# Do your dogs kill wild animals?



## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Well what I mean by that is if a wild animal should stray onto your property or whilst out on a walk would they attack? Stanley loves to have a go at hedgehogs and always ends up with a bloodied mouth and doesn't seem to learn that hedgehogs 'hurt' anyway obviously the instinct is strong as yesterday morning he went out in the garden and attacked a big hedgehog killing it. Husband was a bit upset as he said he could hear it dying. I had a look after it had died and there were no puncture wounds on its belly so he must have chomped it somehow on the outside and it died of internal injuries maybe.
Last week we found Stanley standing (looking sheepish) next to a big dead rat that had come from somewhere. He doesn't spend alot of time outside on his own so we were really lucky that he got it (where the hell had it come from or where was it going was my first thought) and wasn't sure whether we were going to be cross with him or not (we were pleased) but as we have many cats around the place I do worry that he will get one one day and that would be awful.


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

No, mine don't. Take a look at my avatar.


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## greyshadows (Jan 30, 2012)

Yes! One day in the backyard my female Weim jumped off the deck and grabbed a robin out of the air! Now everytime she goes out she looks for the birds! She is a bird dog I suppose, it is instinct. They say never to scold them or shriek (like I did at first)!


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

All my guys are small but yes, they certainly do. Bailey has killed squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, birds, and opossums. If she's gotten anything else I don't know about it. She is extremely prey driven and I know she'd kill a kitten if she had the chance. I don't know if she could kill an adult cat but she'd sure give it a try. I can't have her around my 2 cats at all. A couple of my Doxies have gotten a bird here and there as well as a squirrel or two. Even my older Chihuahua caught and killed a baby opossum a couple of years ago. I live with a group of tiny assassins....


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## Kbug (Oct 23, 2011)

Yes. Mine have caught rats, birds, and squirrels. They worked as a pack and set up traps for them. When I start up chickens and rabbits they won't be trusted not to mess with them.

Kbug


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I think Jackson would. Well, he did kill a bird once... it was a sort of by accident thing. It was stuck on our porch in a big blizzard in early 2010 and Jackson got it because it couldn't fly very well, and he leaped off the couch and caught it, lol. I really think the bird went into shock and died, or maybe he broke it's neck. Because there was no blood or anything, but yeah, he chases rabbits and squirrels and I think if he caught up to one... he'd kill it.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Well, if you count moths then Snorkels is a crazed killer.

She cornered a chipmunk once in the rain gutter and I was terrified she would actually get into a fight with it. I think it could have taken her. But she tries.

Not so much Rebel. He just likes to bark at the varmints, not eat them.

My last dog, Dawg, was extremely smart. He had lived in the country most of his life and we moved him to town. He figured out pretty quickly he couldn't chase rabbits down in the yard, so he would sit right inside the open garage door and wait from them to come through the gate and then cut off their escape path. He caught several rabbits that way.


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

xellil said:


> Well, if you count moths then Snorkels is a crazed killer.
> 
> She cornered a chipmunk once in the rain gutter and I was terrified she would actually get into a fight with it. I think it could have taken her. But she tries.
> 
> ...


Yes, Tuffy has eaten spiders. Ended up in emergency. Face was puffed up to double size and he was vomiting more than his stomach should be able to hold. He chases cats, but doesn't really know what to do after than. He got clawed once, which just made it more fun for him. The blood just added to the thrill.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Mondo said:


> Yes, Tuffy has eaten spiders. Ended up in emergency. Face was puffed up to double size and he was vomiting more than his stomach should be able to hold. He chases cats, but doesn't really know what to do after than. He got clawed once, which just made it more fun for him. The blood just added to the thrill.


Yikes. That's pretty scary. I don't think Snorkels has ever gone after a spider, but now that we are in Texas I'm sure she will because they are all over the place. One more thing to worry about!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Uno has an extremely high prey drive, but I think he's secretly afraid of other animals. This one time he caught a squirrels by the tail, it shrieked and Uno freaked out and let go. 
Other times when we're on walks and he sees a cat, he wants to chase it, but some cats either stand their ground or are super friendly and when he approaches them and realizes that they are not running, he loses interest. 
He just likes the thrill of the chase.

