Male Elhew Pointer looking for a new home

[cjm]

Hi, my name is Cody and I live in Flagstaff.  This is my first post here, although I've been an unregistered "lurker" for quite some time.  

I love to hunt upland birds, and have had the pleasure of doing so with my sweet brittany named Dancer for the last eight seasons.  I decided to add another dog to our rotation two years ago, and acquired an elhew pup from an established breeder back east.  To make a long story short, our boy (Tanka is his name) has been hunted hard for the last two seasons (mainly on dusky grouse, and our three Arizona quail species), and has shown great instincts and is a very easy-handling dog.  Unfortunately, he has soft feet, and his pads develop ulcerations if he's hunted more than a day or two in a row.  His pads became so sore last season, that it impacted his gait, which ultimately led to a knee injury towards the end of quail season.  After a spring surgery, and summer rehab, his knee fortunately seems to be completely healed.

My home situation only allows for two dogs max, and I hunt often enough to require a dog with a bit more durability.  Thus, I am unfortunately looking to find a new home for Tanka. I believe he would fit well into an active family/home in which hunting comprises a small portion of his outdoor adventures (he is a fun hiking/trail running companion).  He also could be a nice "relief pitcher" for a hunter with a string of dogs that are alternated often enough to keep Tanka's feet functional.  

Please feel free to contact me if you'd like more information on Tanka.  Thanks.

[Outdoor Writer]

21 minutes ago, cjm said:

 Unfortunately, he has soft feet, and his pads develop ulcerations if he's hunted more than a day or two in a row.  His pads became so sore last season, that it impacted his gait, which ultimately led to a knee injury towards the end of quail season.  After a spring surgery, and summer rehab, his knee fortunately seems to be completely healed.

My German shorthair had a similar problem, so I solved it with a set of rubber boots. 

[cjm]

Thanks for the suggestion.  I've tried several different styles of boots, as well as several different application methods, and they all eventually create sores where the boot attaches to Tanka's ankle.  I had really hoped that boots would be the solution.

[Outdoor Writer]

3 minutes ago, cjm said:

Thanks for the suggestion.  I've tried several different styles of boots, as well as several different application methods, and they all eventually create sores where the boot attaches to Tanka's ankle.  I had really hoped that boots would be the solution.

Gotcha. The type I had during the '90s were pretty plain-Jane with nothing attached to hold them in place. That task was done with self-adherent surgery tape. It worked well, and the boots never moved to create sore spots. I saw where most of them today have some sort of fasteners, either Velcro or other type straps.

[azbirdhunter88]

6 hours ago, cjm said:

Hi, my name is Cody and I live in Flagstaff.  This is my first post here, although I've been an unregistered "lurker" for quite some time.  

I love to hunt upland birds, and have had the pleasure of doing so with my sweet brittany named Dancer for the last eight seasons.  I decided to add another dog to our rotation two years ago, and acquired an elhew pup from an established breeder back east.  To make a long story short, our boy (Tanka is his name) has been hunted hard for the last two seasons (mainly on dusky grouse, and our three Arizona quail species), and has shown great instincts and is a very easy-handling dog.  Unfortunately, he has soft feet, and his pads develop ulcerations if he's hunted more than a day or two in a row.  His pads became so sore last season, that it impacted his gait, which ultimately led to a knee injury towards the end of quail season.  After a spring surgery, and summer rehab, his knee fortunately seems to be completely healed.

My home situation only allows for two dogs max, and I hunt often enough to require a dog with a bit more durability.  Thus, I am unfortunately looking to find a new home for Tanka. I believe he would fit well into an active family/home in which hunting comprises a small portion of his outdoor adventures (he is a fun hiking/trail running companion).  He also could be a nice "relief pitcher" for a hunter with a string of dogs that are alternated often enough to keep Tanka's feet functional.  

Please feel free to contact me if you'd like more information on Tanka.  Thanks.

Man sorry to hear that. Hope he finds a good home and someone doesn’t hunt him too hard. Sometimes it’s not the dogs fault. 

[bdhuntr]

I have a hard charging EP that has the same problem. Can't walk today because of a rough country hunt Weds. I take full responsibility for not enough preseason work and like you find boots just create a new set of problems. Have had bird dogs for many years and their feet have run the gamut. My Gordons have seemed to have the toughest feet but then again they don't run like a pointer. I wouldn't get rid of a family hunting dog because of soft feet. You just need more dogs.

That's why I have 4.😊

[cjm]

Thanks for the feedback and information everyone. It looks like a good solution for Tanka has been found. Good luck to everyone who will be hunting this weekend.

[azbirdhunter88]

Good deal 

[recurveman]

I never had problems with my dogs feet.    I had many buddies that would have many issues with their dogs feet.   Normally the feet had issues because the pads were soft.   The pads were soft because their dogs ran on carpet, tile and grass 95% of the time.   

I never had a problem but my backyard was full of opportunities for the dogs to toughen their feet all year long.   Everything in the backyard had a rough surface / rock.   It was really really rare when I had a dog with a pad issue even after 3,4,5 days of hunting mearns.   

[azbirdhunter88]

4 hours ago, recurveman said:

I never had problems with my dogs feet.    I had many buddies that would have many issues with their dogs feet.   Normally the feet had issues because the pads were soft.   The pads were soft because their dogs ran on carpet, tile and grass 95% of the time.   

I never had a problem but my backyard was full of opportunities for the dogs to toughen their feet all year long.   Everything in the backyard had a rough surface / rock.   It was really really rare when I had a dog with a pad issue even after 3,4,5 days of hunting mearns.   

I purposely run mine on dirt/gravel to toughen them up. Some dogs are just born with bad feet though. Most “bird dogs” sit in a house all day then go hunt hard on weekends. Got to help the dog out and get them in the right condition before all that. I hear you. 

[Big Tub]

c'mon let's have a picture ???