Pet Safety During Montana’s Hunting Season
There is a shift that comes over the Tobacco Valley every September, as tangible as the first frost on the grass. The cottonwoods along the river begin to turn, the mornings arrive with a bite that sends you back inside for a jacket, and the trucks parked outside the café in Eureka start appearing with dog boxes in the beds and rifle cases behind the seats.
Archery season opens, followed by the procession of hunting seasons that will carry Lincoln County through much of the fall. This is exceptional big-game country, home to elk, mule deer, whitetail, moose, black bear, and other wildlife. Hunting is woven into life here in a way that people who have never lived in rural Montana may not fully understand.
For many of our clients at Mountain Vista Veterinary Services, dogs are more than companions during hunting season. They are working partners. Retrievers, pointers, hounds, and versatile hunting breeds may spend much of the year training for these few weeks in the field.
But you do not have to hunt for hunting season to affect your pets. Increased traffic, gunfire, wildlife activity, carcass remains, and more people moving through the woods can create hazards for just about any dog or cat living in Northwest Montana.
September is a good time to prepare.
Is Your Hunting Dog Ready for the Field?
A dog can look perfectly healthy around the house and still be unprepared for a full day in the mountains.
Hunting dogs may cover miles of rough country in a single day, crashing through brush, crossing streams, scrambling over rocks, and climbing steep grades. The physical demands can be far greater than anything they experience during their normal exercise routine.
That makes conditioning before the season important.
Dogs that go from relatively light summer activity directly into long days of hunting may be more susceptible to muscle strains, exhaustion, joint injuries, and sore or damaged paw pads. Older dogs and dogs with previous orthopedic injuries deserve particular consideration before heading into difficult terrain.
Whenever possible, gradually increase your dog’s activity in the weeks leading up to hunting season. Longer walks, hikes over varied terrain, swimming, and other controlled exercise can help build endurance without suddenly overloading the body.
A pre-season veterinary examination can also be worthwhile, particularly for older hunting dogs or dogs with a history of injuries.
Cuts, Paw Injuries, and the Reality of Montana Terrain
Anyone who has hunted around the Kootenai knows that the landscape can be unforgiving.
Sharp rock, downed timber, barbed wire, broken branches, and thick brush can all injure a dog moving quickly through the country. Paw-pad abrasions, punctures, torn nails, and lacerations are among the field injuries hunting dog owners should be prepared to encounter.
Check your dog periodically during the hunt rather than waiting until you get back to the truck. Dogs focused on working do not always make an injury immediately obvious.
Pay particular attention to the paws, between the toes, around the eyes and ears, and along the underside of the body.
It is also a good idea to carry a small canine first-aid kit. Gauze, nonstick pads, self-adhering bandage material, saline for flushing wounds or eyes, tweezers, and basic emergency supplies can help you manage a minor injury or stabilize a more serious one until you can reach veterinary care.
Just as important is knowing when to call it a day. A dog that is limping, slowing considerably, overheating, or showing signs of exhaustion should not be pushed simply because there are still several hours of hunting left.
Foxtails: A Small Seed With the Potential for Big Problems
One seasonal hazard worth watching for is the foxtail grass awn.
These dry, barbed seed heads are remarkably good at doing what nature designed them to do: move forward. Unfortunately, that also means they can work their way into a dog’s body.
Dogs running through dry grass can pick up grass awns between their toes or around their ears and face. They may also enter the nose, eyes, or ear canals. Once embedded, an awn can migrate through tissue and cause inflammation, infection, abscesses, and draining wounds.
The symptoms vary depending on where the awn has gone.
A dog may suddenly begin sneezing repeatedly after running through tall grass. An awn in an ear can cause vigorous head shaking or pawing at the ear. One lodged between the toes may produce persistent licking, swelling, or sudden lameness. Migrating foreign material beneath the skin can sometimes create a wound that drains, improves, and then returns.
If your dog develops one of these symptoms after working through dry grass, do not assume it will simply work itself out.
The earlier a grass awn is found, the easier it may be to remove. Once it begins migrating, locating it can become considerably more difficult, and removal may require sedation or anesthesia.
A quick inspection after every outing can help. Check between the toes, around the ears, beneath the collar, under the legs, and anywhere seeds and plant material tend to collect.
