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With so many dog foods, supplements and energy products on the market,
there is a lot of confusion from dog owners about what foods and
products they should be using in their hunting dogs. The scenario is
further confused when you throw into the equation the fact that we do
so many different activities with our dogs: the dog chasing western
prairie birds will have different needs than a dog hunting timber
mallards down south, the grouse dog of the northeast or the pheasant
hunting dogs of the Midwest. The truth of the matter is that there
isn’t one formula that works for all dogs. Instead it is important to
be able to understand your dog’s needs, what is available for your dog
and how the products may work in your situation….In this latest article I try to unravel the mysteries that seem to surround what we should put in our dogs’ bodies.

READ MORE HERE

I ended the day yesterday with an odd case and thought I’d share a couple of thoughts that this dog triggered.

Please keep an eye on your dog’s daily routines and habits. I am continually amazed at how many owners do not know if their dog has been eating, drinking, urinating or defecating. These four items, their quantities and frequencies, are so vitally important to our diagnostic process, and too often that information is missing. Many, many dogs are presented to us with the only symptom being “he ain’t doin’ right.” This is often the only information, other than the sick dog, we are provided. Unfortunately without the other information just about every malady known to man is a potential solution to the problem and it will take some diagnostic work and educated guessing to try to put the puzzle together. If we know the symptoms and the duration it will greatly impact how the case is handled.

Now, I’m not expecting that every time your pup steps outside to do its business that you be there holding its paw to ensure everything goes well; however, you could be standing at the door or window at least once a day to evaluate the process…and outcome. In every article on dog health and weight management it will be recommended to use a measured feeding program. In my opinion, just as important as controlling weight,  a measured feeding program gives you everyday feedback (sometimes twice daily) on your dog’s appetite and changes in eating habits. Hand-in-hand with this is water consumption. If you are actively feeding the dog and monitoring the food consumption you should be frequently offering fresh water, which will allow you to be aware of any changes on the drinking front. Finally because of natural occurring reflexes shortly after the eating and drinking your dog will want to relieve itself which will allow you to monitor that as well.

I’m hoping that most read this post and said, “well duh,” and that it is such an normal part of your day that you wouldn’t think to do otherwise. For those of you who free-choice feed and allow your dog free range to do its business, ask yourself when was the last time you saw your dog eat, drink or go to the bathroom and just how long would it take you before you realized your dog was sick when one of these changed?

We’ve had a stretch of weather here in South Dakota that has been unbelievable…or should I say unbearable. I get extremely concerned about outside dogs in conditions like we have been experiencing. With temperatures and wind chills well below zero it just isn’t conducive to being outdoors.

I realize that all of us don’t have the luxury of having our pups inside full time; however, for those of you with outdoor dogs I’m posting this as a reminder to be extra vigilant with your outdoor dogs. Its to easy to throw some food and water in the kennel, make sure they’re still alive and head back to the warmth of the house. I’d ask you to take a little more time to evaluate your hunting partner:

• Ensure your housing set-up is adequate. I’ve seen some kennel set-ups
  that I wouldn’t mind living in, and unfortunately, I’ve seen some I
  couldn’t believe people ask their dogs to live in. In the northern part
  of the country, winter is not the time for open-ended barrels. Your dog’s
  housing needs to be insulated in order to trap heat, and almost as important, wind-proof. It’s my
  opinion that some of these old dogs that “just didn’t make it through
  the winter” either suffered from dehydration or hypothermia, and in
  some cases both. Otherwise healthy dogs very, very rarely, “just die,” it may take the sting away to think so, but the truth in most cases is that a lack of adequate housing killed the dog.
• I know making sure food and water are available is a pretty obvious statement. With the temperatures the way they’ve been, the non-frozen water part is vitally important. Many, many, many health conditions we see in veterinary medicine are triggered by dehydration…make sure the water is clean, fresh and not frozen, and that your dog is drinking normal amounts.
• Make sure they are actually eating the food you are putting out AND that they are passing normal stools and urination. Too little urination may indicate dehydration. Loose stools can be a sign of internal issues. No stools is also a warning sign. Many of these highly intelligent dogs become VERY bored with laying in a dog house all day. This can lead to destructive chewing, which can result in foreign bodies.
• Provide mental stimulation. Just because it is cold out doesn’t mean the dog deserves a stretch of solitary confinement. These canines are extremely intelligent animals….treat them as such.
• Keep the runs clean. I know this is a tough one. It is important to keep the runs clean to keep the dogs clean. It’s important at all times during the year; however,  it is especially important during this time of year to keep it from causing issues with the dog.
• Take the time to go over the dog, looking for any issues that may have cropped up. Almost all of our hunting dogs are prone to “hot spots” or moist, skin infections. Most people think of this as a summer condition of wet dogs. We will see a fair number of these issues in the winter months as well. The dog goes out in the snow, has it stick to the coat, goes back into the warm dog house, snow melts, coat gets wet, skin gets irritated and voila, hot spot.

