Dog and birds

Roycropper63

My cocker spaniel has killed at least 3 birds this year. Latest was a pigeon yesterday. Can't explain how he managed to catch them. She is 5 years old. Any thoughts?

Graces7

Roycropper63 wrote: »

My cocker spaniel has killed at least 3 birds this year. Latest was a pigeon yesterday. Can't explain how he managed to catch them. She is 5 years old. Any thoughts?

One of my cats way back caught a swallow, They used to swoop in and out of the cottage door and I wondered if it had just flown into the cat;s mouth? That cat was a great hunter.

Glass fused light

She is only living up to her breeding, and when you see them hunt and the happiness it brings you will understand the boredom she must be feeling. Hop over to the hunting and shooting section and get help on how to train her as a hunting dog, get her out hunting! her job is not to catch the bird and reward this behaviour, focusing on a reward for letting the bird take off. Get her into agility training too.

Doop

We had a dog who was always catching small garden birds. We got a bell for her collar to give the birds some warning at least, as she she would crouch and creep up on them like a tiger. The bell helped but didn't eliminate the problem.

cocker5

Roycropper63 wrote: »

My cocker spaniel has killed at least 3 birds this year. Latest was a pigeon yesterday. Can't explain how he managed to catch them. She is 5 years old. Any thoughts?

My cocker would have been the same if he were fast enough ..thankfully he never did catch one!

he’s 13 now and just admires them from afar

mvl

this thread already exists - yay !

so ... I have a 5 month old malshi, girl. and i just caught her catching/killing a small bird today, I was barely able to get it out from her mouth. dead.

could see how the bird was slow. but ... what about my cute indoor innocent puppy ? is this normal for her breed ? thinking if she hunts, and catches a rat one day ... then there could be trouble - anything i can do to prevent this behaviour ?

for half an hour I could only think she is a bird killer

Cherry Blossom

Malanois, malamute, Maltese, I honestly haven't the energy to try a decipher what possible mix of designer crossbreeds a 'malshi' might be so why don't you just tell us.

mvl

maltese / shih tzu.

PS: forgot to mention that my daughters other pets (other than our puppy) are 2 budgies; hence the worry.

Cherry Blossom

All dogs have some inclination to hunt down prey. Both my terrier and my Sheltie have killed rats. Neither showed any sign of wanting to eat them. Its just a part of dog ownership and isn't really a big deal from the dogs point of view. As long as they have their vaccs up to date it's no real danger to them.

Cherry Blossom

I've never had small pets and dogs at the same time. I pretty much sacrificed my rights to have small pets when I got my terrier as I couldn't have both running free in the house at the same time and I wouldn't keep either any other way.

mvl

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

All dogs have some inclination to hunt down prey. Both my terrier and my Sheltie have killed rats. Neither showed any sign of wanting to eat them. Its just a part of dog ownership and isn't really a big deal from the dogs point of view. As long as they have their vaccs up to date it's no real danger to them.

thanks.
btw, what is the protocol when rat exposure - is a visit to the vet needed ?

mvl

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

I've never had small pets and dogs at the same time. I pretty much sacrificed my rights to have small pets when I got my terrier as I couldn't have both running free in the house at the same time and I wouldn't keep either any other way.

birds were fist, as we lived in rented accommodation before, and was not allowed to get a dog until earlier this year when we moved to our place. but tbh, i thought there is only a risk with cats; defo had not imagined this tiny pup would kill a bird.

em_cat

Mr C totally ignores pigeons, barks at any other birds that come near but doesn’t chase them on walks. Our Shih Tzu use to sit till they landed on the feeding table and then rush them so they’d spill the seeds.

Also Mr C is really good with the Guinea Pigs, they sometimes chase him rather than the other way round.

Cherry Blossom

mvl wrote: »

thanks.
btw, what is the protocol when rat exposure - is a visit to the vet needed ?

Not unless the dog has a bitemark from the rat, at least I asked my vet and that's what she told me.

My brothers dog is regularly shut in a feed shed where he kills rats by the dozen and he's never been to the vet since he was a pup.