Dogs catching their own food.

mickmcl09

I've always let the dogs off for a run in the local fields during their walk to let off a bit of steam, have a run and a sprint and what have you. Lately I've come on a few fields with lots of rabbits, when I say lots, I mean a couple of hundred within 4 or 5 fields. They've caught a few in the last week or 2, I've brought them home with me and the dogs seem to love it. They're used of a raw diet from the butchers.

Are rabbits safe to consume? Do we have issues in Ireland with miximatosis (excuse the spelling)? When they get a rabbit each in the morning, it means neither of them are fed again until the evening. They're normally fed 3 times a day.

For those of you concerned for the rabbits, which I thought I would be as well. They meet a fairly instant end, the dogs don't play with them. They're Samoyeds and have fairly powerful jaws and once they make the catch, it's done and dusted within maybe 1-2 seconds at most. They stand over it and wait for me to pick it up and take it home.

OldNotWIse

mickmcl09 wrote: »

I've always let the dogs off for a run in the local fields during their walk to let off a bit of steam, have a run and a sprint and what have you. Lately I've come on a few fields with lots of rabbits, when I say lots, I mean a couple of hundred within 4 or 5 fields. They've caught a few in the last week or 2, I've brought them home with me and the dogs seem to love it. They're used of a raw diet from the butchers.

Are rabbits safe to consume? Do we have issues in Ireland with miximatosis (excuse the spelling)? When they get a rabbit each in the morning, it means neither of them are fed again until the evening. They're normally fed 3 times a day.

For those of you concerned for the rabbits, which I thought I would be as well. They meet a fairly instant end, the dogs don't play with them. They're Samoyeds and have fairly powerful jaws and once they make the catch, it's done and dusted within maybe 1-2 seconds at most. They stand over it and wait for me to pick it up and take it home.

Hope you tell the neighbours to keep the cats in

SingItOut

I know their different animals but my older cat is always killing & eating rabbits. I honestly don't know if mixamotis is still around but he hasn't been sick yet so I think you're dogs will be ok. Just keep an eye on them of course. Pretty impressive your dogs are fast enough to catch them, my two (Lab & jack russel) never have a hope

g'em

Myxomatosis is only infectious to rabbits so cats/ dogs will be fine if they kill/ eat an infected animal. Myxo is still here alright, it was introduced in the 50s as a population control incentive, and it hits in cycles.

mickmcl09

SingItOut wrote: »

I know their different animals but my older cat is always killing & eating rabbits. I honestly don't know if mixamotis is still around but he hasn't been sick yet so I think you're dogs will be ok. Just keep an eye on them of course. Pretty impressive your dogs are fast enough to catch them, my two (Lab & jack russel) never have a hope

They are deceivingly quick. They might look like big fur balls, but they're more like a big sheep dog or collie underneath and have the speed and agility to match. One of them fetches and catches a frizzbee in mid air and rarely misses. The rabbit only gets away if he gets to the hedge or burrow first.

Their poo looks healthy enough, just a bad smell off their breath for a little while afterwards.

I'm happy enough to let them at it 3 times a week maybe, especially if getting sick etc. is fairly remote.

planetX

Don't think I'd want to encourage that - you're encouraging their prey drive, what if one day they come upon lambs, or someone's pet, it could end badly. Unless they will break off and come to you if called?
I've spent so much energy trying to redirect my dogs high prey drive into games, and know that one incident like you've described would instantly undo all of that.

Otherwise, don't forget to worm regularly.

kildare.17hmr

My dog loves rabbits, eats the whole thing skin, guts, head. Will only do him good and any mixi rabbits i shoot go to him too

Knine

I agree with PlanetX. I would not encourage them either. Other small furry animals such as cats or even small dogs may become targets. Unfortunately Ive seen this happen. Also killing rabbits sits uneasy with me, even if its a quick death. Your dogs as mentioned will need to be treated against worms more regularly then normal as rabbits can pass tapeworm to dogs.

Leitrim lass

The dog I grew up with in the family home caught and ate rabbits all the time but he didn't catch and eat cats as a result. He chased our cats away from his spot on the doorstep but never saw them as prey.
As for the myxomatosis, it was rampant at the time where I lived. Coming across staggering blinded rabbits which had the infection was not unusual and our dog and others which hunted never got sick from it.

