Ever have to carry your dog off a trail?

[butcherboy]

I carried my last black lab into the Vet when I had to put him to sleep. He had hip displacement so bad that he developed a huge cyst/ulcer there and it burst causing the whole hip to erode away. He already had a bad spinal injury when he jumped off an embankment chasing a stupid feral cat. I almost had to put him down then because his whole back half was numb like he was paralyzed. After a week he came out of that one but he always swung his back leg around in order to walk. Never hunted with him again after that one. He was 3 yrs old when that happened and he lived as my best buddy for another 6 years. He was a hell of a water dog. Best one I ever had for the 3 years I got to hunt with him.

 

[grossklw]

Once, but luckily not far. My golden is in pretty pristine shape, 65 pounds of muscle and we run 30 miles a week pretty much year-round other than upland season. Last season he came up lame and I thought for sure he tore his ACL and we were a couple hundred yards from the truck. Got home and he still refused to put weight on his back leg although he still wanted to hunt. I threw him over my shoulder for the 300 yard walk back to the truck. I'm a PT so I have a good understanding of human anatomy, did the human version of an ACL test on him and it sure felt like it was there to me but I'm not a vet so off I went.

Brought him to the vet the next day, I get the dreaded call at work, "Can Lambeau be a little dramatic sometimes?" Turns out he's just a baby, was running on it perfectly fine by the next weekend and it was time to kill more pheasants.

Another random story on dogs- he refused to eat for 3 days and our vet was convinced he had a foreign body that needed removal, was puking or dry heaving non-stop. Brought him to an emergency room vet, ultrasound negative and a quick injection for his upset belly and 1600 dollars later he was a new man again for simple gastritis. The things they put us through. Now anytime he seems to be getting upset I switch him to elk/venison/rice for a few days and it seems to clear it up.

 

[7mm-08]

Yes, on a typical "death march" chuckar excursion. My friend had an older wirehair and the temperature was in the 50's. This was the hardest charging and best chuckar dog I've ever had the pleasure of watching hunt wild birds. It was a mistake to try and cover that kind of ground with him and we switched off carrying him three miles in rough terrain. Guarantee that was harder on him than us. And, it REALLY sucked.

 

[manitou1]

Once, but luckily not far. My golden is in pretty pristine shape, 65 pounds of muscle and we run 30 miles a week pretty much year-round other than upland season. Last season he came up lame and I thought for sure he tore his ACL and we were a couple hundred yards from the truck. Got home and he still refused to put weight on his back leg although he still wanted to hunt. I threw him over my shoulder for the 300 yard walk back to the truck. I'm a PT so I have a good understanding of human anatomy, did the human version of an ACL test on him and it sure felt like it was there to me but I'm not a vet so off I went.

Brought him to the vet the next day, I get the dreaded call at work, "Can Lambeau be a little dramatic sometimes?" Turns out he's just a baby, was running on it perfectly fine by the next weekend and it was time to kill more pheasants.

Another random story on dogs- he refused to eat for 3 days and our vet was convinced he had a foreign body that needed removal, was puking or dry heaving non-stop. Brought him to an emergency room vet, ultrasound negative and a quick injection for his upset belly and 1600 dollars later he was a new man again for simple gastritis. The things they put us through. Now anytime he seems to be getting upset I switch him to elk/venison/rice for a few days and it seems to clear it up.

Yeah, but they would do it for us if they could.
Gotta love the little goofballs.

 

[RSather528]

If we didn’t have little dog booties we would have had to carry our dog out. All four paws and pads were gone from the trail. Even though they don’t like wearing them, it seems to help. We were 13 miles into the Beartooth’s, we have not been back since.

 

[andrewstclair]

they make tactical harnesses for dogs I've seen military use them, handles and D-rings on em you can clip on a strap if something happens and wear them like a duffel. 95 pounds isn't easy but you gotta do what you gotta do. also the handles on the back and the strap let you lift the dog and take part of their weight while you walk and they do what they can

 

[DisplacedHusky]

Couple things I learned running hog dogs in Texas for 15 years.

