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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
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| 08/31/2010 9:26 AM |
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I entered Haiko and Bregon in NAVHDA UT at the Hudson Valley chapter. I have heaps of bragging to do about this chapter and the fine judging team.
They saved Bregon's life and helped Haiko stop bleeding.The day in itself was a near disaster.
The first catagory for UT dogs was field. About half way into it Haiko punctured his front paw in several areas - must have been the brushhogging.The amout of bleeding was massive. The judges were incredible with the handling and advice and they didn't mind the getting covered in blood. Haiko had to be pulled from the test.
When it was Bregon's turn he overheated and displayed signs of heat stroke - panting uncontrollable,long tongue, throwing himself down several times,vocalizing,back legs cramping,staggering,eyes not focused. I was about to have a breakdown - if not for my husband Andrew, who is there for each catagory, taking control I would have been unfocused and a mental wreck. Bregon recovered and finished the test. He didn't prize.
The members of the Hudson Valley chapter went above and beyond what I expected. The president drove her car on the field twice to get my dogs quickly and safely to better care. They were prepared and knowledgable and I owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
How could I possibly tell my kids mommy entered Bregon in a test and he died? The dogs rely on us to know what's best - and a test is NOT important at all to risk one of their lives.
Bregon will not run in temps above 78.
Francine
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
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| 08/31/2010 11:05 AM |
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| I am so glad they are both ok. Puts things in perspective real fast. What a wonderful club. You know I have found that the members of the hunt clubs I belong to are all pretty awesome folks. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
   
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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zodiakgsps
NW PA
MH
Posts:1059
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| 08/31/2010 12:30 PM |
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Wow, what a day, glad both are OK now!!!! Sorry to hear you didn't prize, but very glad to hear your furkids are going to be OK!!
Many years ago, I almost lost my Mac dog at a FT. He was a juvenile then -not broke. He was on point at the crest of a hill, pretty far from me, his bracemate took the bird out & both chased. It was an 80 degree day, he had been down 20 minutes already, so was panting, while looking up chasing the bird, he hit a fence. It cut the artery under his tongue, he was blowing blood, BIG time. Judges started hollering for me to get him, I had no idea what happened, they saw it, I didn't.
We caught him (he still wanted to run!!) and carried him off the field, my ex was literally soaked with blood & he was a big man. Had NO idea how to stop it, severe bleeding in a hot dogs mouth, UGH!! Put him in a horse trough to cool when a truck pulled up & said get in the back NOW, so I did. He took me to a nearby vet - by now, Mac was going down, passing out. Got me to vet (BF got instructuions to get there & came shorlty after), Mac was given fluids & blood. He is sitting by me now, but we were close to losing him that day, VERY close.
To this day, I have no idea who gave me a ride there which saved Macs life......yes, there are some really good people out there!!! |
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
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| 08/31/2010 12:56 PM |
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It can be scary. The temps at running time where into the 90s, full sun.
Haiko and the other UT dog were hot and had to be stopped several times in the field but Bregon being black didn't handle the heat at all.
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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zodiakgsps
NW PA
MH
Posts:1059
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| 08/31/2010 1:12 PM |
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| And heat stroke can set in quickly! Good thing you caught it early. |
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TessaGA
Georgia
MH
Posts:2387
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| 09/01/2010 11:31 AM |
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Wow, not exactly the test report I would have loved to hear, but I am glad you have your two dogs safe and sound! Like you, I would have had a meltdown. It's a tough situation to encounter any day, add to it testing conditions and the mix of emotions that comes with it, and the fact that you had TWO incidents. That is some insane case of bad luck - and good luck.
I am always one that holds back on hotter days even when everyone else is going out to train. I have called of several events this summer, a few training meets and dock diving events, not only because of the temps during the event but also calculating in the fact that I have no a/c in the car and an hour drive in traffic and Georgia heat can be deadly in itself, even with the windows down. I know that some think I am overly cautious but boy would I hate to lose my dog to heatstroke - it's my/our responsibility to make sure this doesn't happen as it is in most cases preventable. I would beat myself up over it for the rest of my life.
I have seen Tessa near heatstroke once - someone said she's just panting - I knew it was not her normal panting, she was about done - and I pulled her.
Francine: It may be full but our chapter has a UT in December. Re-enter and come on down! |
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To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
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| 09/01/2010 12:17 PM |
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Heat and dogs is a very difficult thing. I deal with it in TX pretty much year round. We actually only schedule our HT and FT in Fall, Winter and Early Spring because of the issues with heat. Even then we have some days where temps are in the 90s. I actually do conditioning with my dogs both for the cold extremes and the heat extremes letting them spend quite a bit of time outside and only bringing them in during the hottest part of the day. When we run in a HT, even when temps are cold to us humans, we wet the dogs down good just before they hit the course. Additionally, we have water in big barrels all over the course. The dogs learn really quickly where those barrels are and mine will actually stop and climb into a barrel and lay there to cool off. We (judges, marshals and handlers) all watch the dogs very closely and do no hesitate to pull dogs off a course or just plan make them take a break and cool down. So far, I have been fortunate as none of my dogs has been hit with a heat problem, but it can happen and when it does it can be so quick.
Again, I am very happy that Haiko and Bregon are ok and thankful that there were some good folks to help at the test. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
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| 09/01/2010 1:17 PM |
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I am still going thru the guilty stages of all this.
He was foaming at the mouth, had stopped to eat grass, was staying very close and stopped moving.
I should have stopped it then but then he started to search again and he looked hot but in good condition.