My roomate's dog, who is a lot calmer then Uno, has killed 2 rats and a bird at this point, my neighbor has chickens so theres been an increase in rodent activity due to the grain laying around.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Unosmom said:


> Uno has an extremely high prey drive, but I think he's secretly afraid of other animals. This one time he caught a squirrels by the tail, it shrieked and Uno freaked out and let go.
> Other times when we're on walks and he sees a cat, he wants to chase it, but some cats either stand their ground or are super friendly and when he approaches them and realizes that they are not running, he loses interest.
> He just likes the thrill of the chase.
> 
> My roomate's dog, who is a lot calmer then Uno, has killed 2 rats and a bird at this point, my neighbor has chickens so theres been an increase in rodent activity due to the grain laying around.


yep, the only cat that's ever lasted out here was one who didn't run from the dogs, and she lived well over 20 years. She would give any dog that came up to her a good swat. But all the feral cats that showed up got killed by the dogs because they ran.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Shiloh has killed and eaten several rabbits and catches mice all the time. She's a natural :wink:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> Shiloh has killed and eaten several rabbits and catches mice all the time. She's a natural :wink:


With Life After People, she would be one dog that survived!


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Lucky once caught a bird and killed it. :becky:


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

Ok, mine chase rabbits but I always call them off. My friends dog killed a rabbit and got tape worms? I don't think mine 4 pack of fur friends would take down anything. However my aussie might kill a cat, he hate cats.

I wanted to rescue one, cat that is, and try, but I am scared he will kill it.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

xellil said:


> Yikes. That's pretty scary. I don't think Snorkels has ever gone after a spider, but now that we are in Texas I'm sure she will because they are all over the place. One more thing to worry about!


I'm not going anywhere near Texas after reading this post! 

Bridget has killed a few frogs.. at least I think she did. She tried to play with them when she was younger. They tried to run. She tried to catch them and stepped on them in process...


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

Two of ours found a nest of baby rabbits in our tree line and killed and ate those. I am positive that if anything came into our yard they would attack it. A few years ago I let the dogs out at night to do their last pees and poos and didnt realize there was a raccoon on the front lawn  All 4 went into pack mode and attacked it. I was screaming trying to get them off of it, the dogs were screaming as the **** was biting them over and over. There was no way I was sticking my arms out to pull them off of it. It managed to get to a tree, the snow covered ground was covered in blood from the dogs and the ****. I was crying like a baby trying to get everyone in the house. I frantically called my husband who was on his way home from work. We ended up loading all 4 dogs into the truck and headed into the vets at midnight. Two needed stitches and all 4 got the rabies shot just in case. The health unit had to be notified and we were put under a 6 week quarantine, lol. The following spring we fully fenced in our backyard and now the dogs go in there. Being out in the country they have been skunked several times and the **** was the final straw, lol.


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

Bonnie trees squirrels like she was part black-and-tan ******* (albeit not a good one I guess, running trash! LOL). If she gets ahold of them they're in for it. She kills them and then Abbey steals the carcass from her usually, which is a pain in the arse to get away from her. I don't want them to eat squirrel, at least without freezing it, as it's LOADED with all sorts of parasites.


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

Chocx2 said:


> I wanted to rescue one, cat that is, and try, but I am scared he will kill it.


That's when you keep your cat and dog separate- a modified crate-and-rotate.


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

My dogs haven't but man I have the best team of mice catchers out there when it comes to my cats!

I do think that if given the chance, Raj would kill small prey, Willow would probably lick the small prey to death...and then go after the bear hiding in the woods....shes a little confused as to her role as "smaller dog" lol


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Chocx2 said:


> I wanted to rescue one, cat that is, and try, but I am scared he will kill it.


