aussielover Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 (edited) If a dog catches a small animal like a rabbit but then doesn't kill it and looks as if it doesn't know what do with it- does that mean they have a low prey drive? Dog enjoyed chasing the rabbit though- unfortunately played a sort of "cat and mouse" game with it before I was able to recover the dog back under my control. But definitely did not show any signs of wanting to kill it which I thought would have been fairly natural for a dog that has just chased down a rabbit. By the way this was a wild rabbit on a rural property, not someone's pet thank goodness. We clearly need to work on recall, she has never done that to me before. Lucky we are seeing K9pro in two weeks!!! Edited May 24, 2011 by aussielover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 If the dog chased and caught a rabbit - it has plenty of prey drive Unmodified prey drive is Orient -> Eye -> Stalk -> Chase -> Grab-bite -> Kill-bite. Some breeds have been developed to have a modified prey drive which doesn't include the kill-bite part of the sequence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 labradors were bred with soft mouths to retrieve prey shot by hunters and return them unmunched. Sounds perfectly normal for her breed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemesideways Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 labradors were bred with soft mouths to retrieve prey shot by hunters and return them unmunched. Sounds perfectly normal for her breed. Best choice of word ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickasyoucan Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Our springer chased and caught our pet rabbit when I was young, horrific as it was the rabbit was unscathed and went on to live to old age. So yes gundog vs rabbit can leave them "unmunched". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 bahahaha your dog is what my OH would want ... quick on its feet but wont kill or destroy the rabbit. Now thats a good ferreting dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 My ESS caught a massive moth last night. She disappeared to the dog bed and her cheeks looked a bit big. Moth was perfectly fine and I released it outside. She is the same with geckos. We have started her on birds for her training - she is SO birdie but the dead pigeons she trains on have been unfrozen, retrieved and re-frozen multiple times and they are still in great condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan3 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 My old Golden caught a water rat recently, then just let it go. He had to free-dive off a steep cliff and into water to catch it. I would say he has pretty good prey drive. He once caught a wallaby, more by chance than anything, the poor wallaby got his leg caught in some fallen branches. Django sniffed around, almost as if he was pretending it wasn't there. I put him on leash before I freed the wallaby (who was not injured thankfully). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 My Dally came across a koala on the ground and tried to nose it like he would one of our cats. Not so much prey drive as play drive :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairo1 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 My old Golden caught a water rat recently, then just let it go. He had to free-dive off a steep cliff and into water to catch it. I would say he has pretty good prey drive. He once caught a wallaby, more by chance than anything, the poor wallaby got his leg caught in some fallen branches. Django sniffed around, almost as if he was pretending it wasn't there. I put him on leash before I freed the wallaby (who was not injured thankfully). Nooooo, really?? I didn't think Django was up for that kind of sport!! He has obviously been watching too much TV :D I am pleased to hear he let the water rat go. . . . they are gorgeous little creatures and although quite common, very rarely seen! My three - yes, all three - have gone from rabbits to chickens More work on my hands :rolleyes: Cairo1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan3 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Nooooo, really?? I didn't think Django was up for that kind of sport!! He's mad for it, but stops short of killing. I was surprised when he caught the water rat, but not surprised when he let it go. Sabella isn't so different either, she caught an injured bird once and brought it to me with a soft mouth. She is gun-shy though, which is not good for a working line GSD. Django loves guns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Kivi almost got himself another mouse yesterday. It was hiding out in my treat pouch and I unwittingly brought it inside when I attached the pouch to my waist. It eventually jumped out of the pouch and once Kivi saw it he did the most spectacular pounce of his career, but the mouse was just out of reach under the cupboard. He had another go at it as it made for the fridge, but missed it again and mousey made it under the fridge to live another day. Love having a mouse in the kitchen. :rolleyes: Erik, in typical fashion, thought the chase was fun but chasing rodents, crabs and birds is the only time he's ever behind Kivi. He doesn't think actually catching them is that great. Kivi is a keen crab hunter down on the mud flats. When Erik was young he worked out what Kivi was chasing and caught a few crabs. He never bothered again. He likes to chase Kivi chasing crabs, though. The interesting thing was we were taking the dogs down to the beach for a run when this mouse appeared. After a half hour drive to the beach, the boys were still in hyper forage mode the whole time we were at the beach. You'd think they hadn't been fed in a week. They did very little playing and not only scrutinised every speck of debris on the beach, but dug up several dead fish that had been buried in the sand. OH and I were speculating on whether their abnormally intense interest in foraging was a result of the brief mouse chase. OH thinks it must have released chemicals in the brain that tells dogs to go find food. I wasn't prepared to hypothesise, but it kind of made sense. I was resisting the urge to check my treat pouch for more mice for an hour afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 My borders don't tend to go for the munch either. They try and get the critter to run and then have fun stopping it from running. Most critters are fine but a bit soggy when I rescue them. I've watched Brock carry critters into the middle of the garden to start the game again. Not sure the ringtail possums would survive though as the dogs really seem to hate them. Something to do with the possums liking to dangle just out of reach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Kivi almost got himself another mouse yesterday. It was hiding out in my treat pouch and I unwittingly brought it inside when I attached the pouch to my waist. It eventually jumped out of the pouch and once Kivi saw it he did the most spectacular pounce of his career, but the mouse was just out of reach under the cupboard. He had another go at it as it made for the fridge, but missed it again and mousey made it under the fridge to live another day. Love having a mouse in the kitchen. :rolleyes: Erik, in typical fashion, thought the chase was fun but chasing rodents, crabs and birds is the only time he's ever behind Kivi. He doesn't think actually catching them is that great. Kivi is a keen crab hunter down on the mud flats. When Erik was young he worked out what Kivi was chasing and caught a few crabs. He never bothered again. He likes to chase Kivi chasing crabs, though. The interesting thing was we were taking the dogs down to the beach for a run when this mouse appeared. After a half hour drive to the beach, the boys were still in hyper forage mode the whole time we were at the beach. You'd think they hadn't been fed in a week. They did very little playing and not only scrutinised every speck of debris on the beach, but dug up several dead fish that had been buried in the sand. OH and I were speculating on whether their abnormally intense interest in foraging was a result of the brief mouse chase. OH thinks it must have released chemicals in the brain that tells dogs to go find food. I wasn't prepared to hypothesise, but it kind of made sense. I was resisting the urge to check my treat pouch for more mice for an hour afterwards. How scary I would have gotten quite a shock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 We use dead whole rabbits to incite dogs that have their prey drive incredibly suppressed either from their owners or another dog. Gets then going every time ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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