Help!!! My blue heeler bit OFF one of my Jersey cows teats :(

[farmergirl]

I am so sick over this. My year and a half old blue heeler, who has been going through an extra hyper phase lately, often barks at the cows but calls off when I tell her to come. Today she decided to ignore my commands to come and chased my Jersey cow, grabbing on to her left fore teat. The dog tore off the bottom three-quarters of the teat I have already decided to get rid of the dog, I simply can't keep an animal that would maim any of my other animals. But the question is what to do for the cow? She is carrying what will be her first calf, due to calve in the first part of 2009. I'm afraid that the teat will close over with scar tissue and then I won't be able to milk her out. I have cried, cussed and spit over this today. Any advice from the good folks at HT?

[Sue Usry]

That is awful! A vet may be able to stitch it, leaving a short piece of tubing inserted into the teat canal to keep it open. We sold a goat to a neighbor once, the goat tore up one teat on their fence, and that is what they had done. They were able to milk her for about three years after that, but it was difficult to get a grip on it (we told them to use tweezers) but the kids could nurse that teat fine.

[MARYDVM]

When the end of the teat is lost, there isn't much you can do. In a commercial dairy, where the milkers don't have time to care for a special needs cow, the teat can be amputated near the udder and sewn shut - so milk will never come out of it, and infection can't get in. For a family cow, it can be possible to manage the situation. Anytime the cow lies down, she's at risk for introducing bacteria into the teat, so clean bedding is a must. When the cow lets down her milk, it will pour out of the damaged teat, so positioning the bucket correctly will keep it from ending up on the floor.

If some of the sphincter muscle at the teat end remains, it may scar down. This will prevent leaking, but could make milking difficult.

[farmergirl]

Thanks to you all for the posts so far. I'm hoping WillowGirl will lend some advice, too. Should I hose the damaged area down on a regular basis this week as it heals? Should I apply any sort of disinfectant? I am heartsick over this happening on my watch, but SO thankful that the dog didn't grab onto the udder and cause puncture wounds with her teeth. Our mobile vet is in this neighborhood on Thursdays each week, so I can have him come out to look at her then if you all think it's a good idea.

[Madsaw]

One thing comes to mind is using a antibiotic cream on the damage t o keep it soft and healing well. Also have your vet take a look and see what they think. Is it completely ripped off or is it just chewed up?
This is one reason we have no dogs on the farm. They will scare cattle at the wrong time and cause problems besides doing this. Running cattle with hogs is another bad idea. They will eat the bag off a cow too.
I hate to say this but SSS the dog and never look back. A hyper dog will be no good to anyone.
Bob

[Ronney]

I am not having a go at you Farmergirl but at people in general who own dogs that are entirely unsuited to what their owners are doing. The healer is a hard dog better suited to working run cattle on thousands of acres in the Australian outback, the NZ high country or perhaps the huge runs that you have in the States. Your dog isn't going through a hyper stage, it's a dog with a huge amount of energy with nowhere to channel it and is consequently going bonkers. See if you can rehome it to a large (and I mean large) farm rather than putting it down. It isn't a bad dog, just a bored dog.

Bob, I own three working dogs with a total land area of 160 acres. They are all trained to work cattle and sheep and do not scare either at the wrong times nor cause problems when they shouldn't be. They are also breeds of dogs suited to my farming type and none of them are heelers.

Now to the cow's teat. You can write that quarter off but it won't detract from the cow in any way if you are keeping her for your own milk. If my memory serves me well from an accident a cow of mine had (some 20 years ago), they have two sphincters, one at the bottom of the teat, the other at the top. It is these that stops milk leaking out of the udder unless stimulated to do so. In your case, the bottom sphincter is going to be damaged and your right, it will heal, create scar tissue and be unuseable. No big deal really but what is important right now is that this is a dog bite and you need to talk to your vet about AB's to stop infection as well as the best way to help the wound heal. Without seeing the wound, I am not going to advise on that.

Don't lose heart or sleep or beat yourself up about it. ---- happens and we move on and learn. Also keep in mind that the cow will more than likely end up producing as much out of 3 quarters as she would have out of 4. I've milked a few 3 titters over the years and the remaining quarters often take up the shortfall of the 4th.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[farmergirl]

Thank you Ronney for your post. I "thought" we had enough for a blue heeler to do around our 10 acre farm, helping move the hogs from pen to pen, running the cattle into the working chute when needed, etc.. I have learned the hard way that this hard-headed, tough as nails, fearless and yes, loveable, heeler of mine is just way more dog that we are farmers. I wish I knew of someone who could use up that energy of hers, but the guys around here don't use working dogs much at all, preferring instead to ride 4-wheelers to herd the cattle if necessary. She's not a bad dog, and that's part of what had me in tears last night over the whole situation. The Jersey cow is the materialization of years of dreaming on my part. I have wanted a family milk cow since I was a little girl, really, and just in the last couple years that dream grew more and more persistent. It hurts me to look at my beautiful Jersey with this nasty scar that I am ultimately responsible for. Knowing that it may not affect her overall milk production is a comfort.

