Competition in the dove field

Pete and I had a great time on the opener in Imperial County, California. The weather was very warm (112 degrees F) by one o'clock on the 31st when we were scouting locations. The opener was a bit cooler with a slight breeze. We did well enough to return on Saturday to try for a few more birds.

During the Saturday shoot Pete downed a whitewing in heavy brush. Going to retrieve his bird he was warned off by the buzzing of a rattlesnake. Not long after we found this four foot long rattler swallowing a whitewing dove. This is likely the same bird Pete downed a little earlier. Be careful out there...

Maggie's adventures

Maggie came home a cute puppy:

Then she started to run and get into trouble, first with a pair of coyotes:

And then with a rattlesnake:

But she got past those two near-fatal experiences and today I worked her on birds for the first time.  She shows good promise:

Though the bird is not far away, it is well hidden and she pointed on scent, not sight.  She held point staunchly for a couple of minutes while I played with the camera and was profoundly disappointed when I walked her away from the point with the lead.  I had her on lead because the planted pheasant was not fully mature and I did not want her to catch a poorly-flying bird.

We head for Oregon in a bit over a month and I have great hopes that she will stick some birds while we are there.  She hunts with me and responds well to commands, and I have a GPS collar  ;-),  so I should at least be able to keep up with her.

Grass seeds and infection

Canada wild rye - a dangerous grass, one among many you may encounter this Summer or Fall

Summer, and the time that many of us begin training dogs for the Fall season. Spring was late in the northern prairie. There has been a lot of rain/snow in most places this year and grass is high. There are a number of grasses that pose a serious and widespread risk to dogs, and this seems a good time to post again about the hazards or grass awn infections.

My setter, Ted, had a nasty infection from a cheat grass awn in his front paw last season that sidelined him for much of the season. With treatment, he recovered completely. But grass awns can kill your dog. They may be inhaled and cause disabling or fatal lung infections, or enter the mouth and be swallowed when the dog drinks and infect/perforate the walls of the stomach and digestive tract, or they can enter the dog's body through the skin and travel remarkable distances carrying infection with them. None of this is easily diagnosed or treated.

I am heading to Montana to work with my dogs on sharp-tails, young pheasants, and Huns for a couple of months at the end of July. Through Torben Hansen's thoughtfulness, I received a copy of documents by Cathy Lewis and Dr. Pat McInteer, DVM that were presented by Cathy at the Purina Pointing Dog Awards weekend last month. She has consented to my reproducing parts for her work here on Living with Bird Dogs. I'll put some links and citations at the end of this post and encourage anyone to learn more about this widespread and not easily diagnosed health risk. Here is the her (slightly edited) paper:

Grass Awn Infection, by Cathy Lewis (e-mail) and Dr. Pat McInteer, DVM

...you are your dogs best defense against this danger. Learn to recognize threats and avoid them, and carefully observe and know your dog. Recognizing subtle changes early may make a huge difference in successful treatment should your dog fall prey to a grass awn infection.

The most common grass threats to our dogs (my comments in brackets):

Foxtail Barley – if your live, train and/or compete (or HUNT) in the western United States or Alaska, especially, but this foxtail is spreading throughout the U.S.

Cheatgrass – a known threat in the Rocky Mountain states (and the entire Great Basin). Residents know that this becomes a problem when the grass begins to dry and drop its seeds, sometime around July, through the first freeze or snow.

Canada wild rye – unlike the above, this grass is actively cultivated as an effective cover crop for other, slower to establish grasses. It features a particularly aggressive awn. Popular with state and federal conservation authorities, and bird and habitat preservation organizations due to its low cost, it has become widespread through the Midwest and Mideastern states over the past ten years.

Find a full list of known problem grass species at www.meanseeds.com

Grass awn infections can manifest in multiple symptomspatterns (or combinations thereof): pyothorax (an infection in the chest cavity), pneumonia, and/or body wall or internal abscesses. Based on my experience and the case histories I am gathering, Many infections show up as an acute illness. The dog seemed fine two hours ago/yesterday, but nows/he has an elevated temperature, is lethargic, and has no interest in food…

The symptoms of a grass awn infection overlap those of other fairly common threats, such as tickborne disease. Your powers of observation may be key in making an accurate diagnosis quickly. If you have reason to suspect that your dog has been exposed to a problem grass, make your veterinarian aware of that fact and the likely manifestations. Veterinarians that do not see many working dogs in their practice may not consider the grass awn possibility in their early workup.