Never say never. To be honest, I thought Mollie would be a danger to Windy the cat when I first adopted her (windy), but Mol seemed to somehow know that she was never to touch Wind. She won't hesitate to chase cats she doesn't know (to my horror), so since Mol is a cattle dog x, maybe your Aussie just might be ok too.
The only thing Mol has killed was a big mouse or little rat that her and Windy bailed up and it was up its poor little hind legs begging for its life as I went NOOOOoooooo and Mol went Munch and it was too late. I think though, it was a surprise to Mol, she looked like she was probably trying to nibble it but went too far. 
She's bailed up a lot of squirrels, not lucky enough to get one thus far, but it will not be long. And, rabbits, there will be one unlucky one one day.
Windy's got a squirrel, a rabbit, countless lizards of course, a bird and ended up trying to eat the mouse that her and Mol assassinated.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I have taught mine, including the hound, that wildlife is NOT to be chased under ANY circumstances. We have a four foot, chain link fence and, although they don't go outside without me or Nick and Buck has never attempted to leave the yard, I have no doubt that Buck could easily scale the fence if he really wanted to. I don't normally like to teach a dog to do the opposite of what he was bred for but we keep Buck busy enough doing other things that hunting isn't a necessary outlet for him. 

Dude would never try and jump the fence as he is uncomfortable... ok, scared out of his wits... with anything less than all four feet on the ground. Buck could but hasn't tried. We were outside and a **** walked by the yard and they just calmly watched. 

My grandfather's late doberman, Xena, was an excellent hunter. She lived on a fenced in ten acres and there was always a carcass on the back patio. We watched her catch bunnies, rats, mice, squirrels... We couldn't believe it when we looked outside one day and there she was, up on the hill, stalking a bird. We didn't think she had any chance of catching it. Boy, were we wrong! She got close enough to it that, when it took off, she launched herself up into the air and snatched it out of mid air. We saw her catch many birds after that. The kicker is that Xena had a thyroid issue and was fat, fat, fat. Her body was like a barrel. 

The dobie before that killed rattlesnakes. Her first experience with them was when she got herself bitten on the neck and on the lip. My mom wanted to take her to the vet but my grandfather said she'd be alright. Angel disappeared for a few days and reappeared good as new. She got herself bitten several times after that but, other than a little swelling, she showed no signs of pain. For all the time we had her we had no rattlesnake problem because all the ones we found had already been torn up and killed by the dog. She never attempted to eat them though.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

When Bailey catches something she's ripping and eating probably before it's totally dead. Last time I saw her catch a rabbit it was early morning and she gutted it so fast steam was coming out of it. I hate to see the rabbits get killed but at the same time it's kind of impressive to see this little older dog be so stealthy and fast.

It can be a somewhat like wild kingdom at my house though on a small scale. I was outside yesterday in the front yard with my little old Dachshund waiting for her to pee. She was about a foot in front of me squatting and a hawk flew down, landed on the bird bath, and then jumped to the ground about 3 feet from Madison. I was so stunned I almost peed myself. I thought hawks were supposed to see everything! Such as, the fact that a person was standing with this little dog. Well, it seemed to suddenly realize I wasn't a yard ornament and flew away. I guess it was sizing up the old dog. If it's not a fox trying to snack on my babies it's a flying predator. Seriously, my dogs are not gonna be on that end of the food chain...


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Donna Little said:


> When Bailey catches something she's ripping and eating probably before it's totally dead. Last time I saw her catch a rabbit it was early morning and she gutted it so fast steam was coming out of it. I hate to see the rabbits get killed but at the same time it's kind of impressive to see this little older dog be so stealthy and fast.
> 
> It can be a somewhat like wild kingdom at my house though on a small scale. I was outside yesterday in the front yard with my little old Dachshund waiting for her to pee. She was about a foot in front of me squatting and a hawk flew down, landed on the bird bath, and then jumped to the ground about 3 feet from Madison. I was so stunned I almost peed myself. I thought hawks were supposed to see everything! Such as, the fact that a person was standing with this little dog. Well, it seemed to suddenly realize I wasn't a yard ornament and flew away. I guess it was sizing up the old dog. If it's not a fox trying to snack on my babies it's a flying predator. Seriously, my dogs are not gonna be on that end of the food chain...


