My greyhound just ate a small bird!

[Spirit]

Hi everyone,

My greyhound just picked a live little sparrow off the street and ate it in about 3 seconds. We called the vet and they said just to keep an eye out for Spirit, and that they wouldn't induce vomit for this type of situation.

Has anyone else had this experience before?

 

Thanks!

[Bizeebee]

Sort of

Our guy had a baby bunny snack a few weeks back when I couldn't get him away from a newly discovered nest fast enough. He also regularly finds and eats bird remnants (heads, wings, feet) that I think some larger bird of prey tosses down from the trees into our yard

Dog stomach acid is much stronger than ours and should easily dissolve any bones from such small animals. There's always a small chance that they can pick up some bug or another from eating anything weird outside, though with a freshly caught sparrow you probably won't have too much of that to worry about.

Obviously if Spirit starts acting weird or unwell give the vet a call back, but my guess is that it'll be fine.

[LaFlaca]

My first Greyhound, Wendy, would eat any critter, dead or alive, she could get her jaws on. She particularly enjoyed flingling the carcass around before devouring it. Once, she threw a dead collared dove over the fence into a neighbor's yard. The neighbor came over to complain that the kids had thrown a dead bird into her yard.  Anyway, I digress. Nothing bad ever came of this disgusting habit. 

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by LaFlaca

[EllenEveBaz]

It's amazing how fast death can happen and how casual it seems to the predator, isn't it?  

I don't want to know the entire list of what Milo has killed and eaten, but he has never missed a meal.  Hope Spirit is equally ok.  

[Hubcitypam]

Rex would snatch squirrels and half eat them before I could get to him.  No ill effects.  Then there was the unfortunate episode when doves nested under a hedge in my back yard.

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Hubcitypam

[FiveRoooooers]

Here is Bea's thought on birds

[Beachbum1]

Taylor grabbed a robin one time.

After around a minute of "drop it.......no" and trying to open his jaws (no way.....he was 90 pounds), I gave up.

He chewed it 3 times and gulped it down.

I called his vet.  "They do that, not to worry, their stomach is like a seagull.  You might see a little diarrhea tomorrow"?

Nothing.  My back yard was known as "The Killing Fields" with Taylor around.  Even when he was 3 legged for 2 years.

 

[cleptogrey]

common practice around here....don't worry

 

[kronckew]

My two bridge angel greyhounds, Blue and Millie once caught and chewed three fledgling partridges each like bubblegum before I could get to them. The parent birds just escaped by flying. no change in stools after.

[GreyhoundGirl]

My first Greyhound was a Greyhound/Lab mix. It wasn't uncommon for her to jump into bushes on walks and come out with a bird. The first time I called the vet and he said it was just protein. We finally had a deal where it just had to be gone before we got home. Generally she ate it in one gulp.