Oh no! Lassie saw a scary animal and played with it. Now your dog has these strange-looking quills impaled on its face, its legs, and also on its body! What creature could have done such terrible thing, and why would it hurt your poor dog?
Well the most possible creature that might have hurt your dog is called a porcupine. Porcupine has over 30,000 very sharp quills that when in contact, these quills get loose and impale the victim. Porcupines do not attack though since they are very shy and timid and they only have these quills for self-defense. So the possible reason on how your dog got those battle scars is either it tried to play with the porcupine, or it attempted to attack the porcupine.
Once you see your dog suffering from the quills it’s best if you take immediate action and make sure you get this guide that will help you remove those quills without making your pet dog suffer too much:
- The most important reason why you shouldn’t just take off the quills from your dog is because those quills have very sharp barbs at the end. If pulled incorrectly these barbs will just get in deeper to your pet, making it suffer more.
- You pet is in pain, so your pet is more likely to bite whoever gets near it. Since your pet suffers a lot from the quills, it might attack whoever touches it. So make sure you muzzle your pet to prevent it from biting due to fear.
- Do you have plain white vinegar? Good. Start pouring the vinegar on the areas where your dog got struck Putting vinegar on it will help loosen up the quill and it will be also easier for you to remove the quills off your suffering pet.
- Shorten the quills, use scissors. Once you have your scissors ready then start snipping through the quills and make it shorter. Snipping the quills will make you move more comfortably. This will also avoid you getting struck by the quill as well.
- Remove the quills using either pliers or anything that could hold the quill firmly. Using pliers, you will be able to get a good grip on the quill and remove it from the dog. It’s better if you clamp it closest to your dog’s skin to avoid breaking the quill – making it impossible to remove.
- Check for quills at the hidden areas. There might still be quills hidden inside its mouth, ears and underneath its body. So make sure you have every single part of its body checked before you get it cleaned.
- Clean your pet’s wounds. Use an anti-bacterial soap to avoid your dog from having infections. Then get it dried up. You could also put some ointment for it relieves pain. Dogs lick their wounds so make sure that the ointment that you apply is approved by your local vet.
Always be reminded that removing the quills is a hard task. If you do it the wrong way you could make your dog suffer more. If you think that you are not capable enough of doing it because you are afraid of hurting your dog, then it is best to rush your dog to your nearest veterinarian to have it checked and cured.