Most dog owners have experienced a dog vs. porcupine event. The dog rarely wins and sometimes loses “big time.” Just as this writer was preparing to sit down and create this week’s tome, my daughter Jen noticed that my younger French Brittany, Laney, had some porcupine quills behind her left front leg. The dogs had just been let out in the yard by Jen, who let them run for only a couple minutes before calling them inside. My wife and I were just behind, and we heard Laney’s “tough dog” bark under the crab apple tree and assumed she had heard or smelled something.
Jen had put a roading harness she bought for dog walks on Laney when the dog yelped. Immediately I saw a quill protruding from the dog just behind the front leg. After having Jen immobile the pup, yours truly gathered up some needle-nosed pliers and it was time to pull quills.
Things went well for the first few quills and then the remaining quills disappeared beneath the skin. That was alarming as we could feel them, and they were close to the chest cavity where they could migrate to blood vessels, the lungs, or the thoracic cavity. My daughter rose to the occasion and was able to work the two remaining quills back through the skin where they could be pulled: one with the pliers and one with tweezers. Emergency averted!
Quills do not always come out so easily but, considering the short length of the quills, this was a young porcupine and not a major incident. My first French Brittany, Lily, had a backyard encounter which took us more time and effort and she carried one quill for six months before it worked its way out under her chin. Many encounters result in dozens or even hundreds of quills and the need for a vet to remove them under anesthetics.
Here in the North Quabbin Region, an evening hike can quickly turn into a prickly situation for your pet. Porcupines are not usually aggressive, but they do scare easily if approached by a curious dog. When frightened, they release sharp quills that can lodge into your dog’s skin and cause a medical emergency. It is always best to learn how to avoid a porcupine encounter for your dog. Understand that porcupines are very common in our area and they are more active during summer. They are also more active during dusk and dawn. Porcupines are found in wooded areas and they sometimes venture into residential neighborhoods.
Porcupines typically release quills in self-defense. Dogs are naturally inquisitive animals, so they tend to be the instigators in dangerous porcupine encounters. The best way to avoid a porcupine encounter is to keep your dog on a leash and do not let him roam in areas that may have porcupines.
If your dog does wind up with porcupine quills lodged in his face or body, there are a few steps that need to be taken immediately. First, prevent your dog from biting or pawing at the quills. Immobilize the dog as much as you can. The quills cause immense pain and stress, and his immediate reaction will be to try to remove them. Biting and pawing can cause quill breakage or push the quills further into the tissue. Next, take your dog straight to an emergency animal hospital. Do not wait, because this is a time-sensitive emergency.
Keep a close eye on your dog in the days following the porcupine encounter. If you notice any signs of respiratory issues, go back to your emergency vet and be sure to mention that your dog was previously treated for quills. If left untreated, the prognosis for porcupine quills becomes dramatically worse. Untreated cases have a much higher risk of quills in the mouth, swallowed quills and quill breakage.
The dogs are a very big deal to me right now as upland bird season is right around the corner! Unfortunately, some distractions kept me from doing the preseason dog work that usually is completed by now. Fortunately, Pat Perry of Hedgerow Kennel and Hunt Club has been there for me and we are getting the dogs ready in an accelerated program and, I must say, they are really doing well despite the exceeding warm weather. In a couple of weeks, we will be heading to New York!