 yards last year in 45 degree weather. It was up a Southern exposure canyon, where the sun had heated things up...the rattlers were out in force. The ambiant temp was only 44-45, but the ground was quite a bit warmer. :idea:

Again,...very happy about the dog not suffering an injury

 

[JoeCat]

My oldest Vizsla suffers from the same problem. I've been looking over the internet for a liquid food for hunting dogs. It very easy to digest and from what I've read it is supposed to be great for dogs like ours.

Once I track this liquid supplement down I'll let you know. If anyone out here knows what the heck I'm looking for please let me know where to find it.

I "think" you might be referring to Nutracal. I've never seen it liquid, but it is a paste. I had a springer spaniel a few years ago that had low blood sugar problems & this is what we had to keep onhand for her.

Hope this helps.

 

[uglydog]

As mentioned in another post, candy can be just as effective to maintain blood sugar levels and is much cheaper. I carry either caramels, Bit-o-Honey, or best of all, those peanutbutter Halloween candies that come in the black and orange wrappers. They taste terrible to me so I don't eat them but the dogs seem to love them. I give one to each dog about every 45 minutes to an hour early in the season when it is hot and the dogs are not in peak shape. Later, they may get one piece every hour to two hours as the dogs seem to pace themselves better and their conditioning gets better. I'll also pack an extra bologna and cheese sandwich for them to eat at lunch break. Energy seems to be maintained at decent levels.