My dog caught a squirrel

[DawnM]

and ate the head, leaving traces and throwing up part of it.

 

Gross, gross, gross!

 

This is a 10 year old dog, not a puppy.  

 

What the heck?

[MEmama]

Eww. Ours once accidentally caught one and it totally freaked him out--he dropped it so fast the poor squirrel didn't know what to do. It took both of them a full minute to recover from the shock. He was the best dog, if not much of a retriever (black lab! Haha). :)

[hornblower]

Make sure any dog that preys upon wildlife is dewormed regularly. 

If you don't have your dog on something right now, I'd deworm right away.


Mostly because there's a slight risk of raccoon roundworm (baylisascaris) which can be lodged in squirrel brains (making them act erratically & be easy prey). It is not particularly dangerous to dogs but you can get it from your dog & it can be fatal to humans. 

http://www.capcvet.org/capc-recommendations/baylisascaris-procyonis-also-raccoon-roundworm

[hornblower]

oh & some animals gets a real taste for squirrel brains but it's more often cats that do this.... 

[DawnM]

Make sure any dog that preys upon wildlife is dewormed regularly. 

 

If you don't have your dog on something right now, I'd deworm right away.

 

 

Mostly because there's a slight risk of raccoon roundworm (baylisascaris) which can be lodged in squirrel brains (making them act erratically & be easy prey). It is not particularly dangerous to dogs but you can get it from your dog & it can be fatal to humans. 

 

http://www.capcvet.org/capc-recommendations/baylisascaris-procyonis-also-raccoon-roundworm

 

De-worm, you mean like Heartguard type stuff?

[hornblower]

De-worm, you mean like Heartguard type stuff?

 

I think heartguard is mostly ivermectin isn't it? (sorry, I'm not in hw + region so this is not my area at all.) 

 

 

That link I posted said any dewormer that does toxocara canis would work & listed some of the ingredients. I'd prob be looking at this 

 

http://www.1800petmeds.com/Dog+Worms+3-prod11092.html

 

or 

 

http://www.1800petmeds.com/Panacur+C+Canine+Dewormer-prod10674.html

[Sarah CB]

Eww. Ours once accidentally caught one and it totally freaked him out--he dropped it so fast the poor squirrel didn't know what to do. It took both of them a full minute to recover from the shock. He was the best dog, if not much of a retriever (black lab! Haha). :)

 

We had a black lab who accidentally caught a bird mid-flight. He had no idea what to do with it, but he clamped down and didn't want to open his jaws. It seemed to take forever to pry them open and, of course, the poor bird was dead. 

[MEmama]

We had a black lab who accidentally caught a bird mid-flight. He had no idea what to do with it, but he clamped down and didn't want to open his jaws. It seemed to take forever to pry them open and, of course, the poor bird was dead.

:(

[Guest]

My dogs eat birds and squirrels and rabbits quite often. The worst part is when they puke it up in the middle do the night but I have not figured out how to prevent that part. The first time my oldest dog caught a bird, I almost called the vet. Luckily I thought it through and did not get laughed at. I mean that's how wild dogs live! But my brain wasn't going there- it was thinking - oh no! That's got to be bad like chicken bones!!! I think your dog maybe just realized its a hunter deep in its DNA! :)

Edited June 28, 2016 by texasmom33

[DawnM]

My dogs eat birds and squirrels and rabbits quite often. The worst part is when they puke it up in the middle do the night but I have not figured out how to prevent that part. The first time my oldest dog caught a bird, I almost called the vet. Luckily I thought it through and did not get laughed at. I mean that's how wild dogs live! But my brain wasn't going there- it was thinking - oh no! That's got to be bad like chicken bones!!! I think your dog maybe just realized its a hunter deep in its DNA! :)

 

She has caught things before but not eaten them.  Normally she brings them to us.

 

But last week she got out and came back with something in her mouth that still had bones on it, prob a raccoon tail.  

 

Normally she catches rabbits, lizards, moles, and such.

 

ACK!

[Guest]

She has caught things before but not eaten them. Normally she brings them to us.

 

But last week she got out and came back with something in her mouth that still had bones on it, prob a raccoon tail.

 

Normally she catches rabbits, lizards, moles, and such.

 

ACK!

That's a tough dog! Raccoons are mean!

[goldberry]

We had a black lab who accidentally caught a bird mid-flight. He had no idea what to do with it, but he clamped down and didn't want to open his jaws. It seemed to take forever to pry them open and, of course, the poor bird was dead. 

 

Yeah, I've done the prying thing too, then cried afterward over the poor dead bird while doggie looked on guiltily.  I know... it's nature... I still cried though.