Gunfire and Dogs That Are Afraid of Loud Noises
Gun shyness is more than an inconvenience in a hunting dog. It can become a genuine safety issue.
A frightened dog may bolt after a gunshot, and a dog that takes off in the Kootenai National Forest can cover a surprising amount of ground very quickly.
Noise conditioning should begin well before hunting season. Gradual, controlled exposure paired with positive experiences can help some dogs become comfortable around the sounds associated with hunting. Forcing a frightened dog to tolerate repeated gunfire, however, can make the problem worse.
If your dog already has significant noise anxiety or fear of gunfire, talk with us before taking them into the field. Behavioral strategies can help, and some dogs may benefit from medication as part of a broader plan.
Identification is equally important.
Every dog heading into the field should have current identification and preferably a registered microchip with up-to-date owner information. A blaze-orange or other high-visibility vest or collar also makes a dog easier for hunters to identify in brush and timber.
GPS tracking collars can provide another layer of protection for dogs working at a distance, but they should complement rather than replace good training, recall, and identification.
Gut Piles and Carcass Remains Can Be Dangerous
For dogs that are not hunting, one of the biggest seasonal temptations may be what hunters leave behind.
Gut piles and other remains from field-dressed animals can be irresistible to dogs. Unfortunately, eating them can create several problems.
A dog that consumes a large amount of fatty tissue may develop gastrointestinal upset and, in susceptible dogs, pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas that can become serious enough to require hospitalization.
Raw and decomposing animal remains can also expose dogs to bacteria and intestinal parasites.
Even if hunting does not take place directly on your property, remember that coyotes, ravens, eagles, and other scavengers can move pieces of a carcass surprisingly far from where an animal was harvested.
During hunting season, it is worth paying closer attention to what your dog discovers on walks and what may have appeared overnight around your property.
If your dog eats a large quantity of carcass material and subsequently develops repeated vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, weakness, loss of appetite, or unusual behavior, contact your veterinarian.
Hunting Season Changes the Roads, Too
Some of the greatest risks during hunting season have nothing to do with firearms.
Forest roads and normally quiet rural roads see considerably more activity as hunters move throughout the area. Trucks, trailers, side-by-sides, and ATVs may appear early in the morning and continue moving after dark.
Highway 93 and the roads leading into public land also become busier.
If you live along a rural road or near a popular access point, this is a good time of year to be especially careful about allowing dogs to roam. A dog accustomed to crossing a quiet road may not anticipate the additional traffic that comes with hunting season.
Reflective or illuminated collars can also make pets easier to see during the shorter mornings and evenings of fall.
Your Stay-at-Home Pet May Notice Hunting Season Too
Not every dog wants anything to do with hunting.
For pets living near public land, however, distant gunfire can produce the same anxiety seen during thunderstorms or fireworks. Dogs may pant, pace, tremble, hide, cling to their owners, refuse food, or attempt to escape. Cats may disappear beneath furniture or into other hiding places.
If your pet is sensitive to loud noises, give them a secure indoor location where outside sounds are reduced. Background music, television, fans, or white noise can help mask intermittent sounds from outside.
More severe noise anxiety deserves attention rather than simply hoping the animal will eventually get used to it. Depending on the pet, behavioral management, environmental changes, calming products, or prescription medications may be appropriate.
The best time to develop that plan is before your pet is frightened.
A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
Hunting season is a cherished part of life in Northwest Montana. At Mountain Vista Veterinary Services, we want the dogs that head into the mountains with their owners to enjoy those days and come home safely.
Before the season gets into full swing, take a few minutes to look over your dog’s vaccinations, identification, microchip information, physical conditioning, and field first-aid supplies. Check working dogs carefully after every outing, particularly their paws, ears, eyes, and skin.
And remember that hunting season affects the dogs and cats that stay home, too. Increased traffic, carcass remains, roaming wildlife, and the sound of gunfire can all change an otherwise familiar environment.
If your hunting dog needs a pre-season wellness examination, updated vaccinations, or you have questions about conditioning, field injuries, first aid, or anxiety around gunfire, schedule a visit with Mountain Vista Veterinary Services in Eureka.
And if your pet would much rather spend hunting season asleep beside the woodstove than chasing anything through the Kootenai, we are here for them too.
Whatever your pet’s role this autumn, a little preparation can help make hunting season safer for everyone.