Fleas

I am sure we spend about 50% of our time on a daily basis talking about fleas.  Heck, they are everywhere!

Here are some high-points:

• Fleas don't jump off one dog and onto another.  They stay on a dog until the are full of blood, jump off to lay eggs. So, your dog doesn't get fleas from those pesky neighbor dogs. 
• The most common vector for fleas is the opossum.  He comes through your yard at 3 AM shaking off fleas and flea eggs which infest your yard.
• The flea life cycle is about 8 weeks. So, if you can treat your dog(s) for 8-10 weeks and they don't get out in the yard for re-infestation, you can eradicate them in your home using the dog as bait.
• Flea control comes down to two options:  a topical product or an oral pill (Comfortis).
• We like and use both approaches. Comfortis is very popular.  As to topicals, there are so many out there nowadays, it is confusing, even for the veterinarian.  I like Vectra and that is what I use on my own dogs.  Generally speaking, for small dogs Comfortis is the choice.  For large breeds, Vectra is the way to go.  FYI, Comfortis doesn't get ticks while Vectra does.
• Other steps like vacuuming and discarding the full bag outside; professional exterminators, etc. are also tools to use.  In my experience, it is nearly impossible to eradicate fleas from your yard or under your house because of continual re-infestation by small mammals, e.g. the opossum.
• According to researchers at universities,  all the topicals work about the same. The key is continual application for at least 8 weeks. To buy one ampule at a time is normally counter-productive.

Tapeworms

Tapeworm infection is one of the most common situations veterinarians diagnose on a daily basis. Typically, the owner reports seeing "worms" in their dog's stool.  It is unusual to find evidence of tapeworms on the typical microscopic examination done in veterinary clinic laboratories.

The immature tapeworm (called a "proglottid") looks kinda like a piece of rice in the stool or even crawling around the dog's rear end.  A dog can get a tapeworm from eating a rodent or rabbit but, in my experience, that is quite rare. 99% of the tapeworm infections we see are the result of fleas.  Yes, the flea is the vector for the common canine tapeworm.  Essentially, the dog bites at a flea, swallows it, and a tapeworm hatches out inside the dog.

So, the first step around treating for tapeworms is to beef up flea control. Flea control is a whole 'nuther topic which I will post on at a later time.

If your dog is diagnosed with tapeworms, there is a special drug that treats them. The common dewormers sold over the counter, normally, won't touch them.  The drug is available in an injection (my preferred method) and a tablet.

While the appearance of tapeworms in a dog's stool is repulsive, I am not aware of any research that documents that the parasite actually hurts the dog.  On the other hand, who wants a hard-hunting dog to have tapeworms?

Ear Infections

For all practical purposes, ear infections fall into four categories:  yeast infection, bacterial infection, allergies or a combination of the three.

Optimally, the veterinarian will culture the discharge in the ear or at least do a swab of the ear and examine that swab under the microscope to determine the exact cause.  However, there are times when this isn't possible due to financial restraints or other issues.

So, we often use a "shotgun" approach....a medication that will treat both yeast and bacteria along with a corticosteroid to decrease the inflammation in the ear secondary to allergies.  In addition, if the doctor determines that allergies are the underlying cause, injections or oral meds may be used to treat that problem.

Ear infections should not be ignored nor should they be treated with over the counter stuff either.  This can make things much more complicated and expensive once the dog gets to professional help.  Chronic ear infections can cause loss of hearing, disfigurement, and expensive surgery if ignored.

There are a myriad of combination products available for ear infections in dogs and your veterinarian will know the ones that work best in your area.

So, if you see head-shaking, a foul-odor from your dog's ears, or a serious discharge, a visit to the vet is in order.

Large Kennels

Many of my clients own a large number of dogs.  One kennel has 60 bird dogs!

Their needs, from a veterinary standpoint, are much different than the client who owns one or two dogs.

So, I provide them with a Large Kennel Program.  For $100, they get a week by week schedule around steps to take to prevent diseases in their kennel.

I even provide them with sources of medication that will save them money  (they don't have to buy these drugs from me).

If you have interest in such a program, let me know and I will detail one specifically designed for your kennel situation.

More on Dog Food

A question about dog food is probably the most common query I get at hunt tests or even in the clinic.  Everyone wants a magic bullet food that will give their dog unlimited stamina.  Let's see what's best.

First, we need to assume the dog is actually healthy.  This means well conditioned, "in shape", and not suffering from any illness.  Importantly, they need to be parasite free.  This translates to either regular deworming (on a monthly basis via a broad-spectrum heartworm pill) OR checking the stool at the vet's office at least twice annually; certainly 8 weeks before hunting season.

Now, on the food:  Here's the simple formula:  chicken as the protein source in the 28-30% range, a fat-level, as fed (i.e. what the bag says on the label) of 20%, and from a reputable manufacturer.  On this chicken business, the term Chicken By Product Meal sound horrible but, actually, it can be an excellent protein source.  If it is refined and used by, again, a well-known company, I don't have a problem with CBPM.  The fat source can come from a variety of animal fats, even lard. But, most fats are high in Omega-6 fatty acids which, while not toxic, are not as good as Omega-3's which are primarily found in fish oil or flax seed oil.

