Labredor pup killed a pigeon

eire_dd

Hi all, we just recently bought a labredor pup, aged 13 weeks. Just tonight I went in the garden to find him chewing on a pigeon...., earlier I found a dead starling on the patio, which I presumed just flew into the window. Should I be worried about this, giving the bird in question is classed as a flying rat, will it do him any harm...... Any thought .???

SillyMangoX

My cats often kill and eat pigeons, I have no idea how since the pigeons around here are MASSIVE, but they never showed any ill effects. Just keep an eye on him for any runny tummy or vomiting!

eire_dd

SillyMangoX wrote: »

My cats often kill and eat pigeons, I have no idea how since the pigeons around here are MASSIVE, but they never showed any ill effects. Just keep an eye on him for any runny tummy or vomiting!

Cheers

Outkast_IRE

as long as he has his regular wormer and flea/mite control when its due i cant see an issue.

tk123

Surprised he'd be able to catch one tbh being a clumsy lumpy puppy!! My GR is 3 and would run at birds but can't see him ever catching one - unless it was deaf and blind lol! I'd keep an eye on the off chance he gobbled it without chewing and throws it back up.

Also don't mind anyone who tells you he has a 'taste of blood' now - utter BS.

Cherry Blossom

To be perfectly honest I imagine it's highly unlikely that 13 week old pup managed to catch a bird. I'd be keeping a very close eye on him, treating it as a pup who has eaten a bird of which the cause of death is unknown.

dodderangler

Hard to think a lab at that age killing a pigeon considering the speed of a pigeon
I'd be worried something is going around killing birds and your dog may get sick over it

lb1981

seen springer pups doing this , your dog is from hunting strain so its in the blood

dodderangler

lb1981 wrote: »

seen springer pups doing this , your dog is from hunting strain so its in the blood

But come on catching a pigeon
A lab is not that fast maybe a springer if believe but a lab no

lb1981

dodderangler wrote: »

But come on catching a pigeon
A lab is not that fast maybe a springer if believe but a lab no

A 12 week old lab is not a small slow pup, mine wasnt anyway , a "gick na" pigeon would be moping around feeding a 12 week old lab could easily catch it by suprise.

Cedrus

I got home recently to find my slightly chubby mini dachshund had 'caught' a blue tit which he was proudly chomping but hadn't dissembled yet. As it was more or less a complete bird I didn't worry, if it had been the remnants of a bird I would have been a lot more concerned. I've watched various birds(usually young ones) getting casual round him because he's usually too lazy to chase them but every now and then he rushes at them.

Dirk Gently

you'd be surprised how quickly dogs can adapt. admittedly 13 weeks is very young but with my 2 I've gone from "he'll never catch it" to "oh **** he's good" in the space of a few weeks. They soon learn to stalk quiet well after a few initial epic fails.

eire_dd

Thank you all for your reply's. Was up early this morning, plenty of pigeons around as usual as we have a wooded area to the rear of our house. I watched scooby for about half an hour stalking the pigeons around the garden and believe it or not he got another one....... ha had been hiding under the kids trampoline when one landed in the garden and bang...he was all over it. I had to pull him off it as it was obviously on the menu for breekie..... again should I be worried about this, am not a gun person although I do have experience with setters from my youth, I don't fancy arriving home to dead birds everywhere as i have 3 young kids.

EPointer=Birdss

dodderangler wrote: »

But come on catching a pigeon
A lab is not that fast maybe a springer if believe but a lab no

Have you seen how dozey pigeons are? ESP wood pigeons. I hit one last week in the jeep thinking he's gonna move, surely he is then bang & feathers. 2.5 ton black jeep vs small pup lab. Wouldn't rule it out at all at all!
Springer pup used catch an odd blackbird/ thrush
Had a dropper once who was a pure whore for it & had to go.

Dirk Gently

eire_dd wrote: »

I don't fancy arriving home to dead birds everywhere.

I stick a collar on my two which has a bit of a chain and I attach their tag to it. It lets the birds know when they're around as the rattle has a bell effect. Keeps the ducks and birds safe as they can hear them approach.

here's Mylo modelling his bird alarm. Doesn't stop him trying but does give the birds an early warning which works.

eire_dd

Thats a very good idea, cheers

kylith

I have two tags on each of my dogs for the same reason. They'll still occasionally get close enough to almost catch a duck, but the jingling is a great alarm.

Zapperzy

Dirk, I'd be worried about that getting caught on something and choking the dog, especially on a young boisterous pup who might jump against things like a fence. Could you could fasten it on in some way with velcro or elastic bands so it had a release mechanism if caught? Or would you also need to worry about a pup chewing it or trying to eat it? Good idea though. Perhaps just plain cat bells on a collar might be enough to work, they can usually be bought in packets on their own in petshops.

Dirk Gently

Zapperzy wrote: »

Dirk, I'd be worried about that getting caught on something and choking the dog, especially on a young boisterous pup who might jump against things like a fence. Could you could fasten it on in some way with velcro or elastic bands so it had a release mechanism if caught? Or would you also need to worry about a pup chewing it or trying to eat it? Good idea though. Perhaps just plain cat bells on a collar might be enough to work, they can usually be bought in packets on their own in petshops.

you're probably right in that a small bell is the best solution. I keep the dogs in the house so they only have a collar on when outside and under my supervision so worrying about climbing fences or chewing out of boredom while I'm away isn't really and issue. it's generally just to give a rattle if he's in long glass and spots anything like a rabbit / duck / bird. You have me paranoid now though so I'll probably get them little bells instead.