Short hunting trip after work....

[2thepointsetters]

I went out hunting tonight after work and I hadn't even been out 20 minutes and the dog checks in looking like this

He was covered in blood from head to tail and right away I figure the worst that he had a stick through him. After I calm him down (and myself) I find that he has almost bit his tongue in half.

I am about 1 mile in the woods without a trail, and no first aid kit. The dog wants to keep hunting like nothing is wrong, so I end up laying on the ground with him to keep him calm and try to stop the bleeding. The dog was actually pretty smart and filled his mouth with grass. After about half an hour later the bleeding slowed considerably. So I start walking towards home. Well the dog is still trying to hunt even though I was trying to keep him close. ( I didn't have the wonder lead or leash with) It wasn't three minutes later and he was on point. I knew I couldn't miss this one.

As you can see in the pic most of the blood was washed off just by walking through the long grass back to the road.

I called the vet and they dont put stiches in tongues, so it has to heal on its own. What a night.

I will never forget this hunt.

[gspman]

Wow. Mine cut her tongue last Dec. but not near as bad. She still bled like crazy so I know exactly what you are talking about.

[LABS4ME]

About 20 years ago I took my shorthair out for a quick late season pheasant hunt. We were walking a wind break of wild plums and honeysuckle when he got birdy, flash pointed and went dead center hard into the brush, and fast... now remember, I've posted often about how he was a flusher 50% of the time. He chased up a hen and came out 10 seconds later coated in blood and leaving a blood trail. I called him over to me to try and see what was going on, I too thought he stuck a stick in his shoulder with all the blood on his chest, but he wanted to keep hunting just like yours.

When I finally got him over to me, I looked all over the front half of his body for the cut but couldn't find it. I sat him down took some snow and wiped as much blood off him as possible. I began looking more thoroughly when I noticed blood running out of his mouth. I pryed his mouth open and noticed it coming from under his tounge. There was no way I could grip his tounge to see what was going on, so we started high stepping it for home which was about a half mile away.

He started getting real wobbly 3/4 of the way home and I ended up carrying him the rest of the way to the truck and we took off for the vet. I walked in and told them I had an emergency. I explained he cut his tongue and was getting wobbly and he was now laying in a weak state in my truck. The vet just poo-pooed me and said he'd be fine and it would heal on it's own. He said there was nothing he could do with a cut tounge and to just keep him calm till the bleeding stopped. I felt he should at least look at him, but he assured me all would be fine.

I drove home and tried to get him out of the truck and he just layed there looking at me. he'd lift his head and immediatley lay it back down. I quick drove to another vet in town and he lightly sedated him, took a forceps and lifted his tounge up and we realized he jammed a stick dead center on the artery under his tounge. The vet was sure he lost a lot of blood. He sutured him up, gave him a transfusion of plasma and told me to keep him calm for a few days.

He healed up nicely and I never went back to the 1st vet ever again. I've always had this incident in the back of my mind, wondering if it would ever happen again, but to this day, I've haven't seen it, nor heard of it happening to anyone else. It is pretty scary when your dog walks out of some cover looking like they've just been shot.

Hope your pup is no worse for the wear and gets right back in the ring! It looks like it didn't even phase him.... man are they tough or what!?

Good Luck!

Ken

[Scott M]

Ken,

That is scary. Thank God you got a second opinion. I don't know what I would have done in that situation. Thanks for sharing-live and learn.

[uplander]

Lost my first setter in the grouse woods 13 years ago when a stick went right through her neck and into her lung..She was on a hard charge after a grouse she had pointed and the stick hit her just perfectly between the neck and chest. I heard a loud crack then some terrible yelping....I got to her just before she took her last breath...That was a bad day in the woods. Had to put her over my shoulders and walk about a mile back to my truck...I still go back there every year to pay my respects, and we always put up a few birds there. Sorry to hear about your dog 2thepoint hope that doesn't mean he can't go on Sunday.....He still wants to go that's for sure, but rest him if you have to...

Life is full of suprises! It's how we deal with them that makes us who we are .....Hunt hard .. Shoot fast

uplander

[Jameson]

Thanks for sharing. Hopefully I'll be better prepared now that I have read your accounts.

[Shack]

Sorry to her about your guys dogs! It always a shock when a dog gets injured! One tends to think they are invincible at times.

When my lab was a little over a year old, she had been out running in back woods. She came back in garage and kind of kept to her self. Well after and hour I started over to her and was going to pet her or something. I noticed she was a little sluggish and not her self. I forget how or why, but she stood up and I had seen a little bit of blood on floor. I further examined her and found a 9” gash from up on her chest down under her leg. It was about an inch or so deep.

