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I did some updating to a couple of sections on the site this weekend.
This week’s Ask the Vet: 
Q.)
My seven-year old wirehair ate a deer carcass and got very sick. Her
blood tests showed she had elevated pancreatic levels. They put her on
amoxicillin for two weeks and a bland diet. She is a week into this and
is good one day and then has no appetite the next. She drank a lot of
water this morning before vomiting it up. I noticed she has a slight
yellow color to the whites of her eyes, her ears and on her belly. Is
the amoxicillin causing this or does she have a liver problem also?
It’s the weekend and I’ll be taking her into my vet Monday morning.
A.)
I would strongly suggest that the blood work be repeated, and that
further diagnostics will also need to be performed, such as x-rays and
an ultrasound. With the yellow change to the eyes I would be very
worried that the liver is now significantly involved in the process.
The amoxicillin should not have anything to do with these new changes. CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
up photography. These displaying prairie chickens are what drove me to
invest too much money into a bunch of camera equipment. CLICK HERE
As a teaser I actually have started an actual editorial calendar which will kick off in February with some exciting new podcasts, articles and more.
She has provided me with some heart-stopping action in the field over the years, but she has also been the source of numerous heartaches. I knew her health issues seemed extraordinary, but until I started listing them it never really hit me as to how hard of a life this pup has had. The “incidents” have ranged from very minor scrapes, cuts and bruises to numerous brushes with death.
I get a kick out of clients that think they have a problem dog, because they see me more than once a year. Or for those that complain about an out-of-the-ordinary vet expense. I always think…at least you don’t have to pay for Maggie. Last fall during one of these health scares Tom looked up from surgery and asked, “What would happen if someone other than a vet owned her?” I hate to even think about that.
To read the full story of Maggie’s Life in injuries CLICK HERE.
Just to give you a teaser here is the time line of her health issues over the years:
Maggie’s History Of Illness By Year:
2001: Demodex, food allergy and bloody diarrhea
2002: Corneal Foreign Body with stromal abscess
2003: Corneal Foreign Body, swollen wrist and corneal ulcer
2004: Stick up the nose for a month and migrating foreign body (Canada Rye Seed)
2005: Torn ear and foreign body in foot (Cactus Spine)
2006: Grade 3 Mast Cell Tumor
2007: Hemorrhagic GastroEnteritis and numerous follicular cysts
2008: Entrapped hematoma of gastrocnemius
For the detailed version see: Is This Dog a Lemon? The Maggie Chronicles
How many times in life are we the first to accomplish anything? I’d wager for most of us the answer is never. Not because we’re a bunch of failures, but because so many frontiers have been conquered and so many man-made goals have been achieved. Sure, we could take part in some silly Guinness record-setting feat, a local bar holds such events, but I’m talking about truly being the first to accomplish something special.
I have a friend who accomplished such a feat this summer. Amy Gauthier took her Irish Setter, Augie, through the rigorous challenges of NAVHDA, and together they made Augie the FIRST ever Irish Setter Versatile Champion. Now for those of you unfamiliar with NAVHDA, trust me when I say that this is no small feat. I know a number of very accomplished trainers, with multiple, highly-successful NAVHDA tested dogs who would give just about anything to have a Versatile Champion to their credit.
Amy has finally put together a website to showcase her wonderful dogs, click on Augie to visit the site:
This morning at a little after 5 a.m., when I sat down at the computer with my first cup of coffee the temperature here was -25 with a wind chill of -42. As I type this at 10 am, it has warmed to a balmy -23 degrees. The cold alone would be bad enough, but my morning blog posting has been curtailed over the last week or two because it seems like every morning finds me out shoveling either new snow or windblown drifts–Old Man Winter’s one-two punch. Currently, living in town with a standard-sized driveway, I have refused to invest in a snow blower, which I guess is my own fault. The sides of my driveway are getting so snow piled that I may not have a choice in the matter before long. I’ve never understood those that head south in the winter…until this year. I thought I’d offer these bits of information as a backdrop to the heart of the post below.