[Madsaw]

Ronney,
Here in the states there is lots of heelers. For the most part the blue heelers. The genral idea to me is they all are very aggersive dogs toward anything. Countless farm kids get chewed on from them. Plus a farm with a heeler not tied up on it has very few cats if any. Only good heelar I saw was a crazy one that had a thing for tractor tires. Well the only good part about it he chewed on the tires not nothing else.

Farmergirl,
Just keep a eye on your heifer and keep it clean and covered with a antibiotic salve. This will keep it most and keep down the infection. Be ready though she will kick. We have a few 3 quartered cows milkng now. They do just fine. But, I know the feeling you are going through. You and I are different though. The dog is still alive there, sure would not be here.
Bob

[Ronney]

Bob, we are a farming country to the extent that it is our primary income earner. Heelers are used extensively but are rarely owned by the small block holder where the farming dog also tends to be the family pet. It is a working dog and treated accordingly i.e. it will be let out of it's kennel when it's time to go to work and put back when it's finished. If the object of the day was to bring cattle into the yards for drenching etc., once the dog/s have completed their part of it they will be tied to a fence with what we call a drovers chain and let off again when it's time to move the cattle back to pasture. Working dogs are never allowed inside the house section and are never treated as pets. They are not necessarily aggressive and Farmergirls description of them is very apt - fearless, tough and as hard as nails - which makes them an excellent dog for working run cattle. I've owned a heeler. He was loveable and loyal to the inth but I would never own another. He never damaged my stock simply because I never used him because of his hardness but he was the best ----ed pig dog we ever owned.

Farmergirl, I can't advise you what to do with the dog but leave things settle down a bit until your a little less upset and can look at the picture rationally. How is the cow looking today?

Cheers,
Ronnie

[ozark_jewels]

Farmergirl, I am sorry this happened. As others have said, a three-quartered cow is still a great asset. We milk many in the dairy and we are handmilking one in our small Jersey herd. Very good producers still.

Speaking of blue heelers. I used to milk at a Jersey dairy where the owner used a blue heeler mix to help bring his cows in. Most of those cows had scarred lower legs and ankles, some were actually swollen with pus-filled cuts, because of the dog getting over excited and biting the cows that weren't moving fast enough. Rather horrible. The owner also didn't seem to care. That dog wouldn't have survived at my house.
I have met nice blue heelers....but they sure have been the minority.

[farmergirl]

The cow is doing fine. I called our vet and he can't make it out til Friday, so advised I keep the area clean, apply disinfectant, and load the cow up on penicillin. I kept the cow in one of the horse pens overnight, but turned her out again this morning. MAN, can she EAT!!! I fed her two flakes from a square bale and it was gone in about 20 minutes The cow is being pretty cooperative about the whole thing. I sprayed the chewed area with scarlet oil and overall it seems to be healing fine. Vet coming out to see if he needs to insert anything to keep the teat open/ kill the quarter eventually, etc.. I am now somewhat hopeful that a calf will be able to nurse off of the stub that's left if it doesn't scar shut. If not, hopefully the quarter will just dribble out milk, so that we don't have to kill that quarter by scarring the inside or amputating it altogether. The dog is still her normal self, happy, hyper and bouncing around. I have been keeping her on a leash when we are anywhere near the cattle pasture. She is great with our hogs, I guess because she is so fearless. She's also fine with the cats and geese. I am considering just muzzling her when we are out with the cattle, horses, donkey etc.. Does anyone have experience with muzzling?

[jill.costello]

I just want to add my experience with our Blue Heelers.

Just like with any breed, there are the ones that are well bred with thought and care as to temperament, and there are those that just breed a heeler to a heeler and hope for the best.....not wise, as far as I'm concerned, with a dog as driven and fearless and stubborn as this breed.

Heelers were bred to work VERY difficult cattle; scrub cattle/ half wild beasts with horns that they know how to use! In the area of Texas where I just lived for 4 years, there are herds and herds of beef steers that fit this description, and Ronnie is right; those dogs WORK all day long. They get kicked at, chased off and attacked by those beefs and they still work them all day long.

