Swollen pup

[MNpurple]

Sunday I let my dog out of the house like always and like always she chased the squirrels at the bird feeder For some reason one of the squirrels got a late start and she was on him and ran him around the corner of a building and immediatley I heard a bellar and almost a scream, she came running back bellaring like crazy front leg straight out. After I got her calmed down I went around the corner of the building and immediately there was an angle cut, 4 inch log, exactly chest height. She must have took it head on. Didnt think alot of it then yesterday I notice a baseball size lump of fluid on her chest, so I called the vet, put her in her kennel and went to wrok. I came home early for the vet trip and the bulge was now like a grapefruit and the swelling extended between her front legs. Her whole chest was a soft, fluid sponge and you could tell it was weighting her down.

The vet popped it and out drained a watery blood mix with the consistency of syrup, horrible looking. I bet she filled up a pint jar and is now on antibiotics and anitinflamatories. Hopefully this works or else they will need to pen her up and clean her out and install a drain plug

Scary for a first time owner and reason enough to buy a chest protector before next years hunting season. Had that been a 1 inch branch no doubt it would have punctured her chest. Hopefully a chest protector would eliminate that concern to a degree. Do many of you use them?

[SpringerGuy]

I use one from Cabelas. Not for the chest protection thou. I use it to help her nipples from getting raw. After a few litters the front nipples hang down about a 1/2 inch. They get red and raw after a day in the field. Looks sore but it does not slow her down at all. Springers run all day long.