Treatment in most cases is costly. Even “medical management” of a pyothorax (Chest infection) is most times not a matter of simply giving some pills. With my own dogs, treatment costs have ranged from approximately $1000 to $12000...

In most cases that I am aware of where treatment has successfully resolved the infection, the dog's health has been restored to the point of returning to the field, though for competition dogs the consequences of surgery, e.g. removal of a lung lobe, ribs, and/or muscle tissue may effect performance to the point where retirement becomes advisable.

Sadly, the threat of grass awn infection appears to be rising. YOU are your dog's best defense.

Be careful out there...

Links:

Meanseeds.com (The Grass Awn Project)

Nocardia Infections in Bird Dogs, Dr. Pat McInteer, Dr. Kames Mills, and others

Speargrass, Dr. Pat McInteer

Rosie may never learn

My setter Rosie is a walking disaster area. Boundless enthusiasm untempered by even a shred of common sense. She's been stitched more times than any other dog I know - probably twice as many times - and now has endured her second snake bite. She looks truly pathetic in this picture - oh the ignominy that a regal setter should look like a sharpei.
She was bit yesterday evening (Friday) and today (Saturday) she seems to be recovering well. She gets rattlesnake antivenom every August and perhaps that is a factor. Much more swelling this time than last so the vet gave her one round of antivenom and more benadryl, plus lots of antibiotics.

Somehow, she's never been skunked or slapped by a porky. She does truly hate coyotes and attacks every one she sees. I saw her roll one a year or so ago, and it then took off even faster. She's got 10 ounds on them so one-on-one they don't stick around.

I've never seen a snake out so early in the year here around San Diego. We've had several weeks of cool weather, but recently it has warmed into the 70's and that apparently brought them out.

Speargrass

"Speargrass" is a term generally applied to several types of bromes or grasses (also called needlegrass, hayneedle, and foxtail) that produce awns that will create serious problems if ingested or lodged in ears, between the toes, or in the 'armpit' of a dogs. They have very hard, sharp points and barbs that cause them to travel through tissue and migrate through a dog's body. In the areas that I commonly hunt chukars, cheat grass produces awns of this type. 

Many trainers on the prairies of North America have encountered speargrass during early season training when the awns are still attached to the head of the grasses - about 12 to 18 inches above the ground - exactly where a running dog is likely to get them in its mouth or nose. They can be breathed into the lungs or washed into the stomach from the mouth when a thirsty dog is drinking. Once ingested, they will cause serous illness and slow death. Speargrass has killed a lot of dogs whose problem was not readily diagnosed by veterinarians, except as an unqualified 'infection' or 'foreign body'.  A nightmare ailment.

In his book, Bird Dogs and Field Trials,  Jack Harper devoted an entire chapter to the dangers of speargrass when running dogs on the prairie. Here are a couple excerpts...

"...Knowing that he must have ingested spears, I decided to autopsy him just to see what spears do when they enter a dog's stomach. I found 22 spears which had already penetrated the stomach wall with only their tails left inside. Although the dog died of stroke, it was more merciful than the painful and lingering death in store for him from the spears."

"A grass needle is an innocent looking thing, but it is one of the most dangerous things in nature for a running dog. The head of the spear is about an inch long with a flexible tail. The point is as hard as steel and as sharp as a sewing needle. From the body are dozens of tiny barbs that slowly and surely work the point forward until it strikes bone.

So sharp is this needle that I have taken one,  just to demonstrate to a new helper how sharp they are, and pushed it through the gristle at the edge of a thumbnail. It slides through as though the gristle was soft clay."