Last night after work I received an email from a good friend entitled, “Driven crazy by 30 below windchill or Cabin Fever in the Extreme.” My friend is a fellow dog addict with her breed of choice being Bearded Collies and her game of choice agility. The email went on to detail her “remodeling” project, after the extreme temperatures caused her to crack. She converted her living room into a weave pole station:
Waiting to go:
The email went on to lament about no longer being eligible for a Better Homes & Gardens spread, but that the dogs were in agility heaven. In addition her boys can practice further obedience in the newly converted space:
She ended the email with “Of course, I’m sure the weave pole in the living room situation will only last …..for about 4 more months. Who needs to have guests over???” Unfortunately with the weather pattern of late I fear her four month prediction is not hyperbole.
For those of you unfamiliar with agility, here is what the finished product of weave pole training looks like. Follow the link for a short video clip of Logan:
Link to Logan Video on Youtube
Now, I’d like to report this is one isolated case of a dog owner gone mad…unfortunately it is not. The irony of the situation is that just prior to checking my email I, too, was undertaking a remodeling project in our living room. I had cleared out the furniture, and instead of weave poles, laid out a GHG ultra-low dog blind and field mat to introduce Lily to field work:
Once she got the hang of kenneling we even had room to throw some marks:
Of course the retrieving field currently goes through the area I planned to set up my carving bench (another winter project), which happens to be the same area that I set up my indoor bike trainer. The only silver lining in all of this is that we should have plenty of sheet water in the spring for the snow geese and the snow up north should help produce a bumper crop of little ducks.
The dogs, on the other hand, have not shared my optimism at what the future holds as they dwell in their boredom with the present. Lily, always the resourceful one, did discover a little nook that happens to contain a heating vent. As I type this she is fast a sleep with a steady stream of warm air comforting her to sleep:
I’m sure some day it will warm up again…some day.
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?
It seems like just yesterday that Chrissy and I visited those little bundles of setters with their eyes barely opened. I know that everyone says its stupid to pick a dog based purely on color, but as the only tri-colored female in the litter, I knew that day that she’d be hunting in South Dakota some day. Today the apple of my eye celebrated her third birthday:
We’re a couple of those crazy dog owners who dress their dogs up for Christmas pictures and also celebrate their birthdays. I am neurotic about dog nutrition, and for a couple of years it occupied most of my professional life. At the end of the day, though, who doesn’t like birthday cake:
After this picture the birthday toys were promptly destroyed, and Lily returned to her regularly scheduled mischief. We are currently having our hundredth blizzard of the winter and so it’s too cold, windy and miserable out to run off the pent up energy outside…I can’t wait for the spring to get here.
I’ve often stated that the prairie grouse are my true love. Deep down the excitement and mystery of these native birds really does something for me. The last couple of years I was their devoted companion, only rarely straying to chase their Asian cousin the pheasant. Yesterday things once again changed in my life. If prairie grouse have become my true love, then yesterday I was reunited with the mistress that I’ll never be able to quit.
For the last two years I had forsaken this first love, in large part due to Emma’s deteriorating condition. I could justify an upland trip without her, but I think it would have killed her to watch me take the duck hunting gear and leave her at home. Most of this season I spent reminiscing about my waterfowling pursuits but had not acted upon them, always figuring “next year.” As the seasons came to a close I decided that I couldn’t wait for the snow geese to return and set the wheels in motion for a hunt that I’d been longing to have since moving to South Dakota.
Much the same as its bigger sibling the Mississippi, the Missouri river, is steeped in tradition and history. One of those traditions is late-season Canada goose hunting, which prior to yesterday I had only dreamed about. There are goose camps galore strung out along the river and a number of guides willing to share their pit with you for a price. The biggest stickler holding me back with such an arrangement was this last bit. I’ll go on record as saying I am staunchly against paying to hunt. I think it could lead to the downfall of hunting in this country as more and more land is taken away from public access. It was with this great internal moral conflict that I booked a day with a guide for a buddy and me. My rationale was that it was the only hunting opportunity in South Dakota, we would be using his gear and access to his land…that’s how I rationalized it but it still didn’t sit well in my heart.
