Good Dog Or Bad Dog?

[Guest auforygirl]

Ok so we were out walking and we were coming back when we saw a mouse go across my front door and into the garden. Pretty Girl immediately starts going in that direction (she was on a leash) so me wanting to see exactly what it was went along with it. She is looking at this one bush how she knew it was in there is beyond me I was looking in a completely different area. Well she did a fox pounce and came up with the mouse and crunched a couple of times. When it looked like she was about to eat it I told her to drop it. SHE DROPPED IT! I am sooooooo proud of her at that point. Well the mouse was able to get about 7 feet away and it stopped moving. I am assuming it is dead... though I couldn't get closer for fear that Pretty Girl would try to eat it. (Ewwww) Pretty Girl mean while is literally shaking at attention staring at the mouse that is no longer moving. I had to really pull her in the opposite direction to get her inside. I then brushed her teeth and gave her a chew. No blood or anything. So Should I be completely freaked out about this or should I go with the fact that cats do it all the time and say good girl?

[Guest mountain4greys]

Well, even tho we'd rather they not kill things, they are sighthounds, and this is what they do. I wouldn't scold her, myself, I would tell her good girl.

[gazehund]

Normal sighthound girl. Nothing more nothing less. Tell her she is a good girl. She would not understand being scolded.

[Guest auforygirl]

Well good news on the killing front... from monty python the mouse must of said, "I'm not dead yet" I went out to check on it... not there anymore. So it is still at least alive... not sure if it had any injuries (though I can't imagine it not) but at least she didn't kill it outright... so her record is still clean.

[GeorgeofNE]

My mixed breed dog killed more moles and chipmunks than I could count.

 

Totally normal ANIMAL behavior. We can call them "furbabies" and whatnot, but that doesn't change the fact they're omnivorous animals with instincts.

[seeh2o]

Sheila, my now 14.5 year old Shiba/Chow mix, most of her life kept all the vermin (and a few squirrels) out of the yard. She would bring them to the front door for me. I realized this was what she was meant to do and she was quite skilled at it, never any blood or torture, always a cleanly broken neck. I always thanked her when she brought me a "gift". I learned to become a proud mama to dead rats, possums, squirrels and even a HUGE alligator lizard. The only time she ever brought anything into the house was when my beloved chocolate lab, Chaka, was sick (and dying unbeknownst to me or to the vet at the time). Ed and I were getting ready to go to dinner when he started behaving like a cartoon character, screaming and cartwheeling his hands as he RAN out the door yelling..."LOOK WHAT SHE PUT BY CHAKA'S BED". What makes this image even funnier is that Ed is a 6'3" ex cop who looks a lot like a younger (think Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now) Robert Duvall! I went to Chaka's bed and found a HUGE dead rat carefully placed in front of Chaka's bed. Chaka was nonplussed, looked at it and walked out of the room. I told Sheila what a good girl she was, bagged it and dumped in a dumpster in the park on the way to dinner. Sheila apparently knew how sick Chaka was (she was dying of cancer and no one knew it for another week or so).

 

Sheila my little hunter, she doesn't hunt now only because she is blind. She never confused even the smallest domestic animal with a non-domestic.

Edited March 7, 2010 by ckruzan

[JAJ2010]

You should have let her eat her prize! :lol

[greysmom]

She wouldn't understand getting scolded since she was doing something totally natural for her. She was a good girl for dropping it on command - I don't think any of mine would!

 

If the mouse is gone, you can think tha it's still alive, as that's one possible scenario. More likely is a neighborhood cat or bird came along and scooped up the doggy roadkill for a quick and easy take-out meal. Crows are always hanging around here, but even large song birds like robins and jays will eat rodents if they can.

[Trihounds]

I would have neither scolded nor praised. Just would have said thanks a lot and moved on. Non issue. Couldn't answer your poll, as a result.

[Guest bellenzo]

Neither good nor bad; just doing what comes natural.

[Guest iconsmum]

yeah, no comment to the dog, just normal behaviour.

[Guest earlkattangrey]

If you had a pet mouse and you two had been working on socializing her to mice, therefore she had specific and quality instruction against killing mice, then I would say bad girl. Absent that, good girl. She's doing what she thinks is right. And when you did give her instruction - "drop it" - she did. GOOD GIRL!

[silverfish]

She's a good girl. As others have said, she's doing what comes naturally to a sighthound (yes, you can compare her with a cat if you like, it's just the same instinctive behaviour) and she dropped it on command. My beloved Jim was a hunter. He accounted for numerous rabbits, one hare, a couple of mice and a few birds in his lifetime. I didn't encourage him to kill wildlife, but when he did, I'd exchange the body for a pig ear or something, tell him 'good dog' for dropping on command and chalk it up to thousands of years of breeding. He ate a couple, but when he caught rabbits with myxomatosis, I didn't want him eating those and throwing up.