This is a picture of him holding while I search and shake for the bird,right before this next picture where I was getting him into shade
Getting him into shade
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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TessaGA
Georgia
MH
Posts:2387
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| 09/01/2010 1:52 PM |
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| That's the thing - when they are so into it they just keep on going. How did you proceed from there? How did you cool him down? |
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To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
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| 09/01/2010 3:19 PM |
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We got him to lay down,but acted as tho he wanted to get up but he would then throw himself down - this was alarming to me, then he became vocal - we thought he was cramping - Andrew massaged his hind quarters,I thought he should stand to help facilitate breathing but his rear was as tho it was paralyzed,then we got him up and he was staggering and his eyes were unfocused. The van was there by then,which really only about 10 minutes into this -she had the a/C blasting and when we got back to the tent there was a wet rag to place on him, and there was molassas and I felt the pond water for the temp and it was warm enough to get him in. It was the molassas and the pond that brought him to normal.
From now on we bring molassas with us.
Yes, we must make the decisions,it is easy to be fooled by their drive and desire. He is a dog that wants to please and he wanted to get out there and search. He recieved a 2 in search b/c of the actions he displayed before the end. In my eyes he was showing great drive and desire. A dog on the verge of calapse and still pushes himself to search is a driven dog. But,they had to judge his performance as it was so...
He also recieved a 2 in the duck search, which was fair given the dumb things he was doing but if you take into account what happened a short while earlier... but again, they had to judge what they saw.
All in all, they judged him correctly.
I was told my love for my dogs ruins their performance. Go figure. (it's true)
I would love to get down by you in Dec, not sure if we have the time and could afford it tho. We have a German test at the end of this month and then we spend a lot of time hunting. We need to harvest 3 deer in order to fill our freezer until the next season. It isn't easy to fill 3+ tags in upstate NY.
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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TessaGA
Georgia
MH
Posts:2387
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| 09/01/2010 5:58 PM |
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| Oh gee...what a nightmare! |
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To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]
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tnbndr
New Berlin, Wisconsin
MH
Posts:115
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| 09/02/2010 5:40 AM |
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Glad to hear your dogs are OK. I really think these dogs will kill them selves with their drive and desire.
I just had Zelda exhibit the same symptoms, heavy panting, laying down on retrieve during a training session last week. It was about 90 with high humidity. She is dark brown ticked and cannot handle the heat as well as Meeka who is mostly white. When she retrieved a bird and delivered it to my side but instead of sitting for me to take the bird she plopped to the ground, I called off the session and we got her to shade and water. I think they rely on us to stop them from killing themselves. |
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Dennis |
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Dirtysailor
Western PA
MH
Posts:134
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| 09/02/2010 10:31 AM |
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| I won't run my dogs in any events or train in heat like we have recently had in the NE. Mine are mostly liver and roan. I know the folks down south make this work and animals can become accustomed to it, but I don't hunt there so find no reason to train for such situations. In this heat I use the time for water work and obedience. Good thing both the owner's and event staff knew what to look for and also how to handle it. |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:3130
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| 09/02/2010 9:11 PM |
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| My goodness...so glad your dogs are ok! The heat has been so crazy here and I can only imagine having to do hunt test in it! I guess we live and learn just so glad nothing worst happened... |
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Trey
SW Iowa
MH
Posts:516
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| 09/03/2010 5:41 AM |
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| Glad things ended well and you still have your two boys! When judging in the heat you always have to watch out for the dog, a lot of time handlers are nervous or just don't realize that the dog is in trouble (I train in the heat every day, some people only train in the evenings or weekends when it isn't hot and the dogs can't handle it, and the handler isn't used to the signs). My bracemate at the inviatational (I think 07?) had to be pulled in the field, the judges had warned his owner three or four times that he was in bad shape and he should pull him, they finally had to tell him (dog was on ground with white gums and blue tongue) that he was done and it wasn't his choice anymore. The dog would have got up and gone on, they don't know when to stop. Anyway, glad everyone was on their toes and it ended well, hope Haiko's foot heals in time for the German test, and all goes well there! |
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
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| 09/03/2010 6:10 AM |
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Thanks everyone.
Haiko will not be doing anything that involves running or water for a while yet. The hole in his foot is about 1/2"long and about 1/4" deep. The other gashes are healing well. He's not limping, he's leaving the bandgaes alone and there is no infection. He is on Amoxicilan. It can't be stitched.
I train in the heat but this was a lot of excitement for Bregon. Running birds, wild flushing birds, birds unwilling to stay pinned in the heat and sun,many guns, he was working very hard. Even breathing heavily and solely thru his mouth it didn't affect his nose score(4).
It was an eye opening lesson for me. Just glad it wasn't a fatal lesson.
I have my fingers crossed for the end of this month's temps.
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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TessaGA
Georgia
MH
Posts:2387
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| 09/03/2010 9:04 AM |
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| I think what also compounds the problem is that they seem to stop breathing for a few moments when locking in on a scent. Well, I don't know if they are really holding their breath, but they stop panting. Which is counter-productive on a hot day. |
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To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
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| 09/03/2010 9:23 AM |
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In the picture I posted his mouth is open and he is breathing hard - it was closed until I got there. There is also,if you look good, foam on his bottom lip. He was foaming quite a bit, I asked the judges and they said this is OK. I didn't think so b/c he never did this before, that I saw. He did wait patiently until I produced the bird, but the little quail ran like a mouse and Bregon broke. He didn't go far or hard but I believe that the search - using the nose and brain burns more energy then muscle movement.
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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Almost Heaven GSP
Springfield, WV
MH
Posts:731
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| 09/03/2010 8:16 PM |
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| Dayummmm! Talk about a rough day! Glad the pups are ok and all ended well. There's always the next time and I know you recognize that. |
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Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
Bruce Shaffer
Almost Heaven GSP's
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