By Janet Ford
Rate: (25 Ratings)
If you own a dog, chances are you have either had to deal with a dog who's had an unfortunate encounter with a porcupine or you will in the future. Having hunting hounds, we take our 'porcupine kit' right along with us during our wooded adventures. I'd like to share with you the proper process for removing those nasty quills which are not only painful but will make your dog very sick if not removed promptly.
Comments
showpup said
on 11/17/2008 Misery - consider taking him to the vet. Restraints will only make the dog more upset. If you have the need to restrain your dog, it's time for a vet visit. If you do not feel you need to pay the vet to remove the quills because they aren't necessarily hard to get at, but your dog is too frisky, you can just have the vet administer a light anesthetic. I've done this before with a large dog, worked great!
Misery said
on 11/17/2008 A good way to restrain a big dog would be of help? My shep just got a few quills in the lower mouth area, he's not a biting dog, but is strong. I was thinking of taking a strip of sheet an making a kinda heavy rope out of it and restrain him with it so it doesnt strangle him cause of its thickness. Also will use a blind fold.
Gracie1402 said
on 11/6/2008 this is great! I always feel so bad for the dog. This will help!
jalondon said
on 8/29/2008 You've stated 2 myths.
1. The quills do not contain any pressurized air and it is a bad idea to cut them in case you cut them too close. This would make it more difficult to remove the entire quill.
2. The quill tips only rarely migrate into the tissue and if they do, it rarely causes problems other than infection (which antibiotics treat). They DO NOT have barbs on them.
Also, never pull downward as this leads to the breaking of quills. Only pull straight out with hemostats near the entry point and your other hand toward the middle of the quill.
Always a good idea to get some antibiotics from the vet after an encounter... just to be on the safe side.
LNAngel said
on 6/11/2008 Ouch! Good tips!