 

Pretty is a good girl!

 

Well good news on the killing front... from monty python the mouse must of said, "I'm not dead yet" I went out to check on it... not there anymore. So it is still at least alive... not sure if it had any injuries (though I can't imagine it not) but at least she didn't kill it outright... so her record is still clean.

 

IMHO a clean kill is far, far better. It might soothe your conscience that the mouse might be still alive, but if it's been in Pretty's mouth and she crunched ... uh, sorry, but it's unlikely to be uninjured. And I have to add, her record isn't still clean. She would have killed if you hadn't made her drop it, and you know it. So from now on you have to treat her like a dog who would kill small creatures if given the opportunity. Would she kill a cat? You have no way of knowing, but if she were mine I would consider it a strong possibility. Having said that, Jim would (and did) kill wildlife, but was perfectly safe with small dogs and most other animals. He did chase cats, but he was frightened of them and if they turned and looked at him (or took a swipe) he always backed off, and then he was done. He never hurt one.

 

 

Sheila, my now 14.5 year old Shiba/Chow mix, most of her life kept all the vermin (and a few squirrels) out of the yard. She would bring them to the front door for me. I realized this was what she was meant to do and she was quite skilled at it, never any blood or torture, always a cleanly broken neck. I always thanked her when she brought me a "gift". I learned to become a proud mama to dead rats, possums, squirrels and even a HUGE alligator lizard. The only time she ever brought anything into the house was when my beloved chocolate lab, Chaka, was sick (and dying unbeknownst to me or to the vet at the time). Ed and I were getting ready to go to dinner when he started behaving like a cartoon character, screaming and cartwheeling his hands as he RAN out the door yelling..."LOOK WHAT SHE PUT BY CHAKA'S BED". What makes this image even funnier is that Ed is a 6'3" ex cop who looks a lot like a younger (think Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now) Robert Duvall! I went to Chaka's bed and found a HUGE dead rat carefully placed in front of Chaka's bed. Chaka was nonplussed, looked at it and walked out of the room. I told Sheila what a good girl she was, bagged it and dumped in a dumpster in the park on the way to dinner. Sheila apparently knew how sick Chaka was (she was dying of cancer and no one knew it for another week or so).

 

Sheila my little hunter, she doesn't hunt now only because she is blind. She never confused even the smallest domestic animal with a non-domestic.

 

Oh, what a sweet story! Funny too - I love the vision of your macho husband 'cartwheeling his hands' and running! Just what mine would do, too!

[Guest IrskasMom]

Good Girl all the way around . She did what comes naturally and she listen to your Command and dropped it. Good Girl

[Guest PhillyPups]

Normal girl hunter. Good girl for dropping it. Bad girl, never!!

[JohnF]

As coincidence would have it, Peggy caught a mouse in the garden yesterday and had it in her mouth ready to scrunch up. I told her 'leave it!' and she stopped and let me take it from her jaws. It was unharmed apart from being scared. I put it back behind the border and took the dog in. An hour later she caught the same little mouse and let me take it from her and put it on the other side of the wooden fence. My guess is she saw it as like one of her toys that she never actually kills. No doubt she will eat it the third time. It's natural behaviour.

[Guest auforygirl]

I was never under the illusion that she was "small animal safe" by any stretch of the imagination, same with birds. I wouldn't have scolded her it was more of the fact that do I need to worry about this behavior for safety reasons or will it grow into something worse. Any ways I am not a big fan of mice so I wasn't plussed about the actual victim more about the fact that I now have proof that she would like to kill small things. We are a therapy pet and I am slightly worried that if it got out that she has killed something we might not be certified anymore. I think she was a little disappointed she didn't get to eat it but she did get a dental chew instead and lets face it I wouldn't want to think of what her poop would be like if she ate the mouse. I just know I wouldn't want to pick it up give me the 25 dollar fine. It will probably be a few weeks till she doesn't keep looking for her mouse right now it is open door immediately go left (where she had caught it) sniff listen and then when she is sure it isn't there follow me on the walk. She is a very good girl I am still amazed that she dropped apparently all that training did work. I figured she would have been so focused on the small furry squeaky thing that she wouldn't listen to me. Sort of like how if they are hunting something you can't get them to recall. But my little pretty girl rocks the socks.

