My dogs keep getting into the porcupines =( We have 10 acres of trees behind our house and I love that our dogs (labs) can enjoy this -- but now we have to chain them up because they got porcupined 3 days in a row (and it's their 15th time overall). Is there ANYTHING else I can do? Any porcupine repellant they can wear? ANYTHING?
THANKS =(
2010-04-23T17:16:43Z
We moved to an acreage so the dogs would have room - not so we could keep them fenced in. Besides we don't really have a 'yard'. Thanks for the advice Bulliesrock -- they are very smart dogs (if no porcupines are involved) so we can walk them around the areas that have no trees and perhaps train them to stay out of the treed area.
Bob2010-04-23T16:51:24Z
Favorite Answer
Hunt down the prickly ones! Or, spread coyote or wolf urine in the Porkies neighborhood.
How about keeping them inside and not allowing them to roam unless you are with them? For some reason this is a fun game for them (you would think the painful part would make it not so fun) so I doubt you're going to be able to keep them from the chase aside from chaining, which is torture to an energetic breed (and illegal in some areas - in ours you can't have your dog chained/tethered for more than three hours in a 24 hour period or it's a HUGE fine and they take your dogs). I would have them inside for the next week and take them out. Do they have any training? If you walk the property with them everyday for the next week, do they have a recall that you can use to get them back to you at the sight of a porcupine? It would be very helpful. Otherwise, I would walk the property with them a few times a day and train a recall at the site of a porcupine. Is it an easy solution? No, but it's a fair one. Much better to train them off instead of chaining them. It will take a few weeks and some work on your part, but would be worth it.
I can not give you any advice on porcupines, but can say you should be thankful you do not live near a den of skunks! I did once have an armadillo den and they were destroying my yard, my county agent told me to put used kitty litter at the mouth of their den and they would go away, it worked within a day.
You might want to give your agent a call, its possible they could make a good suggestion.
Did the vet get each and all of the quills? There ought to have been some sort of drugs to deliver homestead, or one you are able to acquire, for the soreness. i could call the vet and verify - I had 2 canines conflict and lose with a porcupine and neither one acted like this afterwards.