So Neb caught and killed a vole yesterday on our hike.
He killed it quickly, but then played and played with it, not actually eating it.
I brought it home with us and offered it to him there. Wouldn't eat it. Luc showed interest but wouldn't eat it and Teagan showed signs of wanting simply to sit on it.
They're happy to eat the meat I give them - what was up with the vole rejection?
Should I have cut it open to make it more bloody-smelling?
Connie, no, I don't, but while I was going 'what is squeaking?' he killed it. It just seems so wasteful to kill it without eating it.
I hadn't thought of it in terms of encouraging him to hunt, and to hunt small prey. Certainly I don't want that. He is good w/all the small animals in the house - totally ignores them - but I don't allow him around them unsupervised since I am suspicious of his Husky/Terrier genes
Kristel Smart Webboard User Reg: 10-03-2006
Posts: 1548
Loc: Vermont
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My dog caught a squirrel(?!) a few months ago. He killed it very quickly, but then all he wanted to do with it was shake the hell out of it and throw it around. It was actually pretty awful, but he didn't show any interest in eating it.
I definitely don't encourage it for a lot of reasons (the "ick factor" being primary) And now never leave home without the ASD (anti-squirrel device/e-collar).
The only experience I have w/this is when he was 16 weeks old, Xander jumped straight in the air and caught a bird. I tried to get it away from him, and he ran away w/it. I finally gave up, figuring I was just making it that much worse for the bird, and let him have it. The whole thing was gone in about 45 seconds. I wonder if he ate it b/c there were other dogs in the yard who he was afraid would steal it?
All mine have done exactly the behavior you're all describing w/bits of deer and rabbit pelts.
I have a cat that is a huge gopher-er and bird catcher. She takes pride in her work and wants me to as well.
Of the hundreds of mice, gophers, birds and giant grasshoppers she has brought home only one has ever been eaten. Most of the times I find them laying in the back yard and only know they are there because the dogs find them. They’ll do the same things you guys have described but not ever eat them. But once, my old female was playing with one in a very joyful way. Quinn was watching jealously from the other side of the yard. When she dropped the thing to go get a drink, he ran as fast as he could and swallowed it in two gulps. I was a little shocked as no one had ever tried to do that before! And no one has since… I always wondered why…
I think the eating so quickly had to do with the fact that he was just a pup and knew someone would take it from him quickly if he didn't. Sounds like the same thing as Jessica's post.
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"You kill it, you eat it"....or not
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