OMG!!! My dog just killed a squirrel!!!

HappyMJ

zaksmum wrote: »

Oh Yuk. I don't think so...:(

You don't have to use celery soup any tin of soup will be fine..:)

hoogervaaner

I walk mine on 9m lunge lines (designed for horses) that way they have freedom to sniff about but if they start to take off after something I can haul them back in. They are rescue lurchers and would like nothing more than to chase down any local wildlife. They have the handy trait of going conveniently deaf whilst chasing so their free running exercise is gained in our securely fenced half acre.
Don't feel bad about your dog killing a squirrel, if an inexperienced dog can catch and kill a squirrel that easily without taking any damage it is unlikely the squirrel was in tip top condition and your dog may well have saved it from a slow painful death over winter.

zaksmum

HappyMJ wrote: »

You don't have to use celery soup any tin of soup will be fine..:)

OOOOH, stop it!!! You're making me feel sick!!!

zaksmum

hoogervaaner wrote: »

I walk mine on 9m lunge lines (designed for horses) that way they have freedom to sniff about but if they start to take off after something I can haul them back in. They are rescue lurchers and would like nothing more than to chase down any local wildlife. They have the handy trait of going conveniently deaf whilst chasing so their free running exercise is gained in our securely fenced half acre.
Don't feel bad about your dog killing a squirrel, if an inexperienced dog can catch and kill a squirrel that easily without taking any damage it is unlikely the squirrel was in tip top condition and your dog may well have saved it from a slow painful death over winter.

When you say without taking any damage, do you mean without getting hurt by the squirrel?

I don't think it had time to react. My dog is sooo fast and he just raced towards it, tossed it up into the air and when it hit the ground it was dead. Just in a split second. He did the shake from side to side thing incredibly fast as soon as he grabbed it, there was nothing I could do.

I'd feel better to know it maybe wasn't A1 in the first place, though.

ChrisEvanson

I had exactly the same a few months ago when my big softie Heinz 57 mongrel caught and killed a rabbit. I was really upset but now accept it is nature and meant to be.

zaksmum

ChrisEvanson wrote: »

I had exactly the same a few months ago when my big softie Heinz 57 mongrel caught and killed a rabbit. I was really upset but now accept it is nature and meant to be.

I know it's mad to be upset but you just don't like the idea of your dog turning killer, do you?

I was telling an elderly neighbour about it, and she said, oh well, that's just the bigger ones killing the smaller ones, isn't it? I was like, what??

Then she said, was the owner with the one he killed? What owner? I said. Squirrels don't have owners...!

Oh, she said, I thought it was a little DOG he killed...!!!

I nearly collapsed. And thought, well, things could have been a LOT worse than him killing the squirrel!!!

Very quickly put her right there - that's one bit of gossip I don't want going around about my dog!!!

hoogervaaner

zaksmum wrote: »

When you say without taking any damage, do you mean without getting hurt by the squirrel?

I don't think it had time to react. My dog is sooo fast and he just raced towards it, tossed it up into the air and when it hit the ground it was dead. Just in a split second. He did the shake from side to side thing incredibly fast as soon as he grabbed it, there was nothing I could do.

I'd feel better to know it maybe wasn't A1 in the first place, though.

I do mean without getting hurt by the squirrel, they are tough as old boots. When a squirrel is grabbed he will twist and bite his predator, the muscles in their cheeks are phenomenal (just think of the nuts they break through!) and they are tenacious in spirit. His death by your dog must have been exceptionally quick and I would wager that he was not in peak health. Please don't feel guilty any longer, his quick dispatch is far better than not being able to feed himself.

zaksmum

Thanks for that hoogervaaner! You really have made me feel much better.