[silverfish]

I was never under the illusion that she was "small animal safe" by any stretch of the imagination, same with birds. I wouldn't have scolded her it was more of the fact that do I need to worry about this behavior for safety reasons or will it grow into something worse.

 

With Jim it didn't! He lived till he was thirteen and a half, and (since we are in England) he was offlead in the country most days. Sure, he killed some wildlife, mostly rabbits that were sick with myxomatosis, but he never hurt anyone's pet, or even looked remotely as if he wanted to. He used to play with small dogs, off the lead, and quite safely. Not all greyhounds are like that, of course, so you're right to be aware, but killing a mouse doesn't mean it will necessarily escalate into 'not dog safe'.

 

 

Any ways I am not a big fan of mice so I wasn't plussed about the actual victim more about the fact that I now have proof that she would like to kill small things. We are a therapy pet and I am slightly worried that if it got out that she has killed something we might not be certified anymore.

 

I don't know what the rules are for the organisation you're registered with, but here the PAT dog people accept that greyhounds are different to many breeds and wouldn't worry about her killing a mouse, or a rabbit. They will allow also us to register with a dog who isn't dog or cat safe, with a note on the record to say we shouldn't be placed in a situation where we might meet other pets, and they'll exempt us from stairs or elevators or slippery floors, though clearly they are happier if we can work with our dogs to get them more 'usable' in all situations. They also exempt us from the 'dogs are only allowed to wear a standard buckle collar' rule, which is there mainly to weed out the pullers and dogs who are only controllable with head collars, etc.

 

If your people are iffy, maybe they need reminding that just because a greyhound will kill small creatures does NOT mean she isn't totally, 100% safe with people of all sizes. To a hound, these are entirely separate concerns, as I'm sure you know!

 

I think she was a little disappointed she didn't get to eat it but she did get a dental chew instead and lets face it I wouldn't want to think of what her poop would be like if she ate the mouse. I just know I wouldn't want to pick it up give me the 25 dollar fine.

 

I can tell you from first hand experience that a dog's digestive system is good enough that you're very unlikely to see any recognisable remains.

 

She is a very good girl I am still amazed that she dropped apparently all that training did work. I figured she would have been so focused on the small furry squeaky thing that she wouldn't listen to me. Sort of like how if they are hunting something you can't get them to recall. But my little pretty girl rocks the socks.

 

She is a good girl!! You must be very proud of her!

[Guest SusanP]

Not good or bad; just normal. Though dropping it on command is really good! Ours have eaten countless wild critters in the yard. I hate it, but there is only so much you can fight nature.

[Guest SueG201]

i know someone whos whippet killed and ate a mouse it caught while in the yard, but the mouse had consumed rat poison from the shed before wondering into the yard, the whippet almost did not live because of the poison in its system, it is

good she dropped the mouse

[Guest kydie]

they is what they is they were bred to do a job and she did it, can't change that,

Edited March 9, 2010 by kydie

[Guest greytgrandma]

good girl for both killing it and dropping it. We have such a problem with rabbits here, they eat EVERYTHING. I have to fence my garden just to grow things.Young trees have to be protected with chicken wire.Soon the little buggers will be nibbling on my tulips and rose bushes. thank goodness my rose bush is so huge a little nibbling doesnt hurt it. But If I catch one eating my other flowers bye bye bunny.

I taught my lhasa /poodle mix to hunt rabbit nest in our yard and kill whatever she found in them. I may be evil but the only good rabbit is a dead rabbit in my yard. I wish our yard was fenced so Hot Rod could hunt here.I hunt them myself and my little bb gun does a fine job.Then I plant them in the bunny garden

[Guest kydie]

for greytgrandma! My neighbors get so upset when I pick them off so resorted to live traps, I just hate to clean up all that blood and guts, when they catch them, take them down the road a few miles and let them go in the woods

[Guest greytgrandma]

for greytgrandma! My neighbors get so upset when I pick them off so resorted to live traps, I just hate to clean up all that blood and guts, when they catch them, take them down the road a few miles and let them go in the woods

I would have to buy 7 or 8 live traps to keep up with the bunny population here..Walk out in the yard with a flashlight at night and see 10 to 15 of the darn things.During the day I see less maybe 4 or 5 at a time.Over populated here for sure and they have fleas!! Im lucky my neighbors want to get rid of the bunnies too. So they dont mind me picking them off.They do seem to go in cycles,some years more rabbits than others .

Edited March 9, 2010 by greytgrandma

[sobesmom]

sssssssssssadfadsfasdfadssSorry I can't see what I'm typing!

Edited March 10, 2010 by sobesmom