That list is pretty simple, and most of the items are no more than a little common sense. However, because they are so simple, I think they are also pretty easy to forget. This is the time of year to be extra vigilant with your outdoor dogs. While your family is celebrating the joy of this Holiday Season, don’t forget about your hunting buddy out in his run.

I’ve somehow gotten a month behind in the Case of the Month postings. The plan is to do two this month and get back on track.

I had been waiting for a couple of months to post this one as I wanted to make sure the dog turned out ok. This little shorthair ranks up there as one of my favorite patients, she was in miserable shape and if you only saw her face you would have never known she was this bad off. Sometimes simple activities like exercising our dogs can turn ever so tragic. To find the story and the outcome of the picture give it a click:

We’re still waiting for the results of a biopsy, but I thought I’d post a quick update. Monday found us on the road bright and early back to Ames. A recheck ultrasound showed that the “mass” was more visible and a follow-up aspirate still was suspicious of cancer. Several emergencies were presented on Monday which meant that Maggie had to wait until Tuesday morning for surgery. After dealing with this for nearly a week my patience was wearing thin and Monday night was a long night in the motel room.

After a sleepless night, Tuesday finally arrived, and I’m happy to report that surgery went extremely well. The “mass” from ultrasound was a large conglomeration of blood clots present in the muscle itself. A disease known as compartment syndrome. Several of the surgeons, many with over 30 years of experience, had never seen it present like it was in Maggie. Because of the odd nature of the injury they still took some biopsy to see if we could find an answer for the suspicious cells and the resulting bleeding. With how much of a hard charger she is it’s now the opinion of all we are dealing with an injury.

Currently she is resting comfortably and if all goes well we will be able to start activity again in two weeks. Once I have the biopsy results I’ll post the full story, including images from the ultrasound and a discussion on how the injury likely occurred, what’s going on in her body and the resulting nerve damage (hopefully temporary). Needless to say Maggie’s days of pheasant hunting are over, at some point I’ll make a post of the crazy injuries she’s had as a result of pheasant hunting, and if she fully recovers she will be resigned to a prairie bird dog…though I’m guessing there are worse fates.

Many thanks for all of the kind words and thoughts. Keep us in your prayers and as soon as I get the final word, later this week, I’ll post the rest of the story.

Thanks,
Joe (and Maggie)

This season has been one bad dream. I live my entire year for fall, and I’ve yet to have anything go right.  Wednesday I attempted to get out to salvage the vacation that was ruined by the blizzard that hit South Dakota. After getting some office work done in the morning I loaded the three dogs up in the truck and headed for some public shooting areas.

Lily was on the ground first and is really coming along with her work in the field. I’m still not doing anything more than taking her for walks, working on obedience and laying the groundwork for retrieving. With that being said, she is a blast in the field nonetheless. Next up was Belle. There was still a fair amount of snow on the ground, and it was in the process of melting quickly. I was soaked after running Lily and figured we would just be going on a walk, because I suspected the pheasants would want no part of the melting snow. Almost immediately Belle went on point and up popped a tight sitting rooster that I managed to connect on. Next up was a hen point and a second rooster that sat so tight I kicked the cover multiple times before finally stepping on the bird. Belle had done her part, but the close-sitting bird had managed to scare me, and I promptly whiffed on three quick shots. We continued with two more stellar points on hens. Belle had been somewhat iffy all season and her performance was nearly perfect and her intensity on point had returned.

It was getting late in the day and I needed to get back to town to take my beautiful bride out for her birthday. Not wanting Maggie to be left out I took her out for a quick 15 minute run down a fence line and back. When I got back to the truck from running Belle a friend was in the parking lot and walked with me as Maggie burned off some pent up energy. I lamented on how good of bird dog she was but was just a walking accident due to only having one speed while working. Back at the truck all seemed fine after a quick once over and we headed for home.

