EIC

[schmitty3]

anyone else on here got a lab with EIC?

[Todd Caswell]

Not me, sorry to hear that you do. Hopefully with responsible breeding no one else will have to deal with an affected dog.

[311Hemi]

Not me, sorry to hear that you do. Hopefully with responsible breeding no one else will have to deal with an affected dog.

I agree 100% with Todd. Not saying this to the OP specifically, but to those that decide to get dogs out of breeders that do not test their dogs (for any diseases/joint conditions)......it's a risk you take.

Yes, I have a dog that is EIC affected and has gone down in the field multiple times. He has since been retired for the most part (5 years old with joint issues), but not because of the EIC. He gets a couple shorter hunts per season). I know his triggers and what to watch for...so I can deal with it if it shows.

[LatLong]

My dad had one back in the late 80's early 90's. We didn't know what it was back then, we just knew that when he over exerted himself he would collapse. It was kind of tough to keep a lid on him because he was a hunting machine. We would make him sit at heel till he cooled off every 10 to 15 minutes and if there was water near by he would get in to cool off. The dog HATED having to sit...he wanted after those birds! We also wouldn't hunt him if it was too hot. We kept a close eye on him and hunted him till he was 11.

I don't know if EIC was recognized back then...now I know what the issue was with him.

[eppl]

Schmitty-

Sorry to hear your news! I have just found out i am dealing with the same thing. If you are like me you are looking for any advise and or tips on the best way to manage the situation. It presented Twice last year in my lab early in the season, and the rest of the year he was just fine. Only been out once this year and he went down. I am crossing my fingers that it is a heat related trigger and that he'll be fine with colder temps. I wish the best for you and your pup!

[schmitty3]

It does seem to be worse in the heat. Even when i just take him to the park for runs in the summer he goes down sometimes. Although many of those times he on to a scent. I've been trying to hunt w/ him, but he is just so birdy and gets so

excited that he usually doesnt last long before he goes down, and i hate seeing it. What i have to do is just hunt in cold weather, and bring some water w/ for him. We also need to rest every 15 20 min. Its really too bad cause he just loves gettin on some birds and is just all over the place, nose down and flyin back and forth.

[eppl]

Hey Schmitty-

I'm new to posting here and can't figure out how to send you a PM. If you could pm me with contact info i would like to discuss this with you in more detail.

[schmitty3]

You can shoot me and email at [email protected]

[eppl]

my e-mails keep getting sent back, try mine at [email protected]

[schmitty3]

I recieved your email and your number

[311Hemi]

I find that my dogs trigger is/was usually the first field or two of a hunt, and usually when those fields are filled with lots of scent. The dog would get out and is super excited and running around non-stop. After the dog gets that initial energy burned off and tires a bit I find that he seems to be fine as he will start to work a bit slower. All episodes with my dog have fit this routine so I know I need watch the back legs for them to start getting wobbly in these scenarios. Things like the first pheasant hunt or two of a day or weekend in ND (private land loaded with birds), initial hunts on game farms, or I have even seen him get wobbly once playing with a friends dog while non-stop running around. Most of his episodes have been in warmer temps as well, and I usually need to stop and rest him for a good 15-20 min and then are usually good to go again. Once he has had a chance to tire out some he is usually good to go for the rest of the day.

[eppl]

hemi-

My dog had his first episode opening weekend. It started about 20 minutes into the hunt, i didn't really know what to do so i shut him down the rest of the day. But by the time i was ready to head home he seemed like he was ready for more. My next trip out was just today, i started him out for the first half hour by stopping him about every 5 minutes or so and letting him take a breather. this was very hard because all he wanted to do is go go go! At this point he was very driven and didn't want to listen to me at all. But like you said after that 30 to 40 minute mark he slowed down and listened well very a we enjoyed a very nice 2 hour hunt with no episodes, so i'm very greatful for that and hope it continues that way. But my question is this, if i don't catch him in time and he does go down again am i still able to hunt him after that 20-30 minute recovery time or is it done for the day?

[eric29]

When mine has her eppisode it usually happens once about half hour into the hunt. Same as everyone else said, during her initial burst of energy the back legs start to get shaky and then I take about a 10 min. break. After the break shes fine for the rest of the hunt. In the 3 years of hunting with her ive never seen it happen in cold weather just at the beginning of the season when its hotter out. I also have the sister of her from the same litter and have never had a problem with that one.