Dog killing rabbits

antw23uk

I think you should concentrate on getting your recall 100% for safety if anything else. Your more likely to get in trouble for having a dog you cant get under control immediatley than for letting it chase a rabbit (I know you dont purposley let it do this)

Personally as long as it didnt have signs of mixi i would let it eat it, waste not want not and it can go down fur, bones and all :beer:

My cats are on a RAW diet and they love munching and crunching rabbits

zaksmum

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

I bet he can't fly though.

He very nearly can, actually! He's leaped from ledges 25 feet high onto grass or into the sea and landed smoothly and safely.

Nearly gives me a heart attack every time though!

zaksmum

antw23uk wrote: »

I think you should concentrate on getting your recall 100% for safety if anything else. Your more likely to get in trouble for having a dog you cant get under control immediatley than for letting it chase a rabbit (I know you dont purposley let it do this)

Personally as long as it didnt have signs of mixi i would let it eat it, waste not want not and it can go down fur, bones and all :beer:

My cats are on a RAW diet and they love munching and crunching rabbits

His recall is usually perfect, but unfortunately where rabbits are concerned he has selective deafness and is totally focussed on the rabbits:(

antw23uk

zaksmum wrote: »

His recall is usually perfect, but unfortunately where rabbits are concerned he has selective deafness and is totally focussed on the rabbits:(

I can imagine the naughty little devil :rotfl:

rev229

zaksmum wrote: »

She killed 4 rabbits while wearing a muzzle?? HOW??

The new black baskeville muzzels allow dogs to eat with them on!! I didn'tb think this meant rabbits, she is now wearing her old basleville muzzel which allows to drink only! However she has previously kill one by using her head and body but it may have been rather naggered before she got to it!

purple.sarah

zaksmum wrote: »

But there's no worries about my dog going over the edge of clifftops. He's like a mountain goat and unbelievably agile.

zaksmum wrote: »

He very nearly can, actually! He's leaped from ledges 25 feet high onto grass or into the sea and landed smoothly and safely.

Nearly gives me a heart attack every time though!

zaksmum wrote: »

His recall is usually perfect, but unfortunately where rabbits are concerned he has selective deafness and is totally focussed on the rabbits:(

The last two statements seem to contradict the first. There's no danger of him going off cliffs but he has jumped off 25 foot high ledges before and is totally focussed on the rabbits when he's chasing them, so he might not notice? I really wouldn't risk it! Just because he's landed on his feet before is no guarantee he always will and he might misjudge the distance and height, or just not notice when he's focussed on a rabbit. Please keep him on the lead near cliffs!

No one wants this to be your dog:
Dog dies in 200ft Anglesey cliff fall
Dog dies after falling over cliff edge
Cliff warning goes out after dog dies in fall
Warning as dog dies in Durdle Door cliff tragedy
Warning after dog dies in a second cliff-top drama
Dog dies after falling from cliff at Portreath
Please listen to the advice of the coast guard:
HM Coastguard station officer Mark Roberts said: “I strongly advise dog owners not to let their animals run free on the cliff tops. The distress and trauma to a family when their beloved pet is either killed or injured in this manner is horrific.
“Dogs will chase rabbits or birds and are unaware of the dangers. I would like to impress upon people that when walking the cliff tops keep your dog on a lead at all times.”

tankgirl1

I used to walk dogs with a girl from school about 15 yrs ago. One time both dogs brought back rabbits - My BC had killed the bunny, friends terrier mix had merely harmed it badly We got into a huge argument coz she pulled her dog off the (probably) fatally wounded bunny - whereupon I let my BC go and dispatch it with a quick shake.

No it wasn't nice, but I am a realist - I have seen myxi bunnys sat blind in the middle of the road, and have seen my Pa get out the car and put them out their pain. Both the bunnys that our dogs brought back had the characteristic eyes of a myxi bunny, and tbh it really offended me that my friend could leave her dogs catch to die naturally - poor little critter - hence why I let my BC at it.

I must add - neither dog was trained to chase or kill - they just happened upon some slow bunnies above ground.

OP - please don't worry - your dog probably saved the poor thing weeks of suffering

zaksmum

tankgirl1 wrote: »

I used to walk dogs with a girl from school about 15 yrs ago. One time both dogs brought back rabbits - My BC had killed the bunny, friends terrier mix had merely harmed it badly We got into a huge argument coz she pulled her dog off the (probably) fatally wounded bunny - whereupon I let my BC go and dispatch it with a quick shake.

No it wasn't nice, but I am a realist - I have seen myxi bunnys sat blind in the middle of the road, and have seen my Pa get out the car and put them out their pain. Both the bunnys that our dogs brought back had the characteristic eyes of a myxi bunny, and tbh it really offended me that my friend could leave her dogs catch to die naturally - poor little critter - hence why I let my BC at it.

I must add - neither dog was trained to chase or kill - they just happened upon some slow bunnies above ground.

OP - please don't worry - your dog probably saved the poor thing weeks of suffering

Thanks tank girl...but the rabbit my dog caught certainly didn't have myxi!

He was a big strong fast rabbit who could run like the wind, but sadly for him my dog was even faster.

zaksmum

purple.sarah wrote: »

The last two statements seem to contradict the first. There's no danger of him going off cliffs but he has jumped off 25 foot high ledges before and is totally focussed on the rabbits when he's chasing them, so he might not notice? I really wouldn't risk it! Just because he's landed on his feet before is no guarantee he always will and he might misjudge the distance and height, or just not notice when he's focussed on a rabbit. Please keep him on the lead near cliffs!

No one wants this to be your dog:
Dog dies in 200ft Anglesey cliff fall
Dog dies after falling over cliff edge
Cliff warning goes out after dog dies in fall
Warning as dog dies in Durdle Door cliff tragedy
Warning after dog dies in a second cliff-top drama
Dog dies after falling from cliff at Portreath
Please listen to the advice of the coast guard:
HM Coastguard station officer Mark Roberts said: “I strongly advise dog owners not to let their animals run free on the cliff tops. The distress and trauma to a family when their beloved pet is either killed or injured in this manner is horrific.
“Dogs will chase rabbits or birds and are unaware of the dangers. I would like to impress upon people that when walking the cliff tops keep your dog on a lead at all times.”

Thanks for your concern sarah. The cliffs where the dog walks are not sheer drops, they are sloping, so there's no danger of him going over the edge of anything higher than about 25 feet, and even then he'd land on thick long grass or the sea.

I'd never let him off lead near the edge of a sheer drop cliff top.

bagginslover

rev229 wrote: »

Strangely we have seem loads od dead rabbits around in the past few days not all killed by my bunny loving dog!

Its means there is a population explosion again (happens regularly), so very soon there will be a resurgence of myxi, and there will be few rabbits again.

It goes in a cycle like that, you see it in the fox population too, in response to the rabbit numbers going up-more food for the cubs so more survive.