I was sitting on the porch a few days ago watching snorkels eat her turkey leg in the yard when i realized the shadow overhead was a hawk circling. So now I park my butt out there with her, just in case.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

When I lived on a hay and grain ranch, we had "retail day" on saturday. We all hung out in the huge hay barn and helped load hay. 

Well when they lifted the stacks with the squeeze, a BAZILLION rats would scurry around from underneath. Mikey would run after them snapping one after another after another. He didn't eat them, he just killed them. He could get 10 to 20 before they all got away. 

Gunner...never

Sprocket...I could see him killing something because he is very aware but so far I can't recall him killing anything.


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

Malcolm is a prolific killer of bees...this sometimes doesn't end well for him:










Both of my pups LOVE to chase birds, but neither has ever caught one.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

BoxerParty said:


> Malcolm is a prolific killer of bees...this sometimes doesn't end well for him:
> 
> View attachment 6341
> 
> ...


Oh my Lord. That is so not funny... and yet it kinda is.


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## werecatrising (Oct 15, 2010)

Darla is a raccoon killer. She doesn't bother anything else.


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

Sprocket said:


> When I lived on a hay and grain ranch, we had "retail day" on saturday. We all hung out in the huge hay barn and helped load hay.
> 
> Well when they lifted the stacks with the squeeze, a BAZILLION rats would scurry around from underneath. Mikey would run after them snapping one after another after another. He didn't eat them, he just killed them. He could get 10 to 20 before they all got away.
> 
> ...


Like so?
terrier rat kill - YouTube
:biggrin1:


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

xellil said:


> Oh my Lord. That is so not funny... and yet it kinda is.


It's OK to laugh - he survived (obviously) and, much to my chagrin, returned IMMEDIATELY to catching bees. :heh:


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Cliffdog said:


> Like so?
> terrier rat kill - YouTube
> :biggrin1:


Similar but with a heck of a lot more rats! Lol


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

Annie thinks she is a hunter. Tucker is just her back up, he only does it because its what she is doing. Or maybe she is teaching him? We live on a small farm and have alot of animals. Over the last year they have killed many groundhogs, opposums, *****, skunks (thats ALWAYS a FUN one), moles, rabbits, mice, snakes, squirls, and a few barn cats that are mean and attack our cats and strangely enough try to attack the dogs for the heck of it. I usually let them have their groundhogs, squirel, moles, rabbits and mice, but take the meat eating animals away. I can stop them, but usually it is with someone else that they get theses animals. 

The largest thing they caught (Being Annie, Nalah, Bella (my boxers at the time) Brinx, Piper (my friends boxer and lab) Dudits and Borris (Other friends boxer and great dane) was a DEER! We were running with them in the woods and they ran over top of a doe that was lieing in the woods- didnt even knotice her. She took off, they turned around and despite trying to call them off, the 7 dogs caught her and pulled her down and killed her with in minutes.. It was like a real live wolf hunt! It was interesting to really see the wolf in our dogs. But we all felt bad for the poor girl. Since then we have worked on both "leave it" and the recall. They are much better. They will chase deer, but come when called.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

Makovach said:


> Annie thinks she is a hunter. Tucker is just her back up, he only does it because its what she is doing. Or maybe she is teaching him? We live on a small farm and have alot of animals. Over the last year they have killed many groundhogs, opposums, *****, skunks (thats ALWAYS a FUN one), moles, rabbits, mice, snakes, squirls, and a few barn cats that are mean and attack our cats and strangely enough try to attack the dogs for the heck of it. I usually let them have their groundhogs, squirel, moles, rabbits and mice, but take the meat eating animals away. I can stop them, but usually it is with someone else that they get theses animals.
> 
> The largest thing they caught (Being Annie, Nalah, Bella (my boxers at the time) Brinx, Piper (my friends boxer and lab) Dudits and Borris (Other friends boxer and great dane) was a DEER! We were running with them in the woods and they ran over top of a doe that was lieing in the woods- didnt even knotice her. She took off, they turned around and despite trying to call them off, the 7 dogs caught her and pulled her down and killed her with in minutes.. It was like a real live wolf hunt! It was interesting to really see the wolf in our dogs. But we all felt bad for the poor girl. Since then we have worked on both "leave it" and the recall. They are much better. They will chase deer, but come when called.