After a dog heat strokes they will heat stroke the next time easier for some reason.

if a dog is stroking, water to drink is good. Water to lay in is better, water to lay in and a liter of lactated ringers sub q will save them. I always carried a liter of LR in my cut pack with an iv setup. Just put the needle sub q and squeeze until a ball forms then move the needle to another location until the liter is used. It will rehydrate them faster then drinking.

https://www.chewy.com/icu-medical-lactated-ringers/dp/173586?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=13246986426&utm_content=126424332367&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwk8e1BhALEiwAc8MHiD4vRbp4P7teWuxoyfCsfAeV2jxdZ5P9fXBf4OC7gE_ePhqiC8iPfRoCKp8QAvD_BwE

This is exactly right.

The IV bag is the right idea. We had a dog die of kidney failure and we put a few hundred CCs into the back of her neck/back every day. It’s a pretty easy task.

I know some police dog handlers that will preload their shepherds and mals with 500 CC of lactated ringers before a long manhunt in hot weather.

 

[DisplacedHusky]

I carry one of these on longer adventures with my lab. It is MUCH easier to carry him in this than any other method.

The Airlift - K9 Rescue Sling

The Airlift is a lightweight, packable harness to safely carry your dog if they become injured or sick while you're hiking, snowshoeing or skiing. With the Airlift tucked in your hiking backpack, you'll always be prepared for an emergency situation. The Fido Pro Airlift emergency dog harness...

fidoprotection.com

 

[COJoe]

I carry one of these on longer adventures with my lab. It is MUCH easier to carry him in this than any other method.

I like that idea because if I had put my lab in my load shelf of my pack, it may have been too narrow and put too much pressure on her stomach or something.

 

[4rcgoat]

I like that idea because if I had put my lab in my load shelf of my pack, it may have been too narrow and put too much pressure on her stomach or something.

I think i may be picking one up myself,sure would hate to know about this when I need it and don't have it.

 

[DisplacedHusky]

I think i may be picking one up myself,sure would hate to know about this when I need it and don't have it.

I’ve only put my lab in it when he’s healthy but he just relaxes in the harness. It’s nice that you can adjust the height of where your dog rides on your back.

 

[flyboy214]

Yep, I had a dog get bitten by a rattle snake and had to run her 50 lbs back to the car in my arms. She survived thankfully. The snake did not...

 

[sololearn9]

Used to take them along. It gives me confidence .

 

[Ridgerunner1]

Yes I/we have carried many hounds out of the mtns, if they can walk we will make them otherwise it makes for a long day.

 

[Beendare]

I had to carry my 100-pound catch dog out one night. He dislocated his front wrist. Long night, it was only 2 miles, but it had recently raind, and the ground was soft and muddy. I also lost a dog one night. I carried her out of the canyon. The hike sucked but losing a good dog was worse.

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I’ve carried a couple hog dogs out. One was Tass my pit cross 55#- best sidekick ever. Had to wrap her in a wet tee shirt, her intestines were hanging out from an 8” gash. I made a vest for her after that.

Another buddies dog was cut so bad he was going to put her down, I told him I would take her. It almost ended up costing me my vet as I have never seen him so mad, he said he didn’t want to see any more of my dogs cut that bad. 25 suture packs in that dog at appx 20 per pack….and Tiny was only 36#.

I told the vet the story, “It was either I take her or my buddy puts her out of her misery right there in the woods” . He said, Ok bring her back anytime. We ended up retiring her, sweetheart dog around people and kids…but had the heart of a Cane Corso.

 

[Hoghead]

I started running a vest on all my catch dogs 20 years ago. The only problem is that the heat sucks for the dogs, but it's saved vet bills.

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[ScreamingPotato]

Interesting thread, I like that Airlift sling it actually could be valuable in the right situation. I had a Lab long ago her hips quit after a long hard duck hunt. While walking out I heard a whimper behind me and she was just done, hips didn't move anymore they looked like they were locked. I left my gun and decoys there and carried her close to a mile to the truck and came back for the stuff. It wasn't easy but I was young and able to do it without setting her down at all but a sling would have been nice.

 

[Deerhntr]

I was walking my 60 lb siberian husky on a mountain trail and notice she was walking funny. She was lifting her paws up high in the air, like if walking on a hot ground. I stopped and noticed that she had SandyBurs on her paws (grassy weeds with prickly burs). After plucking about 6 of them on each paw, i carried her about 500 feet to a concrete side walk.

 

[slvrslngr]

Had to carry my first pudelpointer about a mile after she tangled with a porcupine. She refused to walk, face was full of quills, including a few completely buried in the muscle of her front leg. Carrying her wasn’t bad except I also had to carry my lump of a shotgun since it didn’t have a sling. My shotties all have slings now!