My dog caught, killed and ate a bird last night
I think it's normal for dogs to catch and play with prey.. but eat it?
hmmm...interesting! what breed of dog is it?
murph has killed mice before, but he didn't seem to want to eat them, just stomp them to death (and wonder why mom is running around flailing her arms trying to stop him).
i doubt it'll hurt your dog, but if you're worried about that you could always call the vet up to ask.
Wow, that's my dog's idea of heaven. I'm sure if she ever managed to actually catch something (she's fast as heck but lacking in mouth-eye coordination), she would gobble it up.
Well, my older cat does this all the time. Actually she only eats the heads, and leaves the bodies on the porch step as a way of providing for us. I asked the vet about it and she shrugged and said, that is was fine. All the crunching on the bones would probably help keep her teeth clean.
She brings me birds, snakes, field mice, and baby bunnies -- all headless. She must love us a lot, lol.
LOL emilyd222 (about your dog's mouth-eye coordination).
I got Cadie from the pound when she was 8 weeks old. She's a yellow lab mix and she looks like she's part Whippet maybe? Also, she has purple spots on her tongue so maybe some Chow in there?
Her first 'taste' was when a baby bird fell from a tree and broke its wing. It was flailing around and Cadie grabbed it so quick and started munching! I had to prey the bird out of her mouth.. felt so bad for the bird!
Since then she goes nuts trying to catch squirrels (is that a pun? nuts/squirrels? LOL)... but her true love is birds. I took her to the country once to visit a friend and my friend said 'check her out, she's pointing!'. When she sees birds she raises on paw and points and then charges. I guess labs were used by bird hunters? (someone told me).
I'm just worried that she'll want to attack and kill my cat now. They're kept separte because my cat Lucy was the Queen for 4 yrs and didn't like Cadie at all. I take care of my 90 yr old grandma and grandma didn't want the dog in her room so Lucy has always stayed with her during the day and only roams the house at night when Cadie is asleep in my son's room.... Cadie has gotten into my grandma's room before and the animals would go nose to nose.. then Lucy would hiss and smack her with her declawed paws and Cadie would crouch, wag her tail and bark and want to play.. but now that's she's older, she came charging in the other day and tackled Lucy.. I still kinda think she was playing but I dont know.. last nights bird episode freaked me out..
And! I couldn't get it from her! I hope she doesn't get sick from it!
Original Post by karozel:
She brings me birds, snakes, field mice, and baby bunnies -- all headless. She must love us a lot, lol.
LOL, my cousin's cat Zoe does this all the time! She brings them in the house through the doggy door though and leaves them in the dining room... all headless.
Original Post by jenniferthepennifer:
I took her to the country once to visit a friend and my friend said 'check her out, she's pointing!'. When she sees birds she raises on paw and points and then charges. I guess labs were used by bird hunters? (someone told me)
Labs were used by bird hunters to retrieve the dead bird once they shot it out of the sky- that's where they get the "retriever" in Labrador retriever. My girl is a pointer/setter mix. Both of these breeds "point" at animals they see to indicate that they're there to the hunter, who then shoots them. Maybe your girl has some huntin' dog in her!
Your lucky they are dead... My cat brought us LIVE stuff.. Mice (good luck catching a live mouse IN your house) bats, (that one was FUN trying to get it out..) and Rabbits. Be glad they are dead! Finally my cat decided we were too stupid to do anything with the live animals he was bringing, we kept letting them go, so he started bringing them to us dead. That was actually a relief!
jennifer, it sounds like she is looking at the cat as a potential playmate (crouching and wagging tail is play stance) and not prey. BUT you might want to keep a close eye in case she changes her mind.
RE: #6...
She definately does! I'm no hunter but I wonder if I could rent her out for money?? hehehehehe Hey, these are tough times!
We have a lab/retriever mix and he used to do stuff like that all the time. Now I think he's too old and slow. He jumped and caught a bird that was in the air and ate it. He ate my pet turtle, kills moles in our yard and has killed baby bunnies (sad). I think it's fairly normal if your dog is outside.
Original Post by alibsam:
We have a lab/retriever mix and he used to do stuff like that all the time. Now I think he's too old and slow. He jumped and caught a bird that was in the air and ate it. He ate my pet turtle, kills moles in our yard and has killed baby bunnies (sad). I think it's fairly normal if your dog is outside.
She's spoiled rotten.. haha She's inside but we have a big back yard and she goes out whenever she wants. She's so bad! She has eaten 4 pairs of shoes, a window seal, the couch cushion, an antique chair and two bedspreads (althoughs she's getting a 'little' better now). And I'm not one for dressing up dogs but I did cave and get her a Halloween outfit since she'll be walking with the boys then... it's a pink velvet princess outfit. LOL It totally doesn't fit my naughty, destructive bird-killing dog. Oh, and it has a tiara!