That would be something to see! And it would be really something to see if it was happening with my dogs. There's no one in the bunch taller than 14 inches. Were you feeding raw at the time and if so did you use the deer meat? Way to make the dogs work for their own dinner huh?!


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Cliffdog said:


> Like so?
> terrier rat kill - YouTube
> :biggrin1:


Impressive. For years I have wondered why NYC doesn't make use of all of the JRTs in this city to deal with the rat problem, especially in the subways.
Okay... I realize that city rats carry more diseases... but in a perfect world, it would help trim the rat population, as well as give some terriers a job to do.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

Donna Little said:


> That would be something to see! And it would be really something to see if it was happening with my dogs. There's no one in the bunch taller than 14 inches. Were you feeding raw at the time and if so did you use the deer meat? Way to make the dogs work for their own dinner huh?!


All the dogs were kibble fed at the time.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

We don't have too many small and fuzzy critters around, but lots of birds. Blaise has caught a mockingbird fledgeling, but he was more playing because he would grab it then let it go, chase it down and grab again. I stopped the game as quick as I could. Mockingbirds have to be fairly tough because it survived. Scotty caught a grak (nasty, medium sized, black birds that "travel" in flocks). He found out that was not a good idea when the rest of the flock came after him (think their grouping should be called murders like ravens). We had to go "save" him. Weird birds, Graks, came after him when he caught an adult, but only sqwacked when he cornered a fledgeling.


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## cupybear (Apr 11, 2009)

We have plenty of rabbits that Cupid runs off and the squirrels are some tame around here that they almost approach her at times,but she will lunge and they go up the nearest tree,also a possum will appear out back sometimes and she really barks at them alot,i do think she would grab one of those,but as far as we know she has never really killed anything in her 15 years,and as far as cats i think she likes them and knows that they can be very friendly.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

We don't have a fenced yard so he's never had the opportunity to kill something out there (not that I'd want him to, we have a rabbit family under the deck that I'm attached to and a Chipmunk too) but I'm fairly certain he would at least try and probably have success. When he's on his long line I'll let him stalk birds and squirrels if they are near a tree and he's GOOD, a very controlled stalk, he can get extremely close before he has to chase, It's just like watching a Cheetah. When the squirrel takes off up the tree he starts screaming at it. I sort of feel bad that he puts in all that hard work for nothing lol. Got SUPER close to a rabbit once too (I stopped him because he got too close). But that rabbit has sort of gotten used to my uncle's dog because the rabbit lays outside of the screen door and the dog lays inside of the screen door and they just sort of watch each other. I think if he stalked up to an animal and it didn't move he might not grab it, but he'd likely sniff, jab, nip, poke, etc. and it's almost guaranteed to move after that. Maybe a possum would be okay.

The only thing he's caught is a mouse in our house. The two cats found it first and were busy batting it around when Tucker saw it and went after it, grab, shake, eat, done. Probably a better way to go then getting played with to death I suppose. I've always wondered why they don't have a service where people come out with dogs to deal with rodent problems.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

cupybear said:


> We have plenty of rabbits that Cupid runs off and the squirrels are some tame around here that they almost approach her at times,but she will lunge and they go up the nearest tree,also a possum will appear out back sometimes and she really barks at them alot,i do think she would grab one of those,but as far as we know she has never really killed anything in her 15 years,and as far as cats i think she likes them and knows that they can be very friendly.


Long time no see. Hows your girl doing you should start a new thread. Sorry to hijack.

