lurchers collapsing on the lamp

[Strong Stuff 2,171]

my lurcher bitch as seen on y profile pic sadly died last saturday after a night lamping seen many dogs ran to hard and collaosd bt not died she was fit crnt get my head round it. i hve always worked lurchers and had bull xs nt collaps after 30 odd rabbits or so anyway i had 23 rabbits that wuz between my bitch and my brothers bull x

 

Sorry to hear that mate, I didn't see that she'd died at first.

 

It was for the best to let her go on the night though, I know the other side of the tale and it ended with a maniac dog climbing the walls, escaping all the time because he wasn't getting out to run ......... even though he couldn't run, it didn't stop him thinking he could.

He got out after trying for weeks, and got hit by a car in the road, that didn't kill him but vet said he'd be lucky to survive the night with the internal injuries .......... so off he went.

[Floyd17586 454]

Sory to it lads

[coneycatcher4 20]

seen this happen to 2 dogs and both were bull x both owned by different owners but out of same litter 1 died 1night the other the next

[Guest bezza]

Tomo's question about feeding is relevant. . Rightly or wrongly i've always fed my dogs 3 or 4 hours before a lamping session. I think running a dog on an empty stomach is equivalent to ourselves running on empty.

In my younger days the only time i ran into trouble running or cycling was when I ran out of energy due to poor hydration or lack of calories

.Also I think most dogs benefit from a rest and a drink halfway through a lamping session. A biting sub zero wind can also put a lot of pressure on a dog's body, especially thin coated dogs.

[Tiercel 6,986]

About 25 years ago two mates travelled a 100 odd miles to run a place that was teeming with rabbits and hares. So the story goes they had run quite a few rabbits and hares and had quite a good bag. They were running two dogs, doubled up on the hares and single on the rabbits.

 

They had done a big circle and were in the last field before the car when they slipped both dogs, one a whippet the other Ibezan x whippet on a hare. Apparently the hare led the two dogs a merry dance and was taking them all over the field. I do not know the specifics as I was not there, but the story goes that the hare ran to the top end of the field with both dogs coursing it, and came back with one coursing it and the one that was coursing it dropped dead in front of them.

 

When they went to find the other dog she was lying dead at the top end of the field. That is their version of what happened that night, but for two dog to drop dead on the same hare does seem a little far fetched? But, there again thier story still remains the same to this day.

 

TC

Edited October 16, 2012 by tiercel

[Casso 1,261]

driven dogs like bull crosses and such can push themselves to an extent that their bodies can be playing catch up at times,

 

fatigue usually brings on instinctual behavior that cuts drive off but some mutts have such a high pain threshold damage can be done while the dog may still look keen to us

[MrsChamp606 553]

Sure bird had a problem like this with his bull cross, real beaut of a animal and he was diagnosed with a lack of oxygen to the brain when working hard. I think it was something like that.

[skycat 6,173]

There's a very simple test to make sure that your dog has recovered enough to give it another run: feel its heart beat beneath its ribs with your hand. This won't, of course, tell you if the dog is about to keel over through sheer stupidity on the part of the owner who has already run the dog inside out on God knows how many runs, but it will tell you if the dog has recovered a resting heart beat and can run again short term. If a dog is not panting hard, most people think its OK to run again, but feel its heart beat and it may still be racing, trying to oxygenate organs and muscles.

 

I've not had bull crosses, but even Saluki types only have so many runs in them per day, and I've had them pulling like hell on the lead when another hare got up, even though their heart rates were still way too high to safely run once more, and even though they had already had 3 or 4 long courses during that day and were really tired.

 

I must admit it shocks me to hear how many people admit to having a dog die on the field in front of them. They ain't machines, just flesh and blood, and they depend on their owner to call it a day or a night. Rant over.

[Good Man 196]

There's a very simple test to make sure that your dog has recovered enough to give it another run: feel its heart beat beneath its ribs with your hand. This won't, of course, tell you if the dog is about to keel over through sheer stupidity on the part of the owner who has already run the dog inside out on God knows how many runs, but it will tell you if the dog has recovered a resting heart beat and can run again short term. If a dog is not panting hard, most people think its OK to run again, but feel its heart beat and it may still be racing, trying to oxygenate organs and muscles.

 

I've not had bull crosses, but even Saluki types only have so many runs in them per day, and I've had them pulling like hell on the lead when another hare got up, even though their heart rates were still way too high to safely run once more, and even though they had already had 3 or 4 long courses during that day and were really tired.

 

I must admit it shocks me to hear how many people admit to having a dog die on the field in front of them. They ain't machines, just flesh and blood, and they depend on their owner to call it a day or a night. Rant over.

 

Spot on.

[paulus 26]

theres a thread on here about rhabdomyolysis, its an exteme form of acisosis, here http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/251490-rhabdomyolysis-part-2/page__hl__rhabdomyolysis

[socks 32,253]

There are lots of factors that can put an end to a good dogs life ... Lack of fluids throuought the day/night people expect a dog to go and go and go and think that giving water will hinder the dog in some way ..... Every ten or so runs I give the dogs a drink of electrolyte to replace the salts lost through excessive work ....

