Jump to content

Collapsed cocker


delburt0
 Share

Recommended Posts

Long story short was on a shoot yesterday with my 3 yr old cocker after several drives nothing too hard even though it was not stopping to rain and freezing In not so sunny Lancashire my dog took a turn for the worst,

Started with him just laying down and not wanting to move, staring vacantly through me and uncontrollable shaking and twitching of the body and head,

Not responsive to his name or any noise his body had just shut down,

He had a energy bar and I carried him in my coat half way back to the car when I stopped for a rest he seemed to perk up so I walked him back to the farm on the lead.

I dried him back at the farm put his coat on and gave him my dinner which he wolfed down watered him then put him under the heater in the footwell,

I am confident he had just run out of steam as even though I rested him for the rest of the day I would have been confident he was fit for the 2 drives after dinner I think his sugar levels went down to nil.

Any similar experiences would be appreciated to hear he is back to 100% but was quite worrying.

On the downside a beater took my gun and shot more than me.....

Edited by delburt0
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 86
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Article about this in last month's sporting gun, as you say one of the common reasons was sugar levels dropping off causing a collapse. Could also cause fits apparently. Sounds like you done the right thing, hope he's okay next time out

He his fine now just thought I would post this to make other shooters aware about carrying energy bars lucozade Mars bars etc for your dogs because to be honest in 30 years of shooting I was unaware and never seen this before, and I feel ashamed and ignorant in not Knowing this, at the end of the day the dogs welfare comes 1st before pulling the trigger.

Edited by delburt0
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gosh I bet that was awful for you both - I know nothing whatsoever about this, glad he's ok!

he his 100% but I just thought I would post this to make others aware that had not heard or come across this my friend who is a gun dog breeder had told be to give him half a tin of tomatoes a day to reduce acid there's lots of old wife's tales coming In but the more information on this is not enough.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Cocker had this issue a number of years ago before we had her so the previous owner stopped working her completely.

 

I have read up on the subject and most would recommend glucose powder you can add to the water or rub in the mouth too, obviously chocolate bars etc may not be the best for the dog, however i would use what ever i had to hand if she had any other fits / collapses.

 

Some people just forget they are not machines though!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything with sugar in it will be fine. Little pots of Golden Syrup you get in hotels are handy. The most important thing is following up with carbohydrate - ie slow release energy. Feed the dog.

 

I wouldn't be worried about a chocolate bar or anything from your lunch box.

 

It amazes me how many people will take a dog out to work hard with no breakfast.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lack on sugar mate in working dogs.

 

My youngest spaniel started rear-end wobble while on early partridges this season. Got some glucose drink (made with powder) into her, fine within the hour.

 

I have seen many dogs suffer from this if worked hard when not used to it & its VERY distressing for the owner but don't panic get some choc-wafer bar or sweet drink into them. I always have glucoses drink in the motor for just for this emergency.

 

You will be suprised how quick they come round.

 

The best thing is get some sweet food/drink into them BEFORE they start working & sugar collapse will not happen.

 

fenman99

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will get many remedies on hand but I've just got a few bars of honey and cherry flapjack from my local shop says 500 cal per bar and loaded with sugar, I will look into animal supplements but this should be fine in the meantime.

Just never had this before even though he had his breakfast as normal before he started I think he just did that bit too much before dinner energy bars packed in car already aswell as 2 in the cart bag for regular feeding intervals.

Edited by delburt0
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything with sugar in it will be fine. Little pots of Golden Syrup you get in hotels are handy. The most important thing is following up with carbohydrate - ie slow release energy. Feed the dog.

 

I wouldn't be worried about a chocolate bar or anything from your lunch box.

 

It amazes me how many people will take a dog out to work hard with no breakfast.

Dogs do not need carbs in there diet at all and can be harmful if given a lot the most important thing to give a dog after it's sugar fix would be protein and fat, giving the dog any high protein food would be fine.

Eggs meat fish etc scotch eggs would be ideal for the dog

Edited by delburt0
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to hear about your spaniel .

 

I used to cook and cut up venison liver into cubes and give my lab these as treats throughout the day.

 

Kronch Pemikan does work but be carefull it is rocket full for huskies so use sparingly. My wife took my lab hill walking and gave her a few squares and she did 7 Munros in one day and even on the last top the dog was still flushing ptarmigan out the scree !!

 

When I am beating I half the squares and give her half square late morning and a half square mid afternoon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...