# Hunting dog hazards



## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Feel free to add to this list:

Ticks
Torn dew claw
Scratched corneas
Burdock, tick trefoil, beggar ticks etc.
Sprains and strains
Muscle tears
Cut pads
Punctured webbing
Heat stroke
Dog fight with other hunting dog
Bleeding pads
Diarrhea due to excitement of hunting
Rolling in deer droppings which you smell on your long ride home
Hypoglycemia
Gray marsh poo caused by dog cleaning marsh mud off himself---may last two days and stinks
Hypothermia
Bleeding pads from ice balls
Yellow jacket stings


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## abradshaw71 (Jan 13, 2014)

Dehydration


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Foxtails? Or is that covered in one of those plant names I don't recognize.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Not sure I have encountered foxtails but they look bad.


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## MillionsofPeaches (Oct 30, 2012)

poop breath from eating deer bee bees....


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Blasto and toxic algae are about the only big ones that occur to me.


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## Golden Gibby (Jan 8, 2011)

Locust tree thorns

Briars causing shredded nose and ears (ears can bleed profusely)

Raw feet from hunting in stubble

I keep a dog first aid kit in my truck with "Quick Clot", bandages, EMT gel, hydrogen peroxide, and have used these items at one time or another while hunting.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

gunshots! be sure to have blaze orange on your dogs!


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Megora said:


> Blasto and toxic algae are about the only big ones that occur to me.


Both to be feared.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I had a male golden that I hunted extensively for grouse. He went into everything including what looked like black raspberry tangles. His scrotum would look absolutely like a bloody mess. Vaseline reduced this greatly---I would grease him up before I hunted him.


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## Golden Gibby (Jan 8, 2011)

I'll try the Vaseline this year. Gibbs looks bad enough my hunting partners have suggested he needs a Kevlar cup.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Golden Gibby said:


> I'll try the Vaseline this year. Gibbs looks bad enough my hunting partners have suggested he needs a Kevlar cup.


Carry the Vaseline with you.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Megora said:


> Blasto and toxic algae are about the only big ones that occur to me.


From what I was told the blue algae is bad, the green is not toxic to the dogs. 

When training make sure the people to own or lease the lands know the difference and treat the ponds accordingly!


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

gdgli said:


> I had a male golden that I hunted extensively for grouse. He went into everything including what looked like black raspberry tangles. His scrotum would look absolutely like a bloody mess. Vaseline reduced this greatly---I would grease him up before I hunted him.


I carry the EMT spray in my pocket at all times. I can forget the whistle, the duck call, the pistol or the collar but I will never forget the EMT spray. Disinfects and heals on the spot! Much easier to apply than EMT gel.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Gators & snakes 

Barbed wire


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Lacerations from thorns and barbed wire. 

Keep a suture kit handy.


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## TrailDogs (Aug 15, 2011)

Traps! While they should be marked and I stay out of areas that allow trapping, they can show up illegally and unexpectedly.
Here is a link on how to release your dog from different types of traps. I carry a copy of this with me when out with the dogs.
How to Release Your Dog from a Conibear Trap.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

hotel4dogs said:


> gunshots! be sure to have blaze orange on your dogs!


Sorry, not in a duck blind....we make our dogs 'steady' so they stay sit until released....to fetch!


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Damage from people who throw sticks for a dog to fetch. A dog with lots of drive can actually impale himself with a stick, he is going to fetch. Never use sticks to play fetch!

Watch out for submerged fences in ponds and over some small streams, a dog can follow a wounded duck into one of these....not a good situation if you do not know it is there.

Ice, never let a dog go on ice to fetch game, if they fall through the ice, it is a killer for the dog and sometimes the hunter.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Swampcollie said:


> Lacerations from thorns and barbed wire.
> 
> Keep a suture kit handy.


Barbed wire on abandoned farmlands is often hidden.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

goldlover68 said:


> Damage from people who throw sticks for a dog to fetch. A dog with lots of drive can actually impale himself with a stick, he is going to fetch. Never use sticks to play fetch!
> 
> Watch out for submerged fences in ponds and over some small streams, a dog can follow a wounded duck into one of these....not a good situation if you do not know it is there.
> 
> Ice, never let a dog go on ice to fetch game, if they fall through the ice, it is a killer for the dog and sometimes the hunter.


Great advice. I actually saw a Chessie that had to be rescued from ice.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

TrailDogs said:


> Traps! While they should be marked and I stay out of areas that allow trapping, they can show up illegally and unexpectedly.
> Here is a link on how to release your dog from different types of traps. I carry a copy of this with me when out with the dogs.
> How to Release Your Dog from a Conibear Trap.


Excellent!


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Claudia M said:


> I carry the EMT spray in my pocket at all times. I can forget the whistle, the duck call, the pistol or the collar but I will never forget the EMT spray. Disinfects and heals on the spot! Much easier to apply than EMT gel.


I need to get some.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I started a sticky last year on getting a dog out of a trap on the Main Discussion forum. Here's the link to the videos and brochures: Trappers and Dogs Sharing the Trails, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
The state of Alsaka did a nice job putting them together.


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

TrailDogs said:


> Traps! While they should be marked and I stay out of areas that allow trapping, they can show up illegally and unexpectedly.
> Here is a link on how to release your dog from different types of traps. I carry a copy of this with me when out with the dogs.
> How to Release Your Dog from a Conibear Trap.





Alaska7133 said:


> I started a sticky last year on getting a dog out of a trap on the Main Discussion forum. Here's the link to the videos and brochures: Trappers and Dogs Sharing the Trails, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
> The state of Alsaka did a nice job putting them together.


Thanks! 
I watched the videos again and they are very well done. Those Conibear Traps scare the heck out of me. It isn't intuitive on how to open them. I have a first aid kit in my car. I think I will print and tuck the instructions in there. At least I will see it and go over it when I open the kit once a year to remind myself what's in it.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Your dog pisses off other hunters when she steals their ducks from their pile. Sneaky puppy! 

Today we were walking on the other side of a large pond where another hunter had decoys in the water. I was worried that Lucy might swim over and try to get one. I'd hate to see her cause conflict or get tangled in those decoy anchor lines.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

gdgli said:


> I need to get some.


I ordered 3 spray bottles to add to my first aid kit today, thanks...for the information


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I always have EMT spray as well. Works on a multitude of things, and is VERY bitter (don't get it on your own hands!) and does a good job at keeping them from chewing on a wound or bandage.
The gel doesn't have the bitter agent in it, only the spray does.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Now the reason why I thought this would be a good thread. I had hunted Buffy 11 days ago. We hunted pheasants. She worked non-stop from about 7 AM until 12 Noon. Well we took maybe four 10 minute breaks otherwise she spent that time hunting. She strained a muscle and it went into spasm. She seemed better but started limping again last Sunday. I then started thinking about all the other hazards.

Anyway, Buffy is resting and doing better.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Darn it must be hard to see her hurting. I bet it's hard to keep her quiet while it heals.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Alaska7133 said:


> Darn it must be hard to see her hurting. I bet it's hard to keep her quiet while it heals.


She hasn't been worked since last Sunday. She is getting a little edgy.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

So how did you recognize that she had pulled a muscle? Was it in the field or at home afterwards? Did she have a limp or something else going on?


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

She was not limping in the field but limped that night. She limped on and off until Saturday. I started to rest her and the limping stopped but I had her at the vet on that Friday. Vet checked it out and said that the muscle was in spasm.
I have been massaging her muscle and giving her easy walks. Today she has bounce in her step but the muscle is still in a little bit of a knot. The vet saw her today.


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