At home I went to let the dogs out of the truck only to find Maggie not using a back leg. Initially I wasn’t too concerned, as the crusty snow had dinged up their feet and I figured it was a momentary irritation. I went about unloading the truck prior to letting them in the house. She was still carrying the back leg so I decided to have a closer look. I nearly threw up when I felt her calf: it was huge, rock hard and painful. All of these can be symptoms of a ruptured Achilles, but with her history I was also worried about some type of weird tumor that had been traumatized during the run. I would have only been thinking injury; however, she was completely normal at the truck and it was whatever happened during the ride home that resulted in the lameness. We canceled our dinner plans, started icing the leg and hoped for the best.

We awoke the next morning to a leg that was about three times normal size. I took her into the clinic for x-rays, which only showed the swelling and was quickly on the phone with one of the best veterinarians I know, thankfully still practicing at my alma mater, Iowa State. After a quick rearranging of the clinic schedule I loaded up an overnight bag and headed for Iowa State.

After being examined by internal medicine specialists, surgeons and radiologist, an injury was highest on the list, but with the oddity of the swelling (none of them had seen anything like it) cancer was also on that list. On ultrasound there was a defined area within the swelling and I was going to have to wait overnight for the results of the aspirate. That night in the motel room I took some pictures of the affected leg:

The next day we returned to the hospital and the news was not good. The samples taken from the swelling within the muscle showed cells that were highly suggestive of cancer. This wasn’t a guarantee of cancer, but it suddenly rose to the top of the list of possibilities. I couldn’t have been more devastated. Even though it was the very reason I made the trip, I had hoped it was just an overreaction on my part. The rest of the day was spent doing more ultrasounds and x-rays of Maggie, looking for any sign of cancer in her body. Thankfully everything kept coming back clear.

The surgeons took another look at her to determine whether they could go in and take a look for an exploration of the abnormality. It was determined that the best course would be to wait through the weekend and hope some of the swelling and hemorrhage in the leg resolved. Late in the day on Friday we pointed the car back home and drove the five-hour drive in rain, sleet, snow and wind.

We have spent this weekend icing Maggie’s leg and giving her a cocktail of medications to help with pain, discomfort and swelling. I’m very happy to report that she appears to be responding well to the treatment, and while it doesn’t necessarily help with the diagnosis we’re at least going in the right direction. For comparison here are some pictures from today:

and

and one from the inside:

We’re heading back bright and early in the morning for a follow-up ultrasound, followed by a surgery to explore the site, if the suspicious mass is still present. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next couple of days. This little dog has been nothing but trouble since day one, but at the end of the day she is a one-of-a-kind and we love her. I’ve never in my life wished so much that a dog had a terrible muscle injury, but in this case it would make me a very, very happy guy.

I’ll keep you posted.

Monday morning dawned with the sliver still embedded in Belle’s eye. I had purchased some new equipment, borrowed some magnification and tried like heck to get the little piece out Friday and Saturday, but it just was too small. I set the alarm for four in the morning and loaded Belle up and we headed to Omaha to visit Dr. Tonya McIlnay at Veterinary Eye Specialists of Nebraska. I had spoken with Dr. McIlnay via phone a couple of times over the last year, but this was going to be my first visit to her facility.

Veterinary ophthalmologists are few and far between in the Midwest, and I’m happy to report that we have a great one in Dr. McIlnay in this part of the country. Prior to her recent arrival in Omaha our closest options were Ames, Iowa, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Unfortunately it is one of the few veterinary specialties that is a necessity for many dog owners. It is important on two fronts: one, because the eyes are such fragile organs and for anything beyond the basics a boarded specialist is needed, and two, because in order to get a CERF performed on a breeding dog the exam has to be performed by an board-certified ophthalmologist.

Thankfully for Belle the appointment was a quick one. I had planned on spending most of the day in Omaha, as I was certain they would end up having to put her under and they were working me in on an already busy Monday. With me holding, Belle cooperating, and Dr. McIlnay’s steady hands, we attempted to address the issue in the exam room. The initial attempts were unsuccessful, as the plant piece was incredibly small. Dr. McIlnay had one more trick to try prior to going the surgical route, which involved physically grabbing Belle’s eyeball with an instrument in order to better manipulate the foreign body. It’s times like this that I’m thankful for well-behaved dogs, as Belle was a trooper and Dr. McIlnay was able to remove the offending piece. After arriving home it became obvious how much discomfort Belle had been in, because she immediately returned to eating with veracity and her winning personality returned.