So I'm on track I would have freaked if my dogs killed a deer and butt spankings for sure. they have to learn NOT to chase deer and antelope.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

That would be a definite yes. I've never met a dog with such a strong prey drive. He's caught, in mid air...only when they swoop down to our yard, and killed 3 crows, a couple thousand possums crossing our fence, one rat, one squirrel in big bear, a couple hundred tiny lizards, and I can't remember what else. He did have a go once, we didn't let him...my dad accidentally let him off leash, at a goat at my dad's ranch when he was barely a year old! But that's another story...


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Rocky got himself two moles that he dug up when he was younger. He killed them and then left them on the grass for me to admire. He used to get the urge to chase cats but we spent a lot of time teaching him 'no kitty' so we've pretty much cured that. He has very little prey drive now that he's 3 years old and 'mature' (lazy). 

Shade has a really strong prey drive and chases everything he see's in the yard, including squirrels, cats, giant OWLS, deer. I have no doubt that he would grab anything he could catch. Whether or not he would kill it and eat it, I don't know. He's never actually caught anything yet. Sometimes Rocky will follow behind him, if he's feeling especially energetic that day :becky:


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## DDBsR4Me (Jan 23, 2012)

Surprisingly my mastiffs are pretty good hunters. 

My older female, Fahren, thinks she is a hound/hunting dog. I live on 10acres and she's always out there with her nose to the ground "tracking" stuff. She's caught/killed a full grown wild rabbit and kills babies when she finds them. I hate when she gets a hold of rabbits, luckily it isn't that often. 

My male is an excellent mouser. I don't know how many mice he's caught and killed, but that is one thing I don't mind them killing. I hate mice and if he catches them out in the field it keeps them out of the house! He's also caught a chipmunk before :-(

Neither of mine eat their "kills" though. My male gets bored after they're dead and no longer moving. 

They will chase just about anything they see - there's a cat that likes to come into the pasture as well as a couple ground hogs they they are always going after. As well as *****,squirrels,deer. Luckily they haven't caught any of those. What's really funny to see is my male chasing after butterflies, which he has done before. Pretty funny to see a huge mastiff chasing after butterflies.


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## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

Rodeo got a squirrel once. That's about it really. She has chased down rabbits but I always recall her before she gets out of sight. I doubt she could really catch it unless she cornered it but I feel she would probably kill it if she did. Duke hasn't really ever been out with me when I've seen various critters but he does love to chase leaves.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Rodeo said:


> Rodeo got a squirrel once. That's about it really. She has chased down rabbits but I always recall her before she gets out of sight. I doubt she could really catch it unless she cornered it but I feel she would probably kill it if she did. Duke hasn't really ever been out with me when I've seen various critters but* he does love to chase leaves*.



Thought of this. :smile:


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

My dog has a definite hunting instinct, though it's doubtful he would ever catch anything. Funny to watch him go into prey-drive mode--- with his head lowered, and the creeping stalk, he reminds me of a lion...

With all of the pigeons around the city, I have to remind him to "leave the birds"-- he'll generally snap out of it. Inside Central Park, though, I don't mind-- and he'll give the squirrels a good chase hwell:


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## AveryandAudrey (Sep 20, 2010)

No way mine would. They love raw food but they want it served and dead. I have a pet rat and they just sniff him. My pei grew up with 3 cats, a rat, a guinea pig, 3 geckos, and 4 frogs. So Nothing wild catches her interest. I used to have a lab/beagle mix that fast a fast moving killing machine. She would catch rabbits, lizards, mice, anything that was around.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

when malia was younger, and we lived on seven or so acres, yes. she killed anything and everything she caught, including the kittens that people threw out of their houses. i kid you not.

she could outrun a lizard, so many a feast for her. she caught rabbits and birds....she hung with a pack of lab mixes and herded them, so she had a good corgi/heeler/lab whatever life. 

now, if i let her off leash, i believe she can still catch rabbits but no more freedom for her. her recall is crap.


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## riddick4811 (Nov 2, 2011)

Mine love hunting. Armadillos is the preferred prey. 