This would be a bit of a reunion hunt for one of my best hunting buddies and me. Many of you who have followed the site from the start probably have noticed that Aaron and Storm had been absent the last couple of years in the blog. While I had shifted from primarily waterfowling to prairie birds, Aaron and Storm continued to chase the migrating birds. After a two-year break from the field we looked to pick up where we had left off.
The trip almost didn’t happen, as a cold-front moved in on Friday night and brought with it snow, drizzle and some strong northwest winds. After hemming and hawing for about a half-hour we decided to chance it. Thankfully about 20 miles west of Sioux Falls the conditions improved dramatically and we assumed we would have smooth sailing. Unfortunately Mother Nature decided to test our resolve once again, and the winds kicked up and we had to drive a significant stretch in on-and-off white conditions. Finally arriving at the motel, we both were beat and retired for the evening.
Most waterfowling adventures begin in the wee hours of the morning; late-season geese on the other hand seemed to be more dignified and like to see the sunrise before starting their day. We met our guide at about 7:30am, and were at the field after nine. We would be meeting other hunters, which was another big potential issue for me, as I have very few hunting partners choosing to share these experiences with the closest of friends. I was more than relieved when the group showed and I recognized some familiar faces. Thankfully the dog world is rather small and filled with good people. The nine of us set about to putting together the spread:
With temps just two degrees above zero we elected to sit in the trucks, waiting to see the first groups lift off the river in the distance. The birds had been flying around 10:30 most of the week, but with the abrupt change to lower temps they took their time stretching their wings, and it was noon when we spotted the first group. Three from the group offered to take the trucks out of the field while the rest of us headed for the layout blinds. As luck would have it, on this first group, Aaron and I were the only ones with calls in the blind. With a three-year layoff from calling I was a little worried whether I’d still have the chops. Aaron is an incredible caller and I happily played second chair to his Concert Master performance. The flock circled once before cupping up and committing to the spread. As those big birds parachuted into the spread I was falling in love all over again with the majesty of waterfowl.
In addition to the waterfowl hunt I was extremely excited to see Storm in action and had the camera gear along to capture this magnificent dog at work. As some of you have probably gathered from recent posts I miss having a retriever around the house. I love the setters and the cocker is growing on me, but with that being said, there is just something about a working retriever. After the first volley Storm was called on to perform his end of the job:
The action was extremely fast-paced as flock after flock appeared on the horizon. I’d alternate between calling, shooting and trying to manage the camera. Storm continued to do his job with enthusiasm and efficiency:
While we had a lot of success there were a number of geese that got away unscathed. Towards the end of the flurry I’d try to snap some pictures of the birds. Had I had a different blind set-up I think I could have managed some good incoming shots, but the last thing I wanted to do was ruin the hunt for the others with my camera glass causing flares. In this shot someone clearly wasn’t on the bird. This low-res copy doesn’t do it justice, but you can see a wad between the two birds and the shot string behind them:
Having the birds stacked up above us, and so readily responding to the calling and spread, completely fanned the waterfowling flame that had been laying dorment inside. I had moved to this great state to waterfowl, and prior to the prairie grouse obsession, I’d waterfowl hunt to the exclusion of all else, only chasing other birds once the duck season had ended. I can’t take back the two-year absence but I can dang well make sure it never happens again:
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how complicated we make life when at the end of the day it should be so, so simple. We’re always striving for bigger, better, faster, stronger, more money and more power. In the end how much of that will ever really matter? In the end the memories of family, friends, passionate pursuits…and a good dog or six will be what leads us through our dark times. Me?…my New Year’s resolution will be to making more memories like these:
For those of you who have followed the site since the beginning, you know that my first outdoor love has always been waterfowling. In fact I moved to this great state for that very reason. Recent visitors to the site may be shocked to hear that, considering most of my time over the last three years has been spent behind the setters chasing prairie birds. That, and I’ve added a nearly pure white cocker to the dog team.
Looking back in my hunting journal, my last real waterfowling entry was September 1, 2006. I realize last year that I chased the spring snows and took Emma out on a couple of pass shooting attempts, but I’m talking true-blue migrating-fall waterfowling. I vividly remember that last day, because we were dodging thunderstorms in an attempt to score on some honkers. It was my first hunt without Emma, and while I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my buddy’s dog Storm shoulder the load, it really took the wind out of my sails not having my hunting partner along. With Emma sidelined, I put my waterfowling love on the shelf. It still stung, but I could leave her at home while I chased prairie birds with the setters…I just don’t think I could have done the same had I left the house with my waterfowling gear.
