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View Full Version : Dogs and Porcupines... nuf said!



Wise Old Owl
02-17-2010, 22:26
I heard about this while taking a wildlife course today so I looked it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RTY3PxpkBA

Slo-go'en
02-17-2010, 22:52
A freind of mine in Vermont had a couple of Airdales which just couldn't learn not to mess with the porkies, though they never got quilled nearly as bad as that dog in the video.

Grampie
02-18-2010, 09:15
While caretaking at the Upper Goose Pond AT cabin a couple of years ago a hiker came in with a dog that tangled with a porkey. The poor dog was in agony. It had several quills in it's face and one was in his eye. I could do nothing for the dog and advised to get it to a vet ASAP.

Tipi Walter
02-18-2010, 09:19
When I was going thru my Indian phase I did a lot of beadwork and quillwork(yes, you can decorate a buckskin shirt with flattened and dyed quills), and one time got a single quill stuck in my thumb which I could not remove with pliars so I cut it off at the base and waited. The dang thing took several days but finally worked its way out the other side of my thumb--it traveled thru the skin.

woodsy
02-18-2010, 10:00
Porkys on the AT mostly north of PA, including some of PA i think.

I've wrestled a few out of my dogs mouth and tongue , some of them learn from the experience and some don't. Had one dog (a Husky) years ago that got into one real bad,
vet took about 75 quills out of her face and mouth. Talk about a miserable dog. That one didn't learn but the one I've got now leaves them alone after just a few quills.

superman
02-18-2010, 10:04
When I was going thru my Indian phase I did a lot of beadwork and quillwork(yes, you can decorate a buckskin shirt with flattened and dyed quills), and one time got a single quill stuck in my thumb which I could not remove with pliars so I cut it off at the base and waited. The dang thing took several days but finally worked its way out the other side of my thumb--it traveled thru the skin.

In 1974 my ex and I hiked in Glacier National Park. We met a great guy there who traveled from reservation to reservation learning and teaching indian culture. He was a school teacher from NJ and that was how he spent his summers. Around a camp fire one night he explained how to recognize and build the different tribal tepees. He also explained the history of beads, bead work and more importantly quill work. He talked about how you can tell when an article was made and by what tribe from beads and quills. He made it very interesting. I think the govt. made programs to do what he had been doing on his own.

Winter was nose to nose with porcupines, skunks, deer, bear and snakes. She didn't bother them and they didn't bother her. I think it depends on the breed and if they have been socialized to all kinds of animals. Dogs that mess with porcupines never seem to learn to leave them along.

8049

Feral Bill
02-18-2010, 13:31
My old dog went for the skunks. Ended up playing catch with the neighbors dog using a baby skunk. Better than a porcupine.

clicker
02-18-2010, 13:38
My old dog Bud did the porcupine thing 3 times, but eventually figured out that they were vulnerable in their soft belly. Caught one, killed it in front of me, and never got a quill in him that time. I was amazed. He also got skunked twice, once in the winter so we had to bathe him inside. Not fun :(

Wrangler88
02-18-2010, 13:42
When I was at Shaw's this summer there was a guy who's dog got quilled in the face pretty bad going through the 100 Mile Wilderness. He seemed like a great owner though. He was taking like a week of at Shaw's to take his dog to the vet and give it time to heal up.

Wise Old Owl
02-18-2010, 23:24
Thanks for the storys the thread is a good read.

woodsy
02-19-2010, 09:43
I would have to guess that many a hiker with dog has found out the hard way in the Northeast that its best to keep the dog close by and leash handy, if not leashed.
Remember some stories of hikers staying at the lean to on Bigelow mtn back in the 30s and 40s where there were an abundance of Porcupines on the mountain. They had to take turns all night guarding their camp against invading Porkys .
In the footsteps of a porcupine (http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat536.html) is a good read. And keep that staff handy, they love sweaty wood !

drifters quest
02-20-2010, 21:38
My dogs a mouser but I haven't seen any porcupines out here (though they are here). We also have coons and skunks but she's in at night. I'll make sure to be extra careful in the NE

Highpointbound
02-28-2010, 13:53
I would have to guess that many a hiker with dog has found out the hard way in the Northeast that its best to keep the dog close by and leash handy, if not leashed.
Remember some stories of hikers staying at the lean to on Bigelow mtn back in the 30s and 40s where there were an abundance of Porcupines on the mountain. They had to take turns all night guarding their camp against invading Porkys .
In the footsteps of a porcupine (http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat536.html) is a good read. And keep that staff handy, they love sweaty wood !


Yes, LEASHED would be great. But folks think that is "cruel". I guess a dog getting a face full of quills on a hike because he wasn't leashed is just fine and dandy though. :rolleyes:

Wise Old Owl
03-13-2010, 11:26
Highpoint, if you ever come back to see this because you have been away for a month. You are the SNL "Debbie Downer" of the Dog Forum. Do yourself a favor, read the TOS of the forum before posting.

shelterbuilder
03-13-2010, 22:10
Porkys on the AT mostly north of PA, including some of PA i think.

I've wrestled a few out of my dogs mouth and tongue , some of them learn from the experience and some don't. Had one dog (a Husky) years ago that got into one real bad,
vet took about 75 quills out of her face and mouth. Talk about a miserable dog. That one didn't learn but the one I've got now leaves them alone after just a few quills.

My Huskies are always on a leash - of necessity, otherwise I'd be looking for them 5 counties away.

Did some of Vermont with my first Husky (25 years ago)...we stopped for lunch near a pond...he laid down and started rolling in the dirt, which was something that he NEVER did...must have been something that tangled with a porky at that spot because the dog picked up half a dozen quills just from rolling around on the ground!:eek: Thankfully, none of them were imbedded very far and I was able to remove them myself.

Ran into a porky in Pa. between Rt. 325 and Rausch Gap last summer (Sharp Mountain? Stony Mountain? Near the old fire tower site). That has to be just about the southern-most end of their range, although when I was growing up in NE Pa., I'd run into them occassionally when fishing some of the more remote trout streams.