From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: porcupine
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 17:04:26 -0400
Message-ID: <l7f8a2donlkqpjslg6kn6npmt93tt27nbn@4ax.com>

On 29 Jun 2006 04:55:30 -0700, "lwhaley" <lwhaley@paulbunyan.net>
wrote:

>My dogs treed a porcupine this morning on our morning walk pretty close
>to the house.  My usual policy with critters has been to blast them
>(skunks, racoons).  This morn i was in a peaceful mood and just
>couldn't do it.  I got an up close look at what seems to be a young one
>clinging to a lower limb.  I'm guessing that there has been a litter
>nearby this year.   I know that they can cause problems with my dogs.
>So far we have only had a few easily removed quills.  If my dogs get
>into one of these peaceful creatures how much trouble can it cause?  Is
>it a good justification for shooting them?
>Lawrence

Wow, your question really drew out the fruitcakes!  There are some
really pathetic personalities out there and the net seems to
concentrate them.

An adult porcupine can royally screw up a dog's day!  The quills have
barb-like scales that keep them from just slipping back out of the
wound.  Here is a photo:

http://www.mos.org/sln/sem/quill.html

They stay in place until removed or the wound festers enough to slough
them off.  The infection can kill the dog.  Here are some photos of
quills and dogs:

http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/pq.html

If a quill hits an eye, the eye is toast.  Since the usual encounter
involves the porcupine swatting the dog with his tail as the dog is
trying to bite it, such hits are likely.

Whether to shoot the 'pine or not is your decision.  My decision would
depend on whether the dog could be trained and/or controlled.  My
mom's Welch Corgie demonstrates that some dogs are simply too stupid
to train.  (He defeated 4 trainers before she gave up.)

If you can't train the dog or don't want to go to the effort, shooting
is certainly an option and is a positive solution to the problem.  The
salt lick idea someone else posted would probably work, as 'pines are
second only to skunks in their love of salt.  Trapping the animal and
hauling him to a distant spot might also be viable.

My normal solution to pest animals is to shoot them but the 'pine is
such an interesting animal that I might try to control my dog or
baiting or trapping the animal away before resorting to that.
Ultimately, though, my pets come first.

John