Over the last two to three years I’ve spent my falls chasing the prairie birds and getting my waterfowling fix in the spring with my camera. I love the prairie birds, and while they may have displaced the ducks at the top of my list of fowling pursuits, I would still feel a longing every time I’d see a circling group of mallards or a string of Canadas on the horizon. Some passions just can’t stay buried forever.
This weekend I’m hoping will mark my return to the ranks of waterfowling. I had alluded to this in the last post about decoy carving, and have been thinking about it endlessly since I’ve made the plans for this weekend. Sleep has been hard to come by the last week, and I’ve been on the edge of my seat watching the weather radar with yet another winter storm in the area. If all goes as planned I should have a pretty exciting blog post for the end of the weekend.
Well the upland hunting season ended with a whimper at the Gundogdoc house. We managed one more hunt after the New Year’s Day adventure, though no birds were harmed in the making of the memories. The weather had continued to go from bad to worse and the deep snow was coated with a layer of ice rain. On our last hunt Belle shined with some stunning points on hens. I had been frustrated with her most of the season, partly due to uncooperative birds, and it was nice to end the year on a positive note. Although we didn’t bag a bird I was just about as happy as I could be for how the last day went. Her last point was on a beautifully colored rooster that I had much too much time to think about prior to the flush and promptly emptied the gun at the departing bird…appropriate for how my season went.
I’m trying to put together at least one Missouri River goose hunt to end the fall season, but that too is proving to be a bit more difficult than I would have thought. That leaves a couple of cold, empty months before the snow geese start their journey back north. As I am oft to do it got me thinking about new “stuff” to occupy my time. One hobby that I’ve collected various pieces to, but never fully taken the plunge into, has been decoy carving. Well, I think this winter is going to be the year that I make that leap.
Last night I dug a couple of Rubbermaid containers out from storage and went through the various projects in various states of completion. There are some burlap-over-foam canvasbacks that have moved with us every move starting back to vet school. Ironically the little white devil is behind the motivation to tackle this new project. My first duck hunt with Emma was out of a boat I built, and we managed a limit of Canadas and a couple of ducks. That boat has made the same number of moves as the decoys, but now sits incapacitated under our deck suffering the ravages of wood rot.
My goal this fall is that on Lily’s first duck hunt we’ll be hunting over at least one original decoy. Ideally it would be a small spread of home-carved birds, but that may be a little too ambitious. So, why you might ask am I posting this? Well, as motivation, I’m hoping by making this public declaration I’ll hold myself to seeing the project through. If any of the site visitors are carvers and would like to offer any tips, tricks or suggestions, please drop me an email. Otherwise we’ll have to wait and see if this little plan comes to fruition in the fall.
One of my goals when we relaunched the site was to offer a truly multi-media experience. Before last night we were missing the video component of the multi-media.
I’m very excited to announce that we’ve started our video podcast series. The first video is “The Tailgate Exam.” I’ve often referred to this in my articles and in the answers to some of the questions on the site, and now I can show you first hand. My hope is to have a series of videos that you can reference on your computer and have the ability to load them onto your mobile device or iPod in order to refer back to them while out in the field.
In future episodes we will tackle subjects like eye care, ear care, nail care, wound stapling, splint application, etc. That being said, I am very open to any suggestions you might have in regards to the subject of any of the podcasts. I apologize in advance for the quality of this first video. We are learning as we go with video capture and production and will attempt to improve the sound quality (and decrease the wind noise) of future episodes. To ensure iTunes compatibility, the movie is a Quicktime Movie and those of you without Quicktime or using Internet Explorer may have some technical difficulties. We are working to resolve those issues and have a link to download Quicktime on the video page. In addition, for those of you who have subscribed to previous feeds, the video podcast series will also have its own feed, allowing you to automatically stay up to date.
Without furhter ado I present our first video podcast: The Tailgate Exam
