PORCUPINE
QUILLS
I have spent hours removing quills from a
dog’s mouth, lips, tongue and body.
If you take your
dog for long walks in the country, or go camping, or have a cottage property,
as an educated dog owner you should always pack a travel first aid kit. A pair
of piers and Gravol as a mild sedation will be useful if your dog tangles with
a porcupine.
If your dog is
quilled it is an unfortunate fact that the most common place to be quilled is
the face. Generally your dog will grab the porcupine with his mouth and the
loose quills of the porcupine will lodge and penetrate into your dog’s skin and
mouth. Porcupines don’t shoot their quills but these loosely attached barbs let
go from their hair shafts if touched.
TREATMENT What to do? Treatment
is a little harsh: you need to pull the quills out! And you need to pull them
out quickly. You will need pliers to overcome the barbs.
You need to keep your dog quiet.
Gravol may help to calm your dog. However, Gravol doesn’t work on every dog. Hopefully
you have help available, for someone will need to hold the dog still while you
remove the quills. Keeping the dog calm can be a difficult job since quills are
sharp and painful and all your dog wants is to get them out. Movement will
drive the quills deeper into your dog’s skin. It is crucial to stop your dog
from rolling or pawing, pushing the quills deeper into your dog’s flesh. .First
have your dog stand: feel your dog for any quills on one side of his body,
legs, neck. Remove those while the dog is still standing. Grab each quill as
close to the dog’s skin as possible with the piers. Needle nose are the best.
Pull with constant pressure and pulling it straight until the quill is pulled
out. Most certainly there will be blood, but the quill must come out. This is a
painful process. It’s a good idea to apply a topical antiseptic where the
quills were pulled out to avoid infection. I haven’t myself used vinegar but I
have heard if you pour vinegar on the quills it helps loosen them up. If you do
try the vinegar keep vinegar away from you dog’s eyes.
(PORCUPINE)
Once you feel sure you have
removed all the quills from that side lie your dog down on the side you just de-quilled
and start working on his face. Start with his tongue. If your dog is starting
to get fed up and is in pain from the quills he may bite you. If you remove the
quills from the tongue and inside his mouth first then you can muzzle and work
on removing the quills from the rest of the face and body. Quills embed rapidly so immediate action is
needed to give your dog relief from the throbbing. Keep feeling for quills all
over your dog and keep removing them. Because you can’t see any more doesn’t
mean they are not there! Some dogs will learn to stay clear after the first
encounter with a porcupine: other dogs get carried away and are unable to
control themselves. We, as their owners, have the responsibility to take
whatever action is necessary to help our dogs avoid porcupines. If your dog has quills in his eyes or deep in the throat you should
get him to the closest Veterinary Clinic.
Your dog’s vet will tranquilize him, making it far easier to remove the quills.
Your veterinarian will also prescribe a round of antibiotics after all the
quills have been removed.
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