Putting dogs to sleep

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We have two large dogs who don't understand that while we appreciate their efforts to keep our property void of critters large and small, we really can't afford many more trips to the vet to remove porqupine quills.

Wonder if we could use chlorophorm (sp??) to "do it ourselves"? The dogs really need to be drugged before we can remove the quills as they just are not manageable while in that much pain.

Any ideas? Anyone know how much cholorphorm to use? How to apply?

Thanks

-- Sheila (sross@bconnex.net), November 25, 1999

Answers

I heard that dogs do not survive chiloroform. It kills them dead. Sorry I cannot cite a source for that info. It may be BS. Please call your vet before you cholorform any dog that you care about.

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), November 25, 1999.

Can't give any advice on chloroform, but perhaps a dose of phenobarbitol would calm them down enough to remove the quills. Then maybe applying a topical anaesthetic to the quill site would make them manageable. Our vets have been pretty helpful in telling us how to take care of such things ourselves. (No porkies around here, tho.)

good luck

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), November 25, 1999.


Okay, following is a cruel animal story, but I take refuge in my self absorbed youth (I'm better now) :)

In my early teens, we lived on a creek and were visited by ducks, lots of ducks. My friend and I would soak bread in Vodka and feed it to the ducks.

They'd stumble around, fall over and sleep on their sides. We'd laugh.

Booze soaked bread would probably do the trick with your dogs. I'd suspect that if you figured it out on a weight basis, it'd be safe, cheap, dosable (is that a word?) and finally reproducable the next time.

Good luck, maybe my "youthful animal abuse" can do you some good.

Happy Thanksgiving.

-- Randers (coyotecanyon@hotmail.com), November 25, 1999.


Your vet can give you sedatives if you explain the situation. I had a large dog (185#) that was hyper about going to the vet and she gave me ACE (a sedative). You may have to experiment with the dosage to see what works. It's worth a try!

-- Big D (ddac@yahoo.com), November 25, 1999.

My dogs belong to vet-smart, so get free visits. The vets there are very good about training me to do any preventative stuff I can. I recommend you "bite the bullet" and take your dogs to the vet, and ask the vet to train and supply you to address this recurring problem. I can't believe you wanna risk the health and safety of your animals because you haven't bothered to address this with your vet already. I truly am disgusted! And to boot, it is your fault these animals are suffering with such injuries, because you failed them in your responsibility to confine them to a safe area! Argh!!!

-- Aghast With (your@criminal.behavior), November 26, 1999.


There is a good thread on this in the archives...

-- Checkarchives (forhelp@withquills.com), November 26, 1999.

Aghast -- Calm down just a bit. Ignorance about "chloroform" is not a crime, that's why Sheila asked the question before doing anything. And if you live on a farm as we do, with working dogs, they will get into trouble from time to time -- part of the price they pay for leading an idyllic and useful life.

Like doctors, vets vary. Some won't lift a finger until you write a check. Others are delighted to see pet owners become more involved in care. The suggestion to enlist the vet for the knowledge needed is certainly an excellent one to try.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), November 26, 1999.


Gosh, Aghast, I'm sorry I disgust you!!! Wow! I don't think I've ever "disgusted" anyone before.......

Perhaps I can redeem myself in your eyes by telling you that:

1. These dogs are both RESCUED dogs, well loved and cared for. 2. Our vet (the only one in our small area) has not been helpful in giving us "do-it-yourself" information. 3. Our "confined area" is a 150 acre farm which the dogs LOVE. Personally, I think "confining" a large dog is a form of cruelty..... 4. The world is not a "HAZARD FREE ZONE" .... quills happen! 5. Y2K could make it impossible to get to a vet should the need arise, and I want to be certain I've prepared well enough that my dogs would not needlessly suffer. Guess I just don't understand "responsibility".....

-- Sheila (sross@bconnex.net), November 26, 1999.


Aghast,

Too much turky?

Geez, you came on pretty strong considering you knew nothing of the situation.

We have a couple of hundred acres in eastern Washington and raise milk goats. In addition, we have a couple of Anatolian guard dogs (150 pounds). They live and travel with the goats. They have one and only one job, to protect the goats from coyotes, bear and puma at ANY cost.

They're sweet dogs, strong and quite expensive, however they ARE expendable. They are the soldiers on the front line, the grunts, the cannon fodder. That's their job.

Obviously we cannot protect these dogs, nor confine them.

It's just possible that Sheila's dogs are working dogs as well. Perhaps she's dirt poor, perhaps (like us) she lives in a remote location without a nearby vet. The point is, you don't know.

Maybe if you can't assist with an answer, you should keep your preaching to yourself. You added nothing to this thread.

-- Randers (coyotecanyon@hotmail.com), November 26, 1999.


The ACE that Big D mentioned sounds like acepromazine. My vet prescribed it as a tranquilizer for my cat, before a car trip. Unfortunately, instead a calming effect, the pill made the cat disoriented and panicky, and he lost control of his bladder. It was an interesting trip, to say the least! The vet said it can have that effect on some animals. If you're going to try it, be prepared to deal with an animal that might need constant supervision and a safe place to be where he cannot hurt himself, until the medicine wears off. Also, I believe there is a danger using it on the Boxer breed of dogs.

-- Good luck-- (---@---.---), November 26, 1999.


Hi Randers! What kind of goats? We live in northern Idaho. I plan to get a few goats in the next few weeks, hopefully Nubian and a Toggenburg. Also, one of our dogs disappeared last weekend. I've cried myself to sleep every night. He was a large black Bouvier cross. I'm not sure if it was a cougar or some moronic hunter who was drinking and had buck fever. We still can find no trace of him. I have been reading about Anatolians for about a year, and would be interested to be able to talk more about them with you. My email is real if you would consider writing. Thanks!

-- Mumsie (shezdremn@aol.com), November 26, 1999.

Dear Aghast, You are RIGHT . We should all be chained to a post so we cannot get in trouble. This business of LIBERTY is a new idea that cannot possibly fly. Much better to live in Stalag 2000 ......ask permission to break wind...... than to be free, armed, responsible for your own actions. Phoooooey. or Pfui..or whatever...... Please re-think your position on liberty vs danger ...... I would rather be a dead warrior than a living slave..

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), November 26, 1999.

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