This was on a Friday evening around 6:30 p.m… A little back ground, I just had been given my lab a month or so before and really had not even started training her at this point. I kind of started to panic, but she was not bleeding all that much! I knew at that point it was nothing I could mend at home. So I loader her up in car and headed down to Vet ER room in Coon Rapids.

The ER room check out was a $100.00 and I agreed to have her checked out. They examined my dog and I think they were examining me to see how close I was to dog.

After they checked my dog out, they came out and gave the news. $1300.00 plus check out fee’s and pain meds and anti-biotics. Was close to $1500.00. I was shocked. For one, back then it was hard to come up with that cash right then and there, let alone for a dog that I had only owned for a month. I thought about it, made some calls and headed back up to the receptionists desk. I apologized to her and said I am sorry, but NO! You should have seen the look on their faces. I told then to finish cleaning her wound and bandaged up and give me some anti- biotics. I loader her up and headed home!

On the way home, I started to revert to plan B. This involved a bottle of whiskey for me and the dog, barb less fish hook and some thread. I figured I was going to do it my self. The dog was stable for the time being, but did need to have some attention quick! I got home with the whiskey and thought some more about what to do. My wife convinced me into waiting until they morning. The dog was not in much to any pain and I would make some calls to local vets and see what to do.

Long story short, I woke up the next day and call Princeton vet clinic, got her in right away and they stitched her up and threw in a tick treatment tube of stuff, some anti-bitics and all for only a little over $100.00

I have found out Princeton Vet clinic has a 24 hour service and I have been going there ever since. I have priced out between Elk River, Big lake, St. Fransis and Princeton. Princeton was cheapest every time.

P.S.

At least she did get the bird, Cool!

[2thepointsetters]

Thanks for sharing the storys. Here is the update... he is doing good and I have him on some pills from the vet to fight infection. I can't really get a good look at the cut, but the majority of it is on the bottom of tongue and just about a inch and a half long. It is healing really well.

Uplander Sunday is still good. (the dog would be all out hunting right now if I would let him)

[Shack]

I tell ya, that first pic sure looks bad. With that much blood, I would wondered about if he would of made it back to car/truck.

Sounds like every thing is working out ok. Dogs have a great nack of healing up good!

Good luck!

[2thepointsetters]

That pic is from a cell phone and really doesn't show how much blood there really was. I was very worried he was going to bleed out in my arms. I am lucky that the bleeding slowed down because there was a huge puddle under his head where he was laying.

He is acting normal already chasing the beagles around the house and eating fine.

[uplander]

Good news 2thepoint!!! Hope this weather cools down. 80 in October, what is this Arizona....where is my 45 for a high days?.....Maybe after deer seaon?....lets hope sooner

[Shack]

Hows the pup doing now?

[2thepointsetters]

Quote:

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Hows the pup doing now?

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Great he is back to 100%. I am surprised how fast dogs heal.

[Grant Pearson]

glad to hear that the pup's doing better. Those setters are tough dogs!!!! I had one growing up and she'd go through hell and back and still want more. I thought I'd seen it all with her until my parents got theirs and it doesn't know the meaning of quit. Glad to hear the dog's getting back to hunting status..... It's hard going out without the pup at your feet.

[HUNTINGBAILEY]

I HAD MY LAB YOUNG LAB OUT PHEASANT HUNTING AND A HEN GOT UP,MY DOG STARTED TO FOLLOW THE BIRD I YELLED FOR HER TO COME BACK AFTER ABOUT 30 SECONDS SHE COMES BACK AND WE CONTINUE TO HUNT. A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER WERE BACK AT HOME SHE IS LAYING ON THE FLOOR, I SEE SOMETHING ONE HER CHEST, I REACH TO TOUCH IT AND IT OPENS UP SHE HAD HIT A BARRED WIRE FENCE. IT WAS ABOUT A 6 INCH LONG GASH AND WAS CLEARLY DOWN TO THE BREAST BONE. THE DOG NEVER WHIMPER OR WHINED THE STRANGEST THING IS THAT THERE WAS NO BLOOD? I TOOK HER TO THE VET, THEY WANTED $450 TO STITCH UP & MEDS. AT THE TIME I COULDN'T HANDLE THAT KIND OF HIT,I SAID JUST CLEAN IT AND GIVE ME THE ANTIBIOTICS, STILL $175.SO I TOOK THE DOG HOME AND GOT ONE OF MY OLD TEE-SHIRTS AND PUT HER FRONT LEGS THRU THE HOLES TO HELP PREVENT THE DOG FROM LICKING THE WOUND , WITH IN A WEEK IT WAS HEALED.

THE DOG HAS BEEN DOING FINE EVER SINCE.