By Michelle Mears

Now I’m no vet, but over the years I’ve visited quite a few of them. Including the "Old School" ranch veterinarians and even "Baby Boomer" poodle vets. I listened close and I’ve collected the advice that worked and thrown the rest away. Also, through trial and error of my own experiences I've made up a list of what works. I suggest you do like I did and keep what works for you and throw out what doesn’t work.

Let’s talk about Ivomec 1% cattle wormer. This product is a hunting dog’s best friend, unless the dog is infested with heartworms. In that case, it could kill the dog. Always use caution when administering Ivomec. When used properly it can be helpful for several ailments.

#1: Monthly worming and heartworm prevention. Given by weight, down into tenths of a CC (i.e. 50 lb. Dog gets .05 CC). Some people give it subcutaneous (injected under the skin), but I give it by mouth. It kills all worms but tapeworms. It can be given to puppies as young as four weeks to worm them as long as you weigh them first. Ivomec is also used to treat Red Mange, the hereditary kind. Given by mouth, a 50-lb. dog will get three quarters of a CC daily for 30 to 60 days until all symptoms disappear. No more burnt motor oil! No more expensive and sometimes deadly dips. Just Ivomec. One last Ivomec tip is for ear mites. Mix 1 CC with 1 CC of baby oil. Pour in the dog’s ears and rub it around. Ear mites will suffocate and die. Surprised? Don’t be. For around $45, this is one of the best all around products that no pack of hunting dogs should be without.

You know how after a rough night of hunting, catching a few, running through the brush, etc., you wake up feeling muscles you didn’t even know you had. Think about it when you go to the pen and your old dog’s face is all scabbed up and he comes out of the box all stiff legged and slow. Do him a favor and give him an extra-strength Bufferin. It’ll help his soreness and he’ll be ready to go again a lot sooner. Take one yourself too! This remedy also works for older dogs if you give it to them before the hunt, for arthritis or other sore spots from old battle wounds. Your dogs take a beating to find and catch hogs for you. They can’t tell you, "Hey, I pulled a muscle in my back leg last night on that big hog." So it’s the least you can do for them.

So you’ve got a pup that’s been sick, or just small and skinny. Try feeding raw ground beef mixed with vanilla Ensure (It’s sold in drug stores for elderly weight gain.). You’ll see that pup grow twice his size in a week! I use that same mixture added to dry puppy food to wean all my pups. It’ll grow some big fat healthy ones.

Now let’s go outside your dog pens. I’ve got three things no dog pen should be without, no matter whether it’s fifty pens or one pen; bleach, Sevin-5 dust, and lime. Put the bleach in a garden pump sprayer. Once a week, after removing the dogs, spray your dog pen floors, doghouses, ground areas, etc. then rinse. Splash a little in the water pails also. It’ll help control mosquito larvae and algae. It’s fine for your dog to drink as long as you don’t use too much. Bleach will keep down odors and kill a lot of bacteria. TIP: Don’t leave pressure in your sprayer after use or the bleach will eat up the rubber seals. Sevin-5 dust is found in the garden section of the hardware stores. It’s safe to use around puppies, etc. It will kill fleas and ticks. Just sprinkle it in the doghouse, on the dog, or around the border of the pens and leave it. I use lime behind my kennels or where ever you hose out the mess. It breaks down dead bodies, so it should work on the dog doodoo right? It takes a while, so don’t think if you spread it today, that big old pile of "stuff" will be gone tomorrow! It just helps keep down odors, bugs, bacteria, etc. Just because you have fifty head of dogs doesn’t mean your yard has to smell like it.

One last tip: Feed you dogs four to five hours before you hunt. Lots of old timers say "No, don’t feed dogs in the morning if they’re hunting that night." I say "Bull Honky!!" Do YOU eat before you go hunting? Do you bring a cooler with sandwiches and snacks? What happens if you don’t eat? Think about it. You run out of energy, get a headache, stomach growls, etc. Folks, if you treat your dogs right, they’ll perform a lot better for you in the woods.

I hope you get some use out of these tips.

Good luck!

For more information contact Michelle Mears at

High on the Hog Kennels
Michelle Mears
Plantation, Fla.
(954) 791-6473
Highonthehogdog@aol.com