Sooo she got a squirrel amazingly enough. Snatched him right out of the air. Didn't kill it all the way but really got her teeth into it. I got over to her as quickly as I could to not let her eat the thing. She did let out a yelp so I know the squirrel prob bit her on the face. I don't see any cuts or blood. Should I be concerned at all? She did get a few good chomps on it as she started to jog with the thing in her mouth.

Haha! I'm sure it's fine. Impressive catch, really. Doom has killed moles and for some reason my backyard has a lot of turtles and I've had to rescue about 3 of them in the past couple weeks because Doom was running around with them in his mouth and trying to chew through the shells (Although yesterday I had to get him inside because there was a snapping turtle he was going after that was huge and I wasn't gonna touch it! Lol) I wouldn't be too worried about it. It is a dog after all. They eventually all kill something if they're outside long enough. It's just in the nature of the breed.

Ditto the above. Just keep your rabies shot current (Ami got a rabid raccoon last year - if he had not been current on vaccination, he could have been impounded. Or worse.)

She just killed a bird... Thoroughly impressed but why all this sudden of be able to catch and kill animals? First thing She does anymore as soon as she goes out is look for prey and stalk and kill? I guess she is tired of kibble. She has tasted blood lol

Doom does the same. Squirrels drive him crazy but they never get close to the ground. I had to trim a tree that had low hanging branches because he was starting to jump up and try to drag the branches down

cosmothunder wrote:

She just killed a bird... Thoroughly impressed but why all this sudden of be able to catch and kill animals? First thing She does anymore as soon as she goes out is look for prey and stalk and kill? I guess she is tired of kibble. She has tasted blood lol

It's all of a sudden because she's growing up and it's late spring and there are lots of animals about new that the weather is warmer. I don't think it's a taste for blood as much as the animals move and the husky pounces. End of story. Usually

We've had a steady stream of dead birds, rabbits, voles this spring between Ami and Archer. The good news is I haven't seen a rabbit (live, anyway) anywhere near my garden this year The bad news is, I try not to think of all the dead critters...especially the baby ones

Yeah I know it's not the tase of blood just a joke lol I do feel bad cause I have to put the little guy out of misery. Had to kill a squirrel and a bird already... So should I try to discourage this behavior or just let it go?

Tony, while our living situation is quite a bit different I think the answer would be the same either way.

It has to be your call. But here's my personal opinion. If you're going to discourage her trying to hunt and kill then you're going to try to counter nature. Dogs are predators and it's a natural part of their makeup to hunt and kill = it's not going to be an easy thing to train her out of.
If you're going to allow her to hunt then it's appropriate that she get the reward of the hunt. Allowing her to hunt / kill and then take it away from her to throw it away is tantamount, in my opinion, to the hunter who goes out, shoots a deer, take the "trophy" and leaves the rest of the deer to rot. In neither case is the natural followup happening and that's a tragedy.

Others may, probably will disagree, but a healthy, properly vaccinated dog should suffer no repercussions from a normal hunt / kill / eat.

I worried about letting her eat it. And when she got the bird I took it with the shovel, killed it and burried it. The entire time she was whining and trying to crawl under the fence to get to the bird. Like you said maybe I should reward her? Like a treat?

I'm pretty much with Al - with some reservations. If it's rabbit or mice, I let him eat it BUT I make sure he gets wormed every three months. The birds I don't usually find until they've been abandoned - dead and uneaten. Archer doesn't eat them but likes to play with them

What I have found is that a hunting dog RAPIDLY clears the area of critters...if they know what's good for them The birds are a different story, but the toll my two have taken on the baby birds this year is sobering.

So worms are the only thing to worry about?

No...rabbits can carry tularemia. The big think is rabies as I mentioned before. Depending on your state health dept. laws, if Bandit tangles with an animal positive for rabies, she may, if current rabies vaccinatation, have to be under house observation or be quarantined in an approved facility - at your expense. She would also need a booster rabies vaccine. If she is not vaccinated at all, she will be put down. If she is out of date - depends on the kindness of the health officer...

There may be other disease, I don't know. For us here, Ami can catch a vole or mouse while on leash and swallow it before I can even process what is happening. THe main thing I have changed is he now longer is allowed to sleep outside at night - even though he would prefer that. I worried enough for 6 months post rabies exposure...

Hmmm that's a lot to deal with. I think I'll continue to let her go after critters in the backyard and try a reward system for her bringing them to me and see how it goes. Every time we go outside she walks slowly and scans the backyard

These I'm ok with when he finds them! yuck

What sort of snake is that? You're from Arkansas? Are poisonous snakes a problem down there?

No idea, it was small. Probably like a grass snake or some other common critter. And yes, there are plenty, I live near the Arkansas River (it's one of the bigger ones in the country) and the main concern as far as pit vipers go are Water Moccasins (although that's mainly if you live right on the river or rurally, which I don't) Copperheads and to a lesser extent Rattlesnakes. But I'm in a pretty urban area nearby shops and schools and I was surprised to even see a small snake like that.

I wish I were surprised to see a snake or two. There are at least 2 garter snakes living in the border of the southern side of the house - lots of excitement for the dogs. And they are forever startling me. In my vegetable garden are at least another 2 - I've seen them sunning on top of the compost pile. THey like it there 'cause mice like to snack in there. Once again, they, too, are forever startling me. I like the frogs and toads - they eat snails and slugs.