GunDogDoc

Bird Flu Updates and Cold-Weather Hunting: Starting 2025 with Awareness and Preparedness

From bird flu updates to braving the winter chill with your hunting dog, this post dives into the essential knowledge every hunter needs to close out the season safely and responsibly. Whether it’s staying informed about emerging health concerns or ensuring your dog thrives in cold conditions, preparation is the key to a successful 2025…

Continue reading: Bird Flu Updates and Cold-Weather Hunting: Starting 2025 with Awareness and Preparedness

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

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Educating empowered dog owners.

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

There are a handful of cases that absolutely encapsulated why I do what I do and Peanut is one of them. She is owned by my hunting partner and one of those dogs that I love like my own. Seven years ago I was sitting at my desk in the clinic during early November when I got a panicked call that Peanut had an injury. When they were finally able to get to cell coverage and send me a video my heart sank. I didn’t need to lay my hands on her, I knew from the video that she had ruptured her Achilles tendon. The vast majority of ruptures I see are chronic cases and most of them we manage without surgery. Because Peanut’s injury was fresh I had Brad rush her back for surgery. Brad’s only wish was for Peanut to be comfortable, my only goal was to help my friend get one of my favorite dogs back out in the field. Immediately post surgical recovery (sidenote I hate this surgery) we transitioned her into a tarsal brace from Orthopets and started the process of rehabilitation with the goal of getting the fully locked out brace whittled down to a sports brace and Peanut back out in the field. Here we are seven years later and at nearly 12 years of age and she’s still going strong. The brace has been refurbished a couple of times and she has battled some wear and tear issues with resistant infections but overall I couldn’t be happier with how she’s able to still do what she loves. It’s funny, Brad and I have hunted together for nearly 20 years now, though rarely do we hunt over each others’ dogs. We usually divide a section and go our separate ways and compare notes back at the trucks. Last week we had Peanut and Vi down together and were hunting fairly close. Peanut drifted over in front of me and when she slammed into a picturesque point it all came together full circle for me. So many of these dogs don’t need to be retired or to live out their lives on the couch. They may require a little extra attention and care but even dogs with devastating injuries, like Peanut, can lead very full and active lives. For me it’s not about maximizing their “usefulness” for us it is about maximizing the quality of life for them.

#gundog #huntingdog #birddog #vetmed #sportingdog #veterinary

Peanut's Recovery

In this video we will take a look at four different vest along with the pros and cons of each. We will also discuss altering a vest to get a better fit for your dog. You don't want to wait until your vest causes a problem, or doesn't protect your dog, you will want to watch this video to make sure your vest is doing its job for your hunting partner.

Dialing In Your Dog's Vest Fit

In this video we will discuss the general anatomy of the canine knee joint. We will also dive into the condition known as luxating patella, its causes and treatment.

Joint Series — Stifle Introduction

Field Emergency & First Aid for Hunting Dogs Live Q&A

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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