Vince32

Yes they are safe to eat, without question, that's how the would eat in the wild and they seem to do fine out there on their own

My siberian has taken to catching the birds out of the bushes and eating them, without my knowledge at first, but when she started coughing up hair balls I put 2+2 together, I spend alot of time on a raw feeding forum - Eskimo huskies - and they promote raw feeding in all it's forms, but it needs to be controlled, as the other poster pointed out, you could find your dogs dead body in a ditch somewhere with a shotgun wound, not a pretty picture, but it needs to be said.

The men and women on the raw feeding forum do let their dogs keep what they kill, but since (they are not supposed to be off-leash anywhere) that's a rare occurrence at best. Some of them feed raw frozen rabbit (whole, fur and all) others supermarket meats from the discount isle, and others have a permanent deal set up with slaughter houses.

The idea is not to take away from their natural feeding, Ki**le is a swear word on their forums and it's always about presenting meals in the most natural and safe way possible, so if they get by with rabbit and such in the wild as nature intended then it's of no real harm.

Just remember that the owner is the one responsible for it's dog, and any damages caused to farms, livestock, the dog itself or other people lies squarely with the owner and no one else.

Ps: Drop into the site and ask the guys there what they think, you'll get straight forward advice and no BS.

Vince.

Cork24

Raw Rabbit is good for dogs,

but i do boil rabbits when i get them, make sure that you Worm your Dogs, as rabbits do carry Worms and can carry heart worm,

are you serious

I also heard if dogs eat raw meat they get the taste of blood and then will go on to eat small children!!! :rolleyes:

My two dogs currently chase and have not yet caught a rabbit, they have eaten rabbit and I would have no issue if they caught a live one..

Mick, enjoy your walks, let the dogs do so too, just as has been said worm them much more regularly!!

tk123

are you serious wrote: »

I also heard if dogs eat raw meat they get the taste of blood and then will go on to eat small children!!! :rolleyes:

Yeah that's why I switched my guy to raw - to wean him off the kids!;) TBH I'd probably puke/faint if my dog caught a rabbit and ate it thou being a retriever he'd probably trot around with it in his mouth lol!

kildare.17hmr

The thirst for blood thing is a myth, if i shoot a rabbit my dog will retreve it to me and wont eat ut till i give it back to him to eat. He plays with small dogs and we even have a pet rabbit that he does not touch just sits there looking at him. Its all about training and the dog knowing what he can and cant do

mickmcl09

Thanks for all the advice guys. Dogs are wormed every 3 months. Should I drop this down to every 2 months or even lower?
I use advocat from the vets.

I have to say, I'm not and haven't been too concerned by the prey drive thing. They're very sociable dogs, they don't bother the neighbours cats. They had a run in months ago and with one swipe, the cat sorted them out. They're never outside the bounds of the house without a lead, so my concern for them getting out and worrying farm animals is minimal - the bounds are fairly secure, 2 breakouts in quick succession about 12 months ago through a little gap after which, the bounds got an upgrade and no issues since, touch wood.

I had them out last night again for a walk, had their off lead time in an empty field to blow off steam before the walk proper, passed a random field on the walk with an open gate, no farm animals about, which is a must, so I let them off. 30 seconds later both of them had one each. I picked them up and brought them home - breakfast sorted for this morning.

2 very excited dogs going home last night, kept nudging the rabbits in my hand, but they didn't try to grab them.

planetX

Advocate doesn't cover tapeworms - you'll need a better wormer than that, and you should assume that your dogs have tapeworm at the moment.

You didn't answer whether you are able to call the dogs and have them break off the chase, that's pretty important. No matter how careful you think you are, the day could come when they come upon something they shouldn't - especially lambs, I think you're taking a risk.

You said you passed a random field with an open gate - are you trespassing as well?

mathepac

planetX wrote: »

...
You said you passed a random field with an open gate - are you trespassing as well?

Good point. I'd be inclined to ask for permission first and check that the lands aren't (a) poisoned (b) the preserve of a local gun-club

Cherry Blossom

This thread has gone from 'can dogs get myxomatosis' to a discussion on hunting rabbits with guns and dogs very quickly.

I think there are quite a lot of people here who could do with a refresher of the forum rules.