Porcupines

[bowman]

Does anyone have a dog that just won’t leave porcupines alone? My GSP likes to tangle with them. I’ve had to pull quills out of him 6 times this year and this isn’t new to this year. Same deal the last two seasons. Even after he gets quilled he goes right back after it. Has anyone tried porcupine aversion training similar to rattle snake aversion training? You would think a face full of quills would teach a dog.

[metlhead]

Your dog is very fortunate. Just once it happened with my dog's first year and I quit chasing grouse on the westside. I won't risk an eye injury. Always seeing those things while in the woods.

[stephensnelson]

Sadly I've read (and observed) that for whatever reason, once a dog starts tangling with quill pigs they keep doing so, often even more so. It's really strange but once they get into one it's like they just can't stop themselves on the next one. My current GSP has had three minor run ins but fortunately I've recognized here "point" on them so I have been able to get between her and the porky. A good shock collar and hunting close has been my best bet here on the East Side.

[salt n sage90]

We have a GSP that is the same way. Havent really figured out what to do other than carry pliers and leather gloves. She had half a dozen run ins last year in the cat tails.
Its just something you have to deal with. Sorry to hear.

[Sandberm]

I had a dog that got into porcupines 4 times. 

Had to take him to the vet each time. The last time he got an infection and they had to lance the abscess and put a tube in to drain it. He died some time later, can't remember how long after the last quilling, but I often wondered if that had anything to do with his death. I blame myself for him getting into porcupines. Looking back I was an idiot and could have prevented it after the first time. 

I dont know...he had bad hips too and i was giving him medication for that. Loved that dog...best thing i got out of the divorce...

[andersonjk4]

Seems to be a shorthair thing. I had a male shorthair that wouldn’t leave them alone either. Female vizsla learned her lesson the first time she got a few quills in her nose. When they were both pups we found a freshly dead porcupine, so I figured I would do some aversion training. Let them sniff it get a few quills use the e-collar to call them off of in. Worked great for the vizsla. GSP didn’t even hesitate, he pounced right on it and got a mouth full of quills. Luckily they weren’t that deep because it was dead and couldn’t force the quills in, so I got them all out by hand. Next encounter was in the cattails. I could tell they had something pinned down and by the time I got in there the GSP already had a mouth full of quills. That same day in a smaller patch of cattails he went on point but as I got closer I could tell it wasn’t a normal solid point. He was really fidgety. Luckily it clicked that it might be another porcupine, so I called him off. Sure enough I found one huddled in the cattails. After that I was able to tell when they were on something besides a bird. Unfortunately that is about the best you can do.

[NRA4LIFE]

Not limited to GSPs.  We had 2 different beagles when I was young that got into multiple porkies in N. Wisconsin.  One not too bad, only a couple episodes.  However, the other was a different story.  We tried everything and finally gave up on him and didn't take him on our snowshoe hare missions, he was then a southern state cottontail dog only (no porkies where we lived).  He got into at least a half dozen over a couple years.  I swear, he was addicted to the pain or something.  He was not the sharpest tool in the shed.

[Birdguy]

Had buddy several years ago that had two GSPs that got into porcupines twice, after the second time ($1400 vet bill) he picked up a roadkill and did some serious aversion training over a couple weeks with that frozen carcass first in the yard, then in the woods too. He had those collars way up there and I never heard of him dealing them again. His subsequent dogs also GSPs have had some early training to prevent it.

I am not a dog trainer, but this worked for him.

Good luck to all you folks and your dogs it is not any fun pulling quills!

[bowman]

Sounds like a fairly common issue. I think I’ll try and get my hands on a dead one and do some aversion training with it.

[C-Money]

My dogs all have enjoyed rolling in dead ones...UGH! That is the worst! Pulling quills out of an embarrassed, stinky Chesapeake...

[509]

I have had one dog quilled TWICE.  He was a German Longhair.

Unfortunately, each time I was convinced that there was a pheasant in there.  The dog stopped and looked at me....and I said go get it!!! 

He also pointed a skunk that I couldn't see, but that time I held him back...and ONLY got a wiff of the skunk.

After those incidents, I quit telling him what to do.

After that he took to "walking" me into birds by moving his eyes.  I guess he got tired of me being surprised by the flush.

You know that worked better, him hunting and pointing birds and me limiting my activities to shooting after the flush.

[Lady Grouse hunter]

There will be several clinics coming that way... I should help teach anyone's dog NOT to chase trash animals!
Look up pointing dog events, Wa. state

[spin05]

yes i have.  its called a 12 ga shotgun.   For the porcupine not the dog. Worked for me

[Lady Grouse hunter]

seriously?

[GWP]

Some dogs go with the “I will REALLY get you next time!” Others ls it only takes once or twice and they don’t go again.
Saw a pic of a Pit Bull that appeared to have ALL of the quills from the Porcupine in its face. The notes said it did indeed kill the Porky.
All of our GWP’s have not messed with them after once or twice, which is great.
We know Veterinarians that have seen quills migrate and kill the dog.

[UplandSetter]

My setter got into a porky once out in MT. She was a year old, we thought it was going to be a group of sharpies. She lunged once and got a mouthful of quills, shook her face off in confusion, and I caught her by the collar just as she was in the second lunge for revenge. She's a very sweet dog but that porky really lit a fire in her.

Haven't had a problem since (knock on wood) but if I did I wouldn't hesitate to treat it like snake proofing. Just gotta make sure you take all the same precautions you do with snake proofing. You don't want to give the dog the wrong impression.