Original Post by emilyd22222:
Original Post by jenniferthepennifer:
I took her to the country once to visit a friend and my friend said 'check her out, she's pointing!'. When she sees birds she raises on paw and points and then charges. I guess labs were used by bird hunters? (someone told me)
Labs were used by bird hunters to retrieve the dead bird once they shot it out of the sky- that's where they get the "retriever" in Labrador retriever. My girl is a pointer/setter mix. Both of these breeds "point" at animals they see to indicate that they're there to the hunter, who then shoots them. Maybe your girl has some huntin' dog in her!
Both of you are using past tense.. but just FYI they still are used for hunting. I've known several people the past few years who hunt and all use labs as their runners to go get their kill. I don't condone the "sport", but the dogs are VERY smart.
Jennifer I'm sure your dog will be fine. Pretty much all animals were predators at some point in their evolution, even the ones that have since been domesticated... so of course the instict is going to be there somehow/somewhere. It's stronger in some breeds than others, and given the history of labs it's to be expected that it will be strong in your dog. And now that you know she's got it in her, you can play up the strength with retrieval games! :)
My dog will eat anything she can catch, and she will even go as far as gulping it down alive (mice) before I can get to her and tell her to leave it!
So I'm not surprisedby your dogs behaviour :) and although not nice to see I wouldn't be too concerned.
Original Post by iamacommitmentto:
Both of you are using past tense.. but just FYI they still are used for hunting. I've known several people the past few years who hunt and all use labs as their runners to go get their kill. I don't condone the "sport", but the dogs are VERY smart.
Jennifer I'm sure your dog will be fine. Pretty much all animals were predators at some point in their evolution, even the ones that have since been domesticated... so of course the instict is going to be there somehow/somewhere. It's stronger in some breeds than others, and given the history of labs it's to be expected that it will be strong in your dog. And now that you know she's got it in her, you can play up the strength with retrieval games! :)
Oops (about the past tense).
I wish I could play up to the strength with tretrieval games.. I taught her to sit, come, stay, talk, shake.. but she does not want to bring toys back to me. She would much rather you chase her and let her run as fast as she can with her prize in her mouth! lol Some retriever! ;)
Original Post by jenniferthepennifer:
Original Post by iamacommitmentto:
Both of you are using past tense.. but just FYI they still are used for hunting. I've known several people the past few years who hunt and all use labs as their runners to go get their kill. I don't condone the "sport", but the dogs are VERY smart.
Jennifer I'm sure your dog will be fine. Pretty much all animals were predators at some point in their evolution, even the ones that have since been domesticated... so of course the instict is going to be there somehow/somewhere. It's stronger in some breeds than others, and given the history of labs it's to be expected that it will be strong in your dog. And now that you know she's got it in her, you can play up the strength with retrieval games! :)
Oops (about the past tense).
I wish I could play up to the strength with tretrieval games.. I taught her to sit, come, stay, talk, shake.. but she does not want to bring toys back to me. She would much rather you chase her and let her run as fast as she can with her prize in her mouth! lol Some retriever! ;)
Ditto about the oops on past tense. I specifically got a setter because I met some hunting dogs I loved.
lol, to take you off on a tangent.. My dog one time picked up a baby bird that had fallen from its nest and was bringing it up to the porch... The momma bird swooped down and pecked my dog in the butt.. After about the third time my dog dropped the bird and ran, it was the funniest thing I had ever seen!!!!!... I don't know if they ever ate any of the snakes, and mice they kiled...
Original Post by karozel:
Well, my older cat does this all the time. Actually she only eats the heads, and leaves the bodies on the porch step as a way of providing for us. I asked the vet about it and she shrugged and said, that is was fine. All the crunching on the bones would probably help keep her teeth clean.
She brings me birds, snakes, field mice, and baby bunnies -- all headless. She must love us a lot, lol.
I have come to believe that cats do this because they think we are too stupid to catch our own prey. They feel obligated to feed us. Yick.
Well it sounds like pretty normal dog-like behaviour to me! I wouldn't worry. As for worrying about your cat, you'd be surprised at how good they are at looking after themselves! Cats are pretty hard and from what I've heard (and seen) if your dog tries to go for your cat, the dog will probably come off worse!!
I don't know.. she's declawed and weighs 14lbs.. and my dog is 63lbs! :o
I hope so though.. as someone said above.. I'm hoping she recognizes that she lives in our home and is not a critter she's supposed to eat!
Also, I hope she doesn't get sick from that bird.
I was reading to my kids the other night, and noticed that my dog (a Corgi, which is a herding dog, not a hunting dog) was licking something. It was a dead baby bunny! Right there on my bedroom floor! I screamed before I realized what I had done, and then had to cover with the kids. They would have freaked if they knew that Trev had gotten a bunny! I made hubby come and carry it away with the pooper scooper.
So yeah--if my herding dog is killing little critters, it's not that surprising that your hunting dog is doing the same. But blech, to quote Peanuts.