As far as carbs, there's no real minimum requirement for carbs in a dog's diet.  They can live without any carbs.  But, if you try to feed a product with low carbs, the manufacturer has to use some very expensive ingredients.  So, to keep costs within reason, carbs (grains) are normally in dog food.  While any of them can be used, for all practical purposes, rice is the best one.

So, we find a food that has chicken (or CBPM) as the protein source,  a fat level of 20%, ideally with a lot of fish oil, and rice as the carb source.  There you go.

Blood Tracking Dogs

Almost weekly, I get a call from a hunter wanting to buy a puppy for blood tracking wounded game.  Of course, most of them are interested in a Drahthaar but there are other breeds, e.g. Dachshunds (Tekels) that are good choices too.

Training a dog for blood tracking is actually kinda easy.  Early in life...say 16 weeks of age....you begin with food tracks. I like Vienna sausage bits.  I just put a few pieces out in a line with the juice from the can sprinkled between the tidbits.  Normally, I start with fairly short tracks...50 feet or so.

Then, gradually, over a period of weeks, the tracks get longer and longer with fewer and fewer actual meat pieces on it.  Eventually, I switch to other scent sources.  Buttermilk is a good one.  There is no reason to introduce real blood at this point.  You are just trying to get the puppy to learn the command "Track It" and to put it's nose down when they here those words.

Simple foot tracks where the puppy merely tracks you are nice too.  You just walk through an area of long grass, woodlands, etc. and scuff your feet in each track. Eventually, you introduce turns, gradual at first but over a month or so, you make a "box" with three 90 degree turns and the track ends up in the same area (but  
several yards away) from the start. Once a puppy completes a true box track, you are making real progress.

I always have a nice treat at the end of each track. The Germans recommend training on a empty stomach where the puppy is quite hungry but that has not been important in my experience.  The treats at the end are anything from a hamburger to a full can of Vienna's. (Be sure and pick up the empty can when you leave!)

When switching to true blood, any type will do from hog blood, cattle blood, or even real deer blood.  Getting and keeping blood is an art form.  I like to bottle it in pint bottles, freeze it and have several in inventory for training. Some people strain it but I am too lazy for that so I just freeze it as whole blood.

At first, you can use a lot of blood but over time, you want to get more and more skimpy with it.  Wounded game often drop scant blood and if it is spraying everywhere, well, you can find the game without a dog. So, the dog must learn to track flecks of blood.  Believe me, they can do it.

Eventually, you need to put the blood out and wait at least two hours and five is better for the tracking exercise. I use colored clothes pins to mark where I laid the track.  You must know where the track is yourself if you are gonna train the dog correctly!

Over a period of weeks, you use less and less blood and the tracks get longer and longer, again, finally ending with a "box" layout that makes the dog track regardless of the wind direction.

Normally, I track wounded game "on lead" but if the briers and swamps are bad, I may turn the dog loose and keep up the best I can.  This means a special lead and collar designed for blood tracking which are available from various vendors online.

While blood tracking is fun it can be a hassle when someone calls you at 9 PM to help with a lost deer after several hunters have walked all over the track since dark.  Also, the dog is a blood tracker.  No blood=no track.

Nosler Ballistic Tips

I have been round and round about bullet choice.  And, as a result, have used just about all the well-known bullets out there.

Nosler Ballistic Tips have been one of my better choices, at least on Alabama whitetails.  But, they do have some idiosyncrasies.  Here's some info that I have learned myself and from reading and talking to others.

Ballistic Tip Overview:

Ballistic Tips (BT's) were designed by John Nosler for violent expansion / explosion and medium penetration on light-skinned animals like deer. For most calibers shooting fragile BT's, you're better off using heavier projectiles with larger Sectional Density's (SD's) than you would normally use for a regularly constructed soft point bullet.

Why?

1. Heavy for caliber bullets are better in a BT because they tone down the violent expansion a bit and still have enough weight leftover for a extra penetration or a complete pass-through. Lighter BT bullets often fail to penetrate to the other side of the animal.

2. The shock-value with the heavier BT will still be more than lighter standard soft point bullets like 150-gr. and you get more downrange energy on target with the 180-gr. (fragile) load.

3. Short range shots also suit the heavier 180-gr. round with a higher SD versus lighter weight BT'd bullets with less mass that might blowup too quickly.

4. Raking quartering-away shots obviously benefit from a heavier bullet for adequate penetration.

5. A larger BT'd bullet is also more forgiving if you shoot accidently into the shoulder.
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* Nosler says that beginning with the 30 caliber 180-gr. Ballistic Tips (and larger), the jacket's profile is changed or upgraded to a much stronger contour similar to the AccuBond (shown below). The lead core is also hardened over the 165-gr. and below bullets in smaller calibers - to include the 150-gr. you're considering.



Lighter weight bullets like 165-gr. 30 caliber and lower (shown below) do not have the thicker contour which starts in the middle of the shell and goes down to the base.



In summary, one might infer that the 180-gr. Ballistic Tip is simply a non-bonded version of the AccuBond and, in fact, over the past two years, I have gone almost totally to Accubonds because I can use 140 gr bullets in my .280AI whereas I might go heavier with BT's.



In Summary:

* Soft point bullets generally perform better on deer in lighter to mid-weight sizes, but BT's do not!
* For best performance, Nosler recommends heavy for caliber BT's.
* Reported problems of a BT blowing up too quickly are generally associated with too light of a bullet.
* Remember, remember.... Ballistic Tipped rounds are the exception to the rule!