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Old 03-09-2009, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Chicago, Illinois
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Now the raccoons by us (northern illinois) get quite large. i have a shiba inu male, roughly 10 years old, who loves hunting raccoons. usually i turn the lights on, bang on the door, and clap my hands. well despite that, last night he got into it with a coon. the critter was able to escape underneath a shed. well my dog got a cut about his left eye and in the corner of his eye. he was bleeding for a while before it scabbed up. any idea on how to avoid this in the future? do your dogs ever get into it with squirrels, raccoons, etc? what do you do? thanks.



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Old 03-09-2009, 02:10 PM
 
Location: Florida (SW)
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In NH there was a serious problem with rabies in the raccoon population....I would have your dog looked at by the vet immediately.
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Old 03-09-2009, 02:14 PM
 
Location: Chicago, Illinois
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i think he just got scratched. doesn't a bite need to take place to transfer rabies?
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Old 03-09-2009, 02:19 PM
 
Location: Florida (SW)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by At1WithNature View Post
i think he just got scratched. doesn't a bite need to take place to transfer rabies?
I went to google and found out that if your dog is up to date on its rabies vacination it is probably OK.....but the vet might still want to give it a booster shot.....It said: RABIES - What You Should Know...

"Always get a licensed veterinarian to give your cats and dogs their rabies shots. This is the LAW. If a cat or dog gets rabies shots on schedule, he’s safe even if a rabid animal bites him. (Still, tell your vet if your pet gets bitten. He may want to give your pet a booster shot.)"

It really doesnt matter how deep the bite was.....the rabies germ is in its saliva so any break in the skin could be a site for infection. But if the dogs shots are up to date.....this site says it is probably safe. If I were you I would call the vet's office and go from there.

That is a beautiful little Shiba you have there.

Back to your original question.......I worry about porcupines and skunks with my dog......we recently moved here from an area where rattlesnakes and coyote were the biggest worry....but up here we have porcupine....I havent seen any raccoon....but I think the rabies epidemic really thinned out their numbers. (not sure of that).
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Old 03-09-2009, 02:19 PM
 
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Raccoons carry distemper as well. How do you know your dog was not bit? They can incubate rabies for a LONG time - if a pet raccoon bites, they have to kill it becuase the quarantine period is so long [I don't even know if they know how long they can cary the disease without symptoms]

I would be training my dog not to chase them. Big time. It is possible to do this. If there is water nearby raccoons are also known to drown dogs.
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Old 03-09-2009, 02:27 PM
 
Location: Florida (SW)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grannynancy View Post
Raccoons carry distemper as well. How do you know your dog was not bit? They can incubate rabies for a LONG time - if a pet raccoon bites, they have to kill it becuase the quarantine period is so long [I don't even know if they know how long they can cary the disease without symptoms]

I would be training my dog not to chase them. Big time. It is possible to do this. If there is water nearby raccoons are also known to drown dogs.
the article I gave the site for said, Racoons can carry the rabies germ for years without dying and sometimes even recover. I have been told that raccoons also sometimes work together to kill a dog.
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Old 03-09-2009, 02:56 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
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Default Dog Fights with Raccoon

What a beautiful dog! Be very careful with the dog fighting with raccoons. It is my understanding that a raccoon can hurt a dog pretty bad including possibly drowning a dog. I do believe I heard at one time that raccoons can in factg drown a dog. If you live near water at all, I would be leary of this. Some friends of mine in Maine raised a raccoon for a time until he got matured, he was ok then he got really mean and did beat up their Black Lab which is a bigger dog. Do some research on this and perhaps you can come up with a way to keep the raccoons off your property. Good Luck
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Old 03-09-2009, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Lost in Montana *recalculating*...
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I have a blue tick coon hound (but no- I don't hunt coons). However the reason I got her was to help keep the coon population at bay on our old property. We lived in an area with a high rate of rabies incidence, and our property was bordered by two large creeks and heavily wooded- perfect coon and copperhead territory.

Generally a dog like mine will chase and tree a coon, but fight given the chance. Racoons can very easily eviscerate a larger dogs belly by laying flat on it's back and using their claws like little knives. They are tough animals. She treed a good number of them, and I would go out at night when she had them up in the air and take her back inside (dragging her feet the whole way- she really wanted that coon BAD, lol). Luckily my dog was never injured, other than a scratch, and eventually our coon popluation moved down stream.

If you have a smaller dog, I would be very hesitant to let it get into a scrap with a coon. When I was a kid we had a rat terrier and it had it's eye ripped out by a coon. Little fella thought he was a lion, but absolutely no match for a coon.

Our vet recommended getting boosters immediately after a known encounter, especially with coons, fox and opposums (and beaver believe it or not).

My hound DID get into a scrape with a fox in broad daylight. 3p.m. in the afternoon while I was practicing with my bow. My dog ran it towards me and I was able to shoot it square. The county came and picked up the fox and it tested positive for rabies. Even though she was up to date on shots, I had to have her on home quarrantine for 90 days. No contact with anyone but me. NOT FUN.

She's a damned good, hard working dog.
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Old 03-09-2009, 04:44 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
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Have your dog looked at by the vet . I am former vet tech myself and that is the best advice I can give you and as long as you are seeing raccoons on your property keep his shots up to date and also do a booster if neccessary or if the vet reccomends it . good luck and hope your buddy is okay .
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Old 03-09-2009, 05:03 PM
 
Location: In the north country fair
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Wow! I never realize how vicious raccoons are. I mean, I know that they can very effectively defend themselves but I would never have guessed that they would maliciously drown a dog!
My dog (German Shepherd) has been in several scrapes with raccoons, most notably a mother raccoon with babies. Fortunately, my dog is not a big fighter, so they got into, essentially, a very loud screaming match at 2 o'clock in the morning and no one was injured.
My advice is to make sure you let your dog know NOT to take on a raccoon. I happen to like raccoons and I think that my dog senses that so she never REALLY goes after them. She has treed a couple, and gotten into a few tete-a-tetes, like the aformentioned, but nothing serious.
Moreover, the best way to avoid raccoons altogether is to make sure that all food is out of sight and that garbage is locked up tight (many people use bailing twine or bungy cords to secure lids, which are very easily pried off by coon hands.)
I had an incident involving the grill. I had cooked something on the porch outside and left the top up to cool down. My dog had the encounter with the mother raccoon later that night. And I know that was what they were after because the next day I noticed that there were greasy coon paw prints all over the grill. Just don't give them any incentive to come into your space. And take your dog to the vet.
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