Fortunately, forewarned is forearmed, and avoiding speargrass that is still on the heads of the plants is the best (and often ONLY) remedy. In late Summer, after the awns fall from the heads of the plants to the ground, they pose less of a danger to dogs. The timing of their fall to from the plants varies according to moisture and temperature.  Better to wait until they are down before running a dog where there is speargrass. Still, you should check your dog's mouth, ears, nose, armpits and between the toes after running. And if he is shaking his head constantly or hacking from a throat obstruction, get him to a vet.

Summer and heat

"Alder Brook" by Chet Reneson

I am always at a loss to determine when Summer officially begins. I went to Wikipedia, and remained unenlightened....

"In some Western countries, especially the USA, (summer is) believed to start at the equinoxes and solstices, based on a misunderstanding of astronomical reckoning. Thus, in the Southern Hemisphere, based on this premise summer begins on the day of the December solstice and ends on the March equinox. When it is summer in the southern hemisphere it is winter in the northern hemisphere, and vice versa. From a purely astronomical viewpoint, the equinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons, but a variable seasonal lag means that the meteorological start of the season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks later than the start of the astronomical season. According to meteorologists, summer extends for the whole months of December, January and February in the southern hemisphere, and the whole months of June, July and August in the northern hemisphere..."

My take away on this is that summer begins when it starts to get hotter and is over when it starts to get cooler. So, in spite of cool weather here and in many parts of the West, it is now summer. OK?

In most states training on wild birds may not begin until July 1, in consideration of the Spring nesting period. A good thing, I think. But we can make sure that our dogs get exercise to keep them trim. Since I have setters, I am contemplating a buzz job to keep them cooler as the weather warms up. My wife hates it, but I suspect that it is a help to the dogs, especially when they are running. I am shopping for a quality clipper with the horsepower to make quick work of the coats of four setters. I have used horse clippers in the past, and they worked well. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Summer means thinking about warm weather hazards to the dogs when out in the field -- heat is a killer, and there are rattlesnakes, foxtails, speargrass and other concerns in many areas. I like to exercise the dogs in the morning before it gets too hot. I have also found fewer rattlesnakes in the morning, compared to the number that seem to become active in the evening, after a hot day.

I always cut back on the amount of food I give the dogs during summer - usually by about 1/3, and I only feed once daily. Some people change the feed to a lower protein/fat food, but I continue with what has proven to work for me - Purina Pro Plan Performance. I just feed less.

Summer means trout fishing and preparing for the fall hunting season. I have been doing much of the later and none of the former. Right now I am getting the bits together to build a dog topper for the truck - I'll post some on this as I make progress. Also beginning to get my Airstream out of mothballs, and do needed work on it. I need to get out and do some fishing before it is too hot. 

The painting above is by Chet Reneson. Chet is a very fine watercolorist, a gentleman, and dedicated outdoorsman. I have a number of paintings and prints by Chet, including a  Bahamian street scene that I gave to to my wife on a recent anniversary. Chet's wife Penny sent us a sheaf of originals to choose from. We picked out one we liked, and sent the rest back. Remarkable in this day and age, I think.

Rattlesnakes - three things that you can do...

I copped this photo from a posting on the Net - it typifies the threat that rattlesnakes pose, especially to bird dogs.

I am knocking on wood as I write this because I have never had a dog bitten by a rattlesnake. But all of us who hunt in the West - and many other areas of the country - are exposed to rattlesnakes. While I do not worry much about the threat to me, I am concerned about the menace they pose to my bird dogs when hunting and even when trialing. Thousands of dogs are bitten every year and I have had a few close calls.

Rattlesnakes carry a hemotoxic venom that attacks the blood and causes swelling, intense pain, and tissue damage. They can kill a dog in some cases. Other rattlers may also carry a neurotoxin in their venom that attacks the nervous system, which is very dangerous and can cause death by respiratory failure. The Mojave green rattlesnake and the banded rock rattler are two neurotoxic species that are native to the Southwest.

Here are three things that I have done to reduce the threat snakes pose to my dogs...

1. Snake avoidance training - done with a live rattler by someone who has experience, avoidance training will definitely help reduce direct confrontations between bird dog and rattler. But this alone does not snake proof a dog because a dog can still be struck by a snake, there is always the potential for a 'drive-by' snake bite. 