 

Feeding to soon before working can cause gastric torsion and is a quick killer ... Dogs should have 6 clear hours to digest their food before working to avoid this and they should never be fed whilst working hard ......

 

The weather is another big factor that people don't take into consideration .... I remember an incident when three of us were lamping on an horrendous night with gales and horizontal rain and the dogs were having run after run and working hard .... After a few hours we needed to move locations so on getting back to the truck the other 2 fellas put the dogs In the truck whilst I rubbed my bitch dry and put a jacket on her as the journey was going to be about 40 minutes to the new land ..... The other 2 lads gave me a ribbing about being to soft on my dog and treating her like a pet blah blah blah .... Anyway when we got to the new place and opened up the truck one of the dogs was cramped up it couldn't get out of the truck so had to be left behind ... About 30 minuets in the other dog just stopped and keeled over luckily I carry a full first aid kit in my truck and I put a drip straight into the dog within minuets and 20 minuets later he was fine but his night working was over ......

 

My bitch was fine and rearing to go for another few hours but obviously we had to call it a night ......

 

I strongly believe that the two dogs failed to carry on working due to the fact that they were to cold wet and tired to recover properly on that journey to the new permission where as my bitch was dry warm and was able to relax and regain te energy last earlier on in the night .........

 

As has been said they are not machines but flesh and blood and need to be treated as such to get the best out of them ...........

[bird 9,943]

Sure bird had a problem like this with his bull cross, real beaut of a animal and he was diagnosed with a lack of oxygen to the brain when working hard. I think it was something like that.

 

yeh thats right, and i had another bullx same way bred 3/8 bull 5/8 grey, and went the same but died , went over but never came round.Vet said some times the genes of the 2 breeds dont gell right, they( over heat) and carnt get oxgen quick enough to the brain and it kills them.I know of few bullxs that went the same, where as you could still get a big dog say 70-80lb x deerhoundx ,gsd x colliex and it dont happen, Had Blaze who was 3/8 collie 5/8 grey same size as what Tod was , but could run all night all fed the same and all were fit to do there job,Its the genes as my vet said some breeds when x together it works out and somtimes + dont . My new pup Buck 1x gsd x grey will be a big dog when older, but never heard any probs regards the above .!!

 

Blaze

 

[DEERMAN 1,020]

There are lots of factors that can put an end to a good dogs life ... Lack of fluids throuought the day/night people expect a dog to go and go and go and think that giving water will hinder the dog in some way ..... Every ten or so runs I give the dogs a drink of electrolyte to replace the salts lost through excessive work ....

 

Feeding to soon before working can cause gastric torsion and is a quick killer ... Dogs should have 6 clear hours to digest their food before working to avoid this and they should never be fed whilst working hard ......

 

The weather is another big factor that people don't take into consideration .... I remember an incident when three of us were lamping on an horrendous night with gales and horizontal rain and the dogs were having run after run and working hard .... After a few hours we needed to move locations so on getting back to the truck the other 2 fellas put the dogs In the truck whilst I rubbed my bitch dry and put a jacket on her as the journey was going to be about 40 minutes to the new land ..... The other 2 lads gave me a ribbing about being to soft on my dog and treating her like a pet blah blah blah .... Anyway when we got to the new place and opened up the truck one of the dogs was cramped up it couldn't get out of the truck so had to be left behind ... About 30 minuets in the other dog just stopped and keeled over luckily I carry a full first aid kit in my truck and I put a drip straight into the dog within minuets and 20 minuets later he was fine but his night working was over ......

 

My bitch was fine and rearing to go for another few hours but obviously we had to call it a night ......

 

I strongly believe that the two dogs failed to carry on working due to the fact that they were to cold wet and tired to recover properly on that journey to the new permission where as my bitch was dry warm and was able to relax and regain te energy last earlier on in the night .........

 

As has been said they are not machines but flesh and blood and need to be treated as such to get the best out of them ...........

what drip you use mate ?

[Grinder 102]

I have a Lurcher that 1 month ago collapsed while on the lamp... Fit as they come showed no signs of being out of breathe but after a good run just keeled over... Lactic acid build up....2 hours under running water to get his temp down... Dog was right the next day ... To the vet for a check up... And found he had lung worm... 5 cases in this area ... Some advocate to sort them out ( drontal doesn't touch lung worm) lung worm can be caught from slugs and there trails left in feed bowls water bowls ect...

[bird 9,943]

I have a Lurcher that 1 month ago collapsed while on the lamp... Fit as they come showed no signs of being out of breathe but after a good run just keeled over... Lactic acid build up....2 hours under running water to get his temp down... Dog was right the next day ... To the vet for a check up... And found he had lung worm... 5 cases in this area ... Some advocate to sort them out ( drontal doesn't touch lung worm) lung worm can be caught from slugs and there trails left in feed bowls water bowls ect...

i have feckin prob with slugs, when dogs have finished there meal, i always move them and fill up with cold water, so unlees the slugs want to swim lol they should be ok .I could with few hedghogs to kill the feckin things, But Bryn killed the last 1, the old hog is a gardner's mate