Pongo (JRT mix) in his prime was a big time ratter. He would kill them as fast he could find them and has no qualms of busting holes in walls and taking out entire nest. Also killed a rabbit and a pgymy goat. 

Casper has gotten a few opossums, a raccoon, squirrels, chickens, turkeys and not sure how many armadillos. He has a high prey drive for most small prey. Loves cats though and bigger livestock- cows, ponies, horses.


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## AveryandAudrey (Sep 20, 2010)

Do you guys let them eat what they kill? My old lab mix didnt give us a choice, she killed it and was no where to be seen till after she ate it.


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## DDBsR4Me (Jan 23, 2012)

Luckily my dogs don't eat their kills, but if they did I would do my best to keep them from doing it. I worry now about them catching some kind of disease from the stuff they kill, I'd probably really freak out if they were eating it too!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

AveryandAudrey said:


> Do you guys let them eat what they kill? My old lab mix didnt give us a choice, she killed it and was no where to be seen till after she ate it.


My husband and i really argued about this with our last dog who caught a bunch of rabbits. I had never imagined feeding raw back then, but I thought a dog that worked so hard and waited so patiently should eat what he killed. My husband thought otherwise.

So if I was home, he got to eat it. If hubby was, he didn't.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Tessa is our own personal squirrel catcher.. she also catches birds in mid-air (can jump 4-5 feet straight up). Bishop is much too slow to catch anything and Willow.. well :biggrin:


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## HappyPuppy (Sep 26, 2011)

Ruby has gotten several (half-poisoned) rats and maybe 2 baby opossums but I try very much to discourage or prevent that. I cringe when people boast that my cat/dog kills all kinds of moles and birds and ????. (well, moles are bad...) Cat's kill all kinds of native species.... And I hate it when people sic their dogs on opossums since they are GOOD critters to have around. That said I don't have a cat so I don't have to decide btwn inside cat and outside cat. Tho, Ruby would be happier than a pig in doo doo to succeed at catching a squirrel or her other nemesis, a crow, tho - but I don't believe that will never happen. Then again, I guess it's sort of fair play if the critters end up in a yard that smells like a dog........


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

HappyPuppy said:


> Ruby has gotten several (half-poisoned) rats and maybe 2 baby opossums but I try very much to discourage or prevent that. I cringe when people boast that my cat/dog kills all kinds of moles and birds and ????. (well, moles are bad...) Cat's kill all kinds of native species.... And I hate it when people sic their dogs on opossums since they are GOOD critters to have around. That said I don't have a cat so I don't have to decide btwn inside cat and outside cat. Tho, Ruby would be happier than a pig in doo doo to succeed at catching a squirrel or her other nemesis, a crow, tho - but I don't believe that will never happen. Then again, I guess it's sort of fair play if the critters end up in a yard that smells like a dog........


Yep, cats are decimating our songbird population and people think it makes their testicles larger if their cat kills alot of birds. At least that's how our neighbor was before we moved. He had an incredible hunter; the cat would climb to the tops of trees to pull baby birds out of the nest. It was difficult if not impossible for a mama robin to raise a baby in our neighborhood. 

I put bells on the bottoms of the bushes (thanks to a suggestion here) and put the fledglings in cool whip bowls in the bushes at night to try to get them to the point where they could fly. But it didn't work very well. Maybe we saved a few - it's hard to tell if they eventually flew or if the cat got them.

The cat also tried to kill the birds that came to my feeders but I eventually had a set-up so that it was very hard for him to sneak up on them (except the doves; doves are not too bright). 

But, the cat never seemed to make a dent in the mice or chipmunk population. I had a little mouse colony that would run in a herd from the deck to the garage and back again. They were so tiny and it was hilarious to watch. Since they never came inside I just left them alone. And so did the cat.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I was going to try to keep the cat in the garage so it would have access to the outside, but then the coyotes started killing the strays in the area so that idea went out.

My vet and I were having that discussion and she thought I was crazy that my aussie would do anything she brought her clinic cat in and told me to relax. We he went after the cat, I had to grab him to save the cat. That's when she told me not to get a cat...


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