I can’t thank Dr. McIlnay enough for her help and I have to strongly recommend her to any of you who are in this part of the country. For more information you can visit their website at:  Veterinary Eye Specialists of Nebraska.

Belle and Dr. McIllnay after the offending piece of plant had been removed:

I’m happy to report that it would appear that everyone is back to full-strength. Maggie has been getting around well and shown no further symptoms of her back issues. I’m still in the boot but my foot is actually beginning to feel better, and Belle no longer has a stick in her eye. Of course as I type this the wind is howling and the snow is coming down hard with the season’s first blizzard. But hey, at least the dogs are healthy.

So far this season has been a disaster. I should just be thankful that I’m able to get out, but with the calamity that has resulted I’ve been anything but thrilled to this point. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but if it weren’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all.

Last weekend Dad and I managed to sneak away for a multi-day hunt. The first day of the trip we were treated to winds over 60 MPH. Yes that was SIX ZERO miles per hour. While hunting the first spot of the day Dad had a rooster flush in front of him, and at less than 30 yards I could not hear the discharge of the gun. As we neared the truck we both agreed nothing good could come of hunting in these conditions. All was not lost though, as the small stock dams had a good amount of waterfowl on them, and although we didn’t have a retriever along, the wind would help us on that front. I managed a successful sneak on a group  before breaking for lunch for the day.

The next day dawned nearly perfect and we decided to hunt hard to make up for the previous day, most of which was spent napping in the truck. The dogs, I thought, were in fine form:

Maggie had other plans, managing to rough up both front legs (between the feet and wrists) at the first spot we hunted. At the second spot I went through a panic situation that I hadn’t had to endure for a number of years. Maggie stumbled up to me with a bug-eyed look and clearly couldn’t see well. Her gait became very herky-jerky and I knew she was in trouble. The day was very cool and I had been using an in-the-field supplement to prevent this type of problem. For the last three or four years she hasn’t had any issues like this, and I thought they were well behind us. I immediately grabbed the first-aid kit to get the dog some sugar (in the form of dextrose), as I was certain she was experiencing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). We alternated carrying her out of the field and the little dog was done for the day.

With Maggie on the bench we asked Belle to shoulder most of the load. By the end of the day she was tapped. As luck would have it we ran in to a friend of mine who I had been trying to hunt with for the previous few years. The timing had never worked out before, but fate intervened, and we ended up arriving at the same area late in the afternoon. The birds were less than cooperative, and during the last field I left the gun in the truck and followed with the camera. My friend’s GSP Annie was a joy to watch in the field and put on a show on a couple of pheasants:

The next day was even more beautiful than the first, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing from a hunting perspective. We did manage a couple of birds prior to heading home and both dogs hunted like a million bucks. My wife had tickets to a dinner event where Tom Brokaw was the keynote speaker, and my presence was strongly suggested, so we cut the trip short and returned home.

I awoke Wednesday to an all too familiar squint from Belle. I examined her eye closely and didn’t see anything immediately obvious. Even after staining her eye, I noticed only a few minor scrapes along the top part of her eye but nothing concerning. Later in the day I brought home the head loop from the clinic for a magnified view only to find an extremely small sliver embedded in her eye. The small plant piece was less than the diameter of a piece of hair and about 1mm long. I couldn’t believe it. Here we were heading into the month of November, looking to make up for lost time, and I was looking at Maggie with two raw legs and blood sugar issues, Belle with another corneal foreign body and me with a stress fracture of my left foot. This fall wasn’t exactly turning out the way I had hoped with all three members of the team trying to play injured.

I made several attempts to remove the object from Belle’s eye, but in the end I couldn’t find an instrument fine enough or magnification strong enough to get it done. In the morning we will be pointing the car south as we head to Omaha for a visit to an ophthalmologist. I’m really hoping it turns around from here.

Stay tuned for Belle’s latest adventure. I love these setters but it is getting to be a little like hunting with glass figurines.

I saw this information posted on a hunting forum and thought I’d share it with you. I worked in the pet food industry during the last major set of recalls and can assure you these should be taken very seriously:

Mars Petcare US Issues Voluntary Recall of Everson, PA Plant Dry Pet Food Product due to Potential Salmonella Contamination

Franklin, Tennessee (September 12, 2008)—Today, Mars Petcare US
announced a voluntary recall of products manufactured at its Everson,
Pennsylvania facility. The pet food is being voluntarily recalled
because of potential contamination with Salmonella serotype Schwarzengrund. This voluntary recall only affects the United States.

To read the entire release, including affected products CLICK HERE