By Joe Spoo DVM

You’ve taken the first couple outings kind of easy, letting you and the pup get into the swing of things. The first aid kit is at the ready in the truck and you’ve even managed to scratch down a bird once in a while. This will be the last in my series of three articles dealing with problems and situations found each day in the field. And although hunting seasons are winding down, these articles also apply to each training session.

Nearly every Monday or Tuesday of hunting season we see dogs that had been out the previous weekend. Most have fairly straightforward cuts, scrapes and bruises that with adequate field and home care would be just fine. However, many of the problems aren’t identified until the return home, usually the morning after the hunt when the non-hunters of the house have had a chance to look their little baby over and find these terrible wounds you have caused. Injuries that may have been “simple” on Saturday afternoon now have had time to become dirty and infected by Monday morning.

And now, instead of missing one or two days recuperating, some of these dogs end up sidelined for two weeks, and some even longer. Two weeks can be tolerated if it’s the first two weeks of October, but if those two weeks correspond to the end of the season when the ducks decide to finally push through, they could be the longest two weeks of the year.

It’s so easy to just kennel your dog at the end of the day and hit the road for home. Spending just a few minutes at the end of each hunt can prevent a very small problem from turning into a season ending injury. Before you put that pup in the kennel, take the time to do a thorough post-hunt exam.

To begin, look at the dog as a whole. Is he limping, or are there any obvious signs of cuts, scrapes or bleeding? How’s his attitude? Granted he’s probably a little slower at the end of the day than at the beginning, but people who know their dog can pick up on little changes in personality.

If the big picture checks out, break it down into smaller segments and literally check the dog over from head to toe. I start at the head. Look in the nose. Pay attention for any abnormal discharge and/or foreign material. Next check out the mouth, especially the lips and tongue, for any cuts if hunting tall dense cover like standing corn. The mouth contains a lot of blood vessels, and a ‘simple’ cut of the tongue can result in fairly extensive blood loss.

Give the eyes a particularly thorough look. Examine for any debris under the eyelids, or behind the third eyelid. You will often find plant parts or seeds in the eyes after a day in the uplands. You can simply rinse most of these out with saline without causing further problems. Give the ears a quick look as well, especially for plant material as it too can lead to a nasty ear infection.

Now look and feel over the neck, chest and abdomen. Pay particular attention for any areas of swelling or pain. These areas are particularly prone to lacerations that may go undetected at initial inspection. We see a lot of cuts right near the junction of the leg with the chest, often from running into a hidden fence. This part of the exam is particularly important for breeds with longer coats like goldens and setters.

Next up are the feet and legs. More often than not this will be where a majority of the problems will be found. Here I usually start at the bottom and work up. Inspect the leg for any cuts or areas of pain. Give the feet a thorough inspection. Look each nail over individually, a broken or cracked nail should be dealt with accordingly, as they can be an avenue of infection into the rest of the limb, not to mention they’re just plain painful. Look the pads over, as well as between the toe, again mainly looking for cuts, scrapes or areas of abnormal wear. If you’re hunting an area with sand burrs, thorns and even sticks, make sure any that have become wedged in the feet are removed before the ride home.

And there you have it, in just a couple of minutes you’ve looked the whole dog over. Hopefully you found no problems and you’ll both be ready to go come morning. It’s just too easy to skip this part of the day and put your dog in the kennel immediately upon getting back to the truck. I highly caution against skipping this post-hunt exam.

Take the time and find the problem when it occurs, and get it taken care of correctly. Most of us don’t think twice about cleaning and oiling our guns after each hunt. Shouldn’t you give your dog the same type of once-over? Besides, he is the reason you were able to use that gun at all.