[Katy]

Mine have never caught squirrels, but they regularly catch mice and voles. One specializes in ripping the heads off of feral cats. Ugh. And he does a real number on coyotes. Yes, deworm regularly. 

 

Cats and coyotes? What kind of dogs do you have?

[Spryte]

Cats and coyotes? What kind of dogs do you have?

Big ones. :)

[quark]

My dog will be SO jealous. He has been trying to catch one for years now.

 

Imagine if you will...

 

Huge redwood...

 

One imperious squirrel twitching his tail at a...

 

...very upset dachshund standing guard at the foot of the tree for hours.

 

Never mind that he is just a tad larger than the squirrel.

[chaya]

your dog is my dogs hero.

our lab (7 mo) is hell-bent of catching himself a squirrel (or a bird) but so far all he's caught was a butterfly.

[The Girls' Mom]

My dog will be SO jealous. He has been trying to catch one for years now.

 

Imagine if you will...

 

Huge redwood...

 

One imperious squirrel twitching his tail at a...

 

...very upset dachshund standing guard at the foot of the tree for hours.

 

Never mind that he is just a tad larger than the squirrel.

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:

 

My little JRT has similar longings for squirrels and chipmunks.  I think she's jealous of our barn cat's abilities.  

 

One day I saw her triumphantly carrying a squirrel carcass across the yard.  Upon closer inspection...she'd stolen it from the cat's stash.  (the cat leaves us gifts under the porch :glare:  )

Edited June 29, 2016 by The Girls' Mom

[Sdel]

LOL!   I found bird feathers in one of my dog's preferred eating places yesterday.   She's quite the bird catcher....although I'm not sure how she is fast enough since she's fairly obese.  This is also the dog that would go fetch turtles out of the pond.  I'm sure my two have caught, and eaten, their fair share of birds, squirrels, rabbits, and cats.

 

Stefanie

[Spryte]

Our vet has a frequent flyer at the office. Doggy has fallen off the deck, chasing squirrels, several times. They call him Squirrel Dog now. He's never caught one, but he's managed to hurt himself. Poor guy.

[J-rap]

Eeew!  Our dog once came back with a deer leg!  He looked so happy to show us!

 

My pet dog growing up used to walk around with our pet turtle (about 8 inches long) in his mouth, but never hurt it.  He would just carry it to different places in our yard. 

[gaillardia]

My dog will be SO jealous. He has been trying to catch one for years now.

 

Imagine if you will...

 

Huge redwood...

 

One imperious squirrel twitching his tail at a...

 

...very upset dachshund standing guard at the foot of the tree for hours.

 

Never mind that he is just a tad larger than the squirrel.

I must be tired. I was thinking your dog was trying to catch a bear for years. 

[quark]

I must be tired. I was thinking your dog was trying to catch a bear for years. 

 

:lol: 

 

[Pawz4me]

It's usually a little bit upsetting when we catch our dogs acting like . . . . dogs. ;)

 

I never will forget the overwhelming, visceral reaction I had many years ago when I came home and the headlights of the car caught the dog (in the fenced back yard) chewing away on something. Upon investigation it was a possum (or opossum for those of you who aren't from the south. ;)). Over the years that same dog took care of quite a few possums and rabbits and even a few cats who were stupid enough to come into her territory (the fenced yard).

 

It's one reason I have a Shih Tzu now. He's totally uninterested in wildlife. Our back yard teems with squirrels and rabbits and birds and he simply doesn't care. His nirvana is having a human lap to sit on, not stalking and hunting other critters. Thank goodness.

[DawnM]

It's usually a little bit upsetting when we catch our dogs acting like . . . . dogs. ;)

 

I never will forget the overwhelming, visceral reaction I had many years ago when I came home and the headlights of the car caught the dog (in the fenced back yard) chewing away on something. Upon investigation it was a possum (or opossum for those of you who aren't from the south. ;)). Over the years that same dog took care of quite a few possums and rabbits and even a few cats who were stupid enough to come into her territory (the fenced yard).

 

It's one reason I have a Shih Tzu now. He's totally uninterested in wildlife. Our back yard teems with squirrels and rabbits and birds and he simply doesn't care. His nirvana is having a human lap to sit on, not stalking and hunting other critters. Thank goodness.

 

My dear friend, a devout Christian, was at the church and telling the pastor's wife about their Shih Tzu and some problems they were having with him.  Her son, then 3, was in the stroller.  He loudly, and multiple times, said, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, we don't say Shih T, we don't say Shih T, mommy, stop saying Shih T"  (not exactly that spelling, but you get the idea.)