2. Antihistamines can reduce the reaction to a bite. I carry preloaded syringes of Benedryl (premeasured for each dog) in aluminum cigar tubes in my hunting vest. If a dog is struck, I can immediately start a remedial response to help reduce reaction and buy some time for the dog. Most vets will provide these if you explain your need.

3. The last defense is somewhat controversial. I have used the rattlesnake vaccine by Red Rock Biologics on 4 of my dogs. I have heard objections from vets (including my own) who question the safety and efficacy of this vaccine. With the exception of Jesse, none of these dogs has had the slightest negative reaction to the vaccine. Jesse's muzzle began to swell rapidly within an hour of receiving the vaccine, and I gave him a shot of Benedryl. Within about 2 hours the swelling was nearly gone, and he recovered fully within 24 hours. He has not received any additional vaccine.

According to Red Rock Biologics, "This vaccine works extremely well at getting dogs to generate protective antibody against rattlesnake venom. These protective antibodies start neutralizing venom immediately. This means that vaccinated dogs experience less pain and have a reduced risk of permanent injury from rattlesnake bite. Veterinarians typically report that such dogs experience less swelling, less tissue damage and a faster recovery from snakebite than unvaccinated dogs.

Factors which may influence antibody effectiveness against venomous snakebite include: the type of snake, location of bite and amount of venom injected; how well the dog has responded to the vaccine and the length of time since the last dose of vaccine was given to the dog.

This rattlesnake vaccine was developed to protect against Western Diamondback Rattlesnake venom. It is most effective against this snake's venom. Venom from many other snakes found throughout the United States is similar to the venom of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. Because of these similarities, this vaccine also provides protection against the venoms of the Western Rattlesnake (including the Prairie, Great Basin, Northern and Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes), Sidewinder, Timber Rattlesnake, Massasauga and the Copperhead. This vaccine provides partial protection against the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. This vaccine does not provide protection against the Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth), Mojave Rattlesnake or Coral Snakes. Red Rock Biologics is developing a variety of vaccines to provide the best protection against poisonous snakes for dogs in each part of the country."

While some do question its effectiveness, there is much anecdotal evidence that it substantially reduces reaction to a rattlesnake bite. My feeling is this; if it buys me time to get my dog to a vet for treatment, I will use it. If your vet does not have the vaccine, it is available in trays of a dozen (I think) doses from distributors, and single doses may the ordered by your vet directly from Red Rock Biologics. Cost is about $30 to $50 per dose at your vet.

Rattlesnake strikes are always an emergency, and the dog should taken to a vet immediately. But we are often many long miles from a vet, and additional time bought by the use of antihistamines and vaccine increases the likelyhood of survival without crippling after effects.

Cactus and repairs in the field

Mark Copeland removes cactus thorns from his GSP, Princess

Although I have a pair of Lewis dog boots in my kit somewhere, I cannot recall ever using them. My dogs have developed pretty tough feet, and learned to avid the worst of the cactus and thorns. But they are not bullet proof. Whether you boot or not, your dog will end up with cactus punctures if you run in the Southwest.

The most common thorns they encounter where I hunt are hawthorn, mesquite, cholla cactus  (at the rear of my friend Mark) and prickly pear cactus (foreground of photo). The cholla - they are found across the Southwest, and there are perhaps 20 different types - are nasty because they are clumpy with many fine thorns. They hit the dog, stick to the fur, and break off in clumps. They are often lodged tight to the dog's coat on the belly or under a leg. The dog who runs into a cholla may stop altogether and await your help. I carry a Leatherman tool on my belt to pull cholla balls off them and to remove the worst of the thorns. 

This past season in West Texas, the rains had created a luxuriant growth of grass, with many prickly pear cactus hidden below. The dogs had a tough time getting through the grass in places, and the prickly pear cactus offered a nasty surprise with inch long  thorns waiting for a misstep. 

