pseudorabies bad deal

I had a friend get a cur pup and brought it to the ranch several years ago to show it its first hog. I had caught a 30 lb or so shoat with my Dixie dog that day putting out hay, just for that pup. I put the shoat in the dog box until that afternoon, right next to Dixie.

My buddy came out with his 4-5 month old pup, I tied three legs of the boar shoat and let him hobble off in the weeds. We turned the pup out and walked him in to where the pig went. We almost tripped over the pig and the pup got excited, started booger barking at it and stuff but wouldn't get too close. I had a pup of my own so I went and got it (we weren't far from the house) and turned my pup out with the other pup. They got more aggessive and started getting in the hogs face and even started biting him some.

I thought we would let then get fired up then I would untie the pig and let them run it and stop it. Well, I untied it....and they ran it..but that pig left the inexperienced pups in the dust. I wanted to cut him and had planned to when the pups stopped him again, but he got away from them. I had Dixie in the truck, turned her out and she caught the pig about 1/4 mile away and it was the same pig......

The point is, my buddys pup came down with Pseudo Rabies within 3 days and had to be put down. Neither of my dogs caught it (luckily) and I had caught the pig twice with Dixie and my pup had been on the same hog. And that was the only hog my buddys pup had ever seen, so we know thats where he caught it.

Its hard to figure out why some dogs will get Pseudo and some won't even after being exposed to the virus. My vet said its not a canine virus so it has to mutate to affect a dog but when it does, there is no hope for the dog.