The poor docile dairy cow just isn't equiped to deal with this kind of dog, UNLESS that dog has had some SERIOUS hard-nosed obedience training by it's "Alpha" owner. My personal experience is this:

Heelers need CONSTANT discipline. Every move my guy makes is controlled by me, to the point I feel like a sadist, sometimes. He MUST be at my side, he MUST respond to my EVERY command like lightening, or ELSE! The minute I say "work 'em!", he'd better move like he's shot from a cannon! Or he gets a swift toe in the butt! Same the other way; if I yell "sit!" he has about a blink of an eye to cease whatever he is doing, drop down, and look to me for more instructions. Punishment for him is swift and brutal. Luckily, the older he gets (he's 3, now), the less and less I have to knock that sense into him.

Believe it or not, this dog works my goats and horses, and has NEVER put a mark on them. I am all over him like stink on poop, and he KNOWS it.

Now, for the good news: He is a wonderful dog. He eats up the discipline like it's manna from heaven, he LOVES me for being Alpha, for being THE BOSS. He LOVES to work our small farm with me (3 goats, 8 horses), and KNOWS that one wrong move and the work day is DONE; back to the shed! He knows each horse and goat by name, and will bring me the one I want. Also, when the mares are being sassy and hard to catch, JJ can stop one in it's tracks and wait for me to get her halter on. About once a week, JJ is allowed to come into the house and watch TV for about an hour or so with me. He is protective, loyal, and a good father to his TWO SONS that I also have! I also have their mother; an Australian Kelpie.

I guess what I'm saying is, there's hope for you and your dog IF you step up and become the BOSS; a raging, heavy-handed leader that your dog can latch onto and respect and listen to 100%, and after that happens, you're dog's behaviour will determine how much you can back off or relax JUST A BIT...

[Otter]

Excellent post Jill. With all the PC terms like "guardian" and "pet mom" people have forgotten that dogs need Masters. Like you said, they love it and thrive on it. A dog is as good as the time you put into him.

Farmergirl, I hope your cow heals well.

[jill.costello]

Just had to share these pics of my JJ with his 5 week-old pups; to prove that he can be a hard-noses working dog and still be well-rounded enough to relax and play gently:






And here are pics of JJ with HIS foal; he watched this foal be born, and licked him, and ever since this has been HIS BUDDY; these two look for one another and this foal (now a yearling) can bite, paw at, and chase this dog! They are BUDS!:

[Madsaw]

I would say why have the extra work on the place. I mean if a dog needs constant eye watching it when its loose. Its just extra work. Being a full time farmer I have enough to do besides being a babysitter to a dog.
Get rid of the dog, spend the extra time you get then working with your cattle. They can be trained to do as you say just like a dog with voice comands.
Bob

[Jay]

On a note about eating....two flakes of hay isn't much. My mature Jersey girl eats on an average of one square bale bale a day--no matter what kind it is. (Lactating or dry.) She'll eat more in the cold winter months. It takes her 4-6 weeks to go through a BIG round bale. (6 weeks in the summer, 4-ish weeks in the winter.)
Just a heads up....also helps to easily figure how many bales you'll need for the "no pasture" months!

[spinandslide]

not familar with dairy cattle, all Ive got are beefys..but to comment on the blue heeler subject..

As many have said, heelers are TOUGH strong willed dogs. They require extensive disapline at an early age and plenty of exercise and activity to remain happy and SANE. they are working dogs and unfortunantly, to many people dont realize that when they purchase a heeler.

Jill, your dog looks like a credit to the breed! I love the last photo of him with his puppies. He looks like a happy, content heeler.

Here are photos of both of mine

Dakota, my male, on my mare Lilly


Dakota and my female, Maggie, at my mom;s old house. Maggie went through drug dog training.

[farmergirl]

Jersey cow update
Vet was out this a.m. and we decided to wait on "killing" the quarter. He spoke with one of the senior vets at Texas A & M about it, and that doctor thought that the quarter may eventually just scar in on it's own. There is about 1/3 of the teat remaining and it tore in such a way that it may actually heal without scarring over at the teat end. That of course, would be ideal, as any milk could just drain out and it would not be a closed environment for mastitis to develop in. He palpated the cow and said she is between 5 and 7 months along, so I hope to be milking by February or so. I am to check her every couple days for any signs of infection in the teat area and treat her with an additional course of penicillin if need be.