GunDogDoc

How I Got My Favorite Breed Wrong

For years, I thought I knew my favorite dog breeds—Chessies, then cockers—but it turns out my heart had already chosen long before my mind caught up. This is the story of how my journey with hunting dogs brought me back to the one breed I can’t live without.

Continue reading: How I Got My Favorite Breed Wrong

Mini Course

Building The Complete Canine Field Emergency Kit

Dr. Joe Spoo, DACVSMR, will help guide you in building a complete field emergency kit that will allow you to address everything from simple injuries to catastrophic issues.

YOUTUBE

The premier online source for hunting dog health and veterinary information.
Educating empowered dog owners.

Too often owners are given the instruction to rest for two weeks and to give some anti-inflammatories. While often there are cases this may be the best course, many times it is given without an accurate diagnosis. In this video, I discuss how to get that accurate diagnosis and the decision process I use to decide whether to hunt or not.

https://www.gundogdoc.com/how-i-got-my-favorite-breed-wrong/

#huntingdog #sportingdog #duckdog #birddog #canineathletes #workingdog #vetmed

Too Hunt or Not? Can, or Should, You Hunt a Lame Dog?

It seems like a lifetime ago that this was the procedure I recommended for ALL of my patients, regardless of size or activity level. While we may not utilize it as regularly as we once did it should still be a part of the conversation when discussing cruciate ligament disease in dogs. In this video, I discuss the procedure along with my personal thoughts on when the procedure may be the right option.

https://www.gundogdoc.com/why-extra-capsular-technique-matters/

#huntingdog #sportingdog #duckdog #birddog #canineathletes #workingdog #vetmed

Examining the Lateral Suture in Athletic Dogs

As has been typical the blog post is more to the point and these videos contain more editorial color. I do both to allow people to take in the content through their preferred method of learning.

Read the blog post:
https://www.gundogdoc.com/honest-look-cruciate-ligament-surgery/

#huntingdog #sportingdog #duckdog #birddog #canineathletes #workingdog #vetmed

Joint Series Continued —Introduction to Canine Cruciate Ligament Surgery

It is surprising to me that male dogs don’t suffer injuries to their maleness more frequently than they do. The most common issue that we see with male dogs is irritation to the scrotum either because of heavy cover or during cold weather. Occasionally though the prepuce does get injured and occasionally the penis is involved. When these occur they can be a bloody mess due to the degree of blood vessels in the area. The main concern is determining if the injury is just to the prepuce — not as big of deal—or it it involves the penis—big deal.

#sportingdog #veterinary #birddog #canineathletes #duckdog #vetmed #huntingdog #gundog #VeterinaryCare #vetmed

Male Injuries in Dogs

By the time snow arrives we often think our dogs are in peak condition. This is often true; however, some dogs will crank it up a notch and work that much harder to cover the same amount of ground with an increase in work load. Under these circumstances we will sometimes see a condition called exertional rhabdomyloysis. Often owners will report their dog is peeing blood…it’s not blood but rather muscle breakdown products and can lead to serious issues and even death in extreme cases. If your dog starts “peeing blood” frame it differently when you have that talk with your veterinarian, instead say that your dog was out working very hard and the urine was dark, and almost appeared to be like blood. This will hopefully allow them to look for all the answers and not just chase a bladder issue that isn’t present.

#sportingdog #veterinary #birddog #canineathletes #duckdog #vetmed #huntingdog #gundog #VeterinaryCare #vetmed

Taking Care of Your Dogs During Late-Season Hunts

How do you determine the correct number of dogs for your needs? Kevin Handy chimed in on my puppy post yesterday with the n+1 answer. In this video I take a deep dive into the research surrounding the correct way to determine this correct number for your needs.

Shout out to @kevdoesinsta whose correct bike number post served as inspiration.

#gundog #huntingdog #birddog #duckdog #sportingdog #puppy #puppyfever

How to Determine How Many Dogs You Need

Boomer turned eight a couple of weeks ago and when I was putting together his birthday post I came across this short film we had done when he was a puppy. It's hard to believe the puppy in this film has turned into the athletic bird finder I share the field with today. The little girl in the video now plays the violin, speaks Spanish better than I ever will hope to and has two siblings, both older than she is in this video. The two old dogs in the video, two of the best I've ever shared my house with, have been gone for a couple of years now. And me...well I'm just older and no longer worried about what navigating my forties will be like as I now stare down 50 in the not-too-distant future.

I have a good friend who is an amazing cinematographer. When he was just getting started I had him do some videos for the clinic and then we did two short films that have never been released. They were both more to help a friend start his career than we were producing them for any real reason.

He is now a big time filmmaker in the adventure film space and has made a name for himself in the world of ice climbing. Doing a film like this wouldn't even be on his radar these days, though I did convince him to shoot the footage I used in my field emergency and first aid course.

After saying good-bye to Peanut this week Boomer is the old man on our strings and it brought a smile to my face to see the days when he too was just a puppy.

https://www.gundogdoc.com/fate-friendship-and-a-dog-named-peanut/

#huntingdog #sportingdog #duckdog #birddog #canineathletes #workingdog #vetmed

The Start of the Magic

In this video, I get into weeds on cruciate ligament disease. It isn't more technical but rather I give my thoughts on how I think we got here and how we might be able to reverse this trend. While cruciate ligament disease is a correctable problem and many of these dogs go back out to have wonderful careers post-surgery, I strongly feel we should be doing more with breeding programs to address this issue. For the 1-2 dog owner this is a devastating disease.

https://www.gundogdoc.com/cruciate-ligament-disease-vets-perspective/

#huntingdog #sportingdog #duckdog #birddog #canineathletes #workingdog #vetmed

A Soapbox Lecture — Introducing Cruciate Ligament Disease

If you have followed me for any length of time you know that one of my biggest fears is hunting dogs around ice. This past weekend a buddy lived that nightmare when his wirehair found here way into an open spot on a lake while they were out pheasant hunting. She was 128 feet from shore, with questionable ice between them. His quick thinking resulted her being rescued without having to put his own life at risk. This was something I would have never thought to do if I found myself in his shoes.

If you have any ice rescue techniques drop them in the comments to help all of us learn!

#gundog #huntingdog #duckdog #birddog #uplandhunting #duckhunting #vetmed #sportingdog #canineathletes

Keeping Hunting Dogs Safe Around Ice

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Joe Spoo DVM, DACVSMR

The Original GunDogDoc

Dr. Spoo is a veterinarian of small animal medicine with a special passion for sporting dogs and, more specifically, the gundog breeds.

He believes in a cradle-to-grave approach to managing the canine athlete over the course of its lifetime rather than just focusing on the problem of the moment. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and has dedicated his career to the unique needs of our hunting dogs.

Our Philosophy

More Than a Hunting Partner

These incredible canines that we share the field with have unique problems, conditions and obstacles they encounter. In addition, they require optimum nutrition and conditioning to keep them in peak condition. Our goal is to provide you the necessary tools and knowledge to keep your best friend in the best condition possible.

our courses