dog and hedgehog incident

hethmar

My old JR used to stick his head in hedges or down ditches and come out carrying a hedgehog. Have to say he never killed one as they were rolled up tightly and dont think even a mad JR could penetrate all those spikes.

You may find the hedgehog was poorly anyway otherwise your dog wouldnt have got the better of him. Fleas leave the hedgehog if he dies but they also have ticks.

Its part of life, if you are feeling really bad about the hedgehog - I do understand Id be the same, but to the dog its vermin for him to deal with and as I say, I bet the hedgehog was already very poorly .

Froglet

Hedgehog fleas are specific to hogs,so they will not affect the dog.Unlike ticks.

It used to be thought that vaseline,or some type of oil, was the best thing to use to remove ticks.Latest research shows that it is not.When the tick finds itself unable to breathe and therefore under stress,it regurgitates the contents of it's stomach into the host animal.This can cause all sorts of problems,as it is bacteria laden.A twist with a special hook and the tick is removed ,with head intact.

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-accessories-bags-accessories-c-73_189/o-tom-tick-twister-hook-remover-pair-p-2262

Poor hedgehog,that is sad,these little guys need all the help they can get.They are dying out rapidly(I am a carer so i speak from experience).Please keep an eye on your dog in future,when it is dark there are likely to be more hogs now that you have seen one.

MrsE_2

Gemmy wrote: »

Thanks so much, i thought someone was going to judge me by it. I did a couple of google searches and it came up with people blasting people about the hedgehog.

I did check all of his paws, now its the morning he seems ok still (being his usual cheeky self).

Olias i didn't think about fleas so thank you very much for that. I must get some flea treatments today.

My cat killed a baby squirrel last week:(

Innocenti

My dog plays with a hedgehog in the garden. He sort of nudges it with his nose and kicks it. It would have been quite funny if it wasnt 3.30 in the morning and i wanted to go back to bed. Luckily he doesnt actually harm them but it does worry me that he could.

My mums dog caught a baby rabbit once (wild) I took it home in tears and it died a couple of hours later from shock. To a 14 year old a dead baby rabbit was the worst thing ever.

Froglet

I have seen hedgehogs with some terrible injuries caused by dogs.Some survive,many don't.Please please watch your dog,especially once it is dark.You may think it cute or funny that a dog is "playing " with a hedgehog but just one bite from the dog can mean a terrible slow death from infection if not treated promptly.

If an accident like that has occured and you are not sure if the hg is ok please contact your vet or a wildlife centre/hedgehog carer.

there is a list of carers here

http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/search.php?search=1 that will happily check the hog over for you at no charge.