Maintenance means checking the dogs every 30  to 60 minutes when watering, whenever they stop or limp, and certainly when you arrive back at the vehicle before they go into their crate. Remove all possible thorns. Between the toes is a vulnerable area, and sensitive. If your dog is snappy, put a jacket over his head and tie the sleeves under his chin. A pair of hemostats in your kit will help to get the fine, hair-like barbs that always seem to end up in the front of the chest and legs. Also check the tongue and muzzle area. I think little antiseptic is a good idea before you put your dog up. If his feet are really tender, keep looking for the cause, and give the little warrior a day off.

After the trip I check each dog closely for tiny red bumps in the skin - each of them will have a tiny barb that can be removed with a tweezers, and I apply antiseptic to these after pulling the thorns. It may take several sessions over a couple days to get them all out. 

Man killed by mountain lion in New Mexico

Reuters reported this week that a man living alone in a mobile home near Pinos Altos, NM was killed and partly eaten by a mountain lion. This is a rare and unfortunate occurrence, and frankly, I am more worried about my dogs becoming victims than myself.

Be careful out there.

Stating the obvious... leave them be

Many a bird dog has had a run-in with a porcupine. Porcupines are often found in forests and in shrubby ravines in prairies and grasslands. When threatened a porcupine faces away from its aggressor with quills erect and slashes at the attacker with its tail. Loosely rooted quills detach from the porcupine on contact. The tip of each quill is covered with backward-pointing barbs. Beyond the barbed tips, the shaft is smooth and hollow. A quill embedded in tissue will migrate into deeper tissues. Dogs suffering a porcupine encounter often break quills off at the surface of the skin after the encounter. Generally a nasty mess and painful.

I have had several bird dogs quilled and they have learned after the first experience to stay back from the porky and will usually point them from a safe distance. Some 'sharp' breeds will repeatedly attack porcupines, unfortunately. They don't learn to leave them alone, probably wanting to extract a measure of revenge for past pain suffered.

The best tools for repairing the damage to a dog are a Leatherman or a pair of hemostats. It is best to immobilize the dog - a dog in pain is likely to struggle and cause quill breakage during removal, and may bite you. Cover the dog's eyes, and securely clamp each quill close to the skin and pull it straight out. After removing all that can be removed in the field, I consider it best to take the dog immediately to the vet to insure removal of ALL quills and partial, broken bits, especially if there are quills in the tongue, gums, or around the eyes - all of which are very common in quilled dogs. The vet will remove them under sedative or anesthesia and probably also administer an antibiotic to prevent infection.

So. Do you shoot porcupines? I did shoot one once, but no longer. Dennis Kavanaugh says that a dead porky is very attractive to dogs - they want to roll in the mess, and are quilled by the dead quill pig. Even in  death they are a hazard.

Overcoming enthusiasm's consequences

My dogs have ocassionally suffered lapses of judgement that resulted in an unpleasant ride back to camp and a session or two of deskunking. Here is a tried and true recipe for a deskunking bath that really works. Forget tomato juice...

2 bottles (1 quart) 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon dishwashing detergent (liquid soap like Dawn, not machine dishwashing detergent)

1. Mix and Apply Immediately.
2. Wait 5 minutes and rinse with cold water.
3. You may need to repeat the process again.

I have used a wheel barrow and garden hose to take the whole mess away from the cabin. Afterwards, just a faint skunk aroma as the dog passes close by. This lasts a couple of days.

According to my source - I'd like to give some credit here, but I cannot recall their name - the origin of the peroxide/ baking soda method of de-skunking a dog first appeared in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly publication of the American Chemical Society. An industrial chemist developed the method because he was involved in cleaning a type of chemical known as a mercaptan. Mercaptans are rotten, smelly, sulfur containing compounds (Rotten eggs for example). Skunk stink would also be chemically classified as a mercaptan. The method of cleaning these mercaptans involved using a concentrated form of peroxide (an oxidizing agent that oxidizes the mercaptan to non-smelling sulfur compounds ) applied in a basic (high
pH) solution. He adapted this industrial method for pet use by using 3% hydrogen peroxide in a baking soda solution ( high pH). The addition of liquid dish detergent just makes the application easier and keeps the peroxide in contact with the hair a bit longer so that the oxidation can occur.