Dog owners know how curious their pooches can be, and sometimes this curiosity can lead to harm in the event the curious pup encounters a porcupine. To protect themselves from predators, porcupines grow barbed quills that easily pierce the skin and painfully stick in with barbs. For a curious pup, an encounter with a porcupine could be a quick and painful lesson.

"We see a lot of dogs who come across a porcupine, or roll on a dead porcupine," said Kristin Caldwell with the Prairie Animal Health Centre. "We see porcupine quills almost on a daily basis throughout the summer months."

Dogs that come in with quills stuck often in their mouths, chest, and paws will receive anesthesia in order for the easy removal of the painful quills. Though if there are only a few, and the injuries are minor, Caldwell says the pet owner can remove them at home. Though she warns to never leave the quills in as a 'lesson' to the dog.

"Unfortunately that doesn't follow the dog's thought pattern. A dog does not understand consequences," Caldwell warns. "Their thought pattern is not the same as ours. It does not help with training."

She says that dogs have instincts that they will follow regardless of training, claiming that if a dog sees a porcupine they will likely go after it regardless of past experience. Caldwell says they've seen dogs come into the clinic twice in the same day with porcupine related injuries.

The most common areas that dogs will receive quills are in the mouth, paws, and chest. This is because they will attempt to paw and bite the prickly pest only to be rewarded with sharp spines. While one or two quills can be removed by the owner, anything beyond that should be taken to the professionals.

For the cat owners who are curious, Caldwell says that there is almost no risk for your feline friends.

"Dogs are a little bit full force, go-ahead, while cats are quiet observers from a distance," Caldwell concludes. "Typically cats are a little bit smarter about getting porcupine quills than a dog is."

Photo courtesy of Kristin Caldwell / PAHC.