# **** Phrag!



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Well, for the 3rd straight year in a row my labrador is out of service for a few days due to a phrag splinter. He was limping yesterday but I couldn't find anything in his foot. I soaked his foot in hot water/peroxide several times and finally today found the hole and got it to drain. Does anyone use the dog boots and have you had success with them? Do they stay on or fall off in the mud?


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

Man . That hurts just to look at it. Poor thing. Good luck.


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

My dog's been there; done that. I've decided after 2 times doing it that 2 would be more than enough. So I don't hunt areas that contain those dastardly punji sticks, or if I really can't resist hunting them, I leave the pooch at home. I just don't know of any real cure other than those two. I'm afraid those dog booties aren't tough enough to withstand penetration sooner or later.


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## diverfreak (May 11, 2008)

That sucks. I got a chessie for that same reason. He is impervious to phrag


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## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

What a crap deal. Is it the phrag that does that or foxtails? My last lab was always getting those sores on her pads and between her toes, I was always told it was foxtail by the vet. We'd have to soak her paw in warm water with epsom salt and squeeze the puss out everyday, it was miserable. I bought her some neoprene boots and they stayed on ok but she hated them. She looked so miserable and unhappy I didn't make her hunt with them on. Hope the pooch recovers quick and ok.


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## Goshawk (Sep 7, 2007)

Greenhead_Slayer said:


> What a crap deal. Is it the phrag that does that or foxtails?


Actually both, as well as anything else out there that can cause a puncture wound.

I hope your dog recovers quickly Fowlmouth.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

This exact same thing happened to my dog on Wednesday. Thankfully dogs seem to have super powerful immune systems and they tend to heal quickly. Diverfreak, you must have gotten the Chesapeake with the puncture-resistant wheels because my Chessie has had this happen to him twice now! :mrgreen:


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## LETTER-RIP (Sep 14, 2007)

Hope he is up and running soon fowl! 
Me and a friend went out last yr to do some scouting. We took his wire hair out to just let him run off some energy. We where bustin phrag to find some holes and the dog was just following and or plowing through the thick of it with us. When we where finished and got him home. Both his eyes where full of phrag splinters. He looked like Rocky after a fight. Took my buddy about a week to pull all the splinters out and flush with water. On top of that, the por SOB was not tall enough to get his legs to the bottom where it was layed over really bad. You can only imagine what the poor dogs balls looked like after draging them accross that stuff :lol: 
They where about as red as your dogs paw and full of splinters. :shock:


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## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

Try the epson salt, my vet told me it helps suck out the culprit and the infection


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Thanks guys! I just kept cleaning the wound with peroxide and flushing it with warm water. Hagen is doing much better now, and no more limping. I think he will be good to go in a day or two.


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## b177y (Aug 30, 2011)

Fowlmouth said:


> Does anyone use the dog boots and have you had success with them? Do they stay on or fall off in the mud?


I don't have a hunting dog, but the friend that I go duck hunting with does and he uses the boots on his dog.

We were in some thick phrag last week and the boots stayed on and protected the dogs feet the entire time. He swears by them. His dog is also pretty well trained, but she didn't seem to pay any attention to the boots. I didn't even notice that the dog was wearing the booties until my buddy said something about it.

Hope that helps.


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## Justducky (Jun 29, 2012)

Sorry to hear about ur dog FM. Earlier this year I had a piece of cut phrag go up my nose while recovering a bird. I thought my brain had been punctured. It dropped me to my knees, made my eyes swell up with tears, and had me begging for mercy. Lesson learned though. Now I'm always keeping my arm out in front of me when I'm walking through that crap.


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