opposums

[sheila and Misty]

we have had an opposum almost full grown hangin around here the last couple of days- my dogs are dying to get it.

Usually in the evening from around 10pm on till 2am.

my question is has any of your cairns ever tangled with one? who won?

Im trying to avoid this -sure they are cute but the claws-and I have no clue what kind of teeth they have. Ive seen it move pretty fast.

I never let my dogs loose in the yard at night -but Im concerned them being tethered will it attack them?

Ive been watching the dogs and not leaving them alone- but Im a little worried if I dont see it would it come around with them tethered?

usually I dont find out its there untill I let them out.

didnt know where to post this-move it if you have to.

[KShep]

http://www.cairnterrier.org/forum/topic/12719-sorry-neighborsyes-that-is-my-dog-barking/page__hl__opossum__fromsearch__1

I don't think you have much to worry about. We have tons here. It will not attack them. They are very fearful animals. Also, it is extremely rare for an opossum to be rabid. I read an interesting article on it. Something about their low body temperature.

[sheila and Misty]

lost my post I think-thanks Kshep for responding and for the pic-this one is bigger than Toby and almost as big as Misty-just wider butt shorter drumsticks andlonger tail.!

[Dempsy's Mom]

Opposums carry deadly deseases for horses. I hate seeing a opposum around. We had one in the back yard when Tater was alive and it pretended it was dead. Curled up and just laid there - it let me push it into a bucket and I carried it over to the shop and shot it. So much for the playing dead tactic. Nasty things.

[sanford]

Any thoughts on groundhogs? (This photo was posted on the Forum a few years ago. I thought it was too good not to save & recycle)!

[janis]

Ah, that's a cute picture.

[hheldorfer]

Any thoughts on groundhogs? (This photo was posted on the Forum a few years ago. I thought it was too good not to save & recycle)!

And what does it mean when the groundhog sees a Cairn's shadow?

[Dempsy's Mom]

We have ground hogs. Demps hasn't encountered one yet. I think they are so cute, but they are so destructive. I have tried to catch them in one of our live traps, but they are smart little rascals. I don't see them often - last time was in the middle of the day out by the quanset - he was watching me watching him and didn't seem to be to concerned. Demps is happy to catch mice - a ground hog would be trophy material.

Love the picture. and love the idea of the Cairn shadow. Yikes! I am pretty sure it would mean "the shadow of death." Poor Mr. Groundhog.

[Zekey's Mom]

I have a soft spot for possums. One use to come up on the porch at my old house and eat the dry cat food. The cats did nothing.

The boys, however, were very excited one evening, out on the patio. I discovered a possum cowering in the corner, pretty much playing dead. I shooed the boys inside, and they didn't even try to go back out.

[bradl]

The Jack Russell folks apparently don't recognize possums as qualifying quarry for a Natural Hunting Certificate unless the possum is "formidable" - which would be an atypical possum.

A list of acceptable quarry for a NHC includes Red Fox, Grey Fox, Woodchuck, Raccoon, and Badger. The quarry must be of suitable size and disposition to warrant gameness in the terrier; in other words, it must be formidable. Opossum is an acceptable quarry only when, in the opinion of the Working Judge certifying the hunt, the quarry proved to be formidable and posted a challenge for the terrier. Skunk is NOT an acceptable quarry.

My soft spot is for Pogo possum.

[Ivy & Lucy's Mom]

My last cairn Jack had backed a raccoon into the corner of our porch. That raccoon was so scared, even though it was bigger than Jack. I could not tear Jack away for anything and I couldn't grab him because he was way to close to the hissing raccoon. I ended up calling animal control to help me. Everything turned out fine but it could have been bad. I have heard of raccoons attacking dogs but I have not heard of opossums being such a strong threat. I would think that the opossum will eventually move away instead of staying and being threatened by a couple of dogs.

[mrseggcup]

Woof! Eli here. I got me a big old possum last year under the deck. It couldn't find it's way out so I murdelized it and left it there to rot. The stupid Alpha B saw it and got it out with a big stick and threw it on the bonfire. Just when it was starting to smell real good and I was planning on rolling in it. She's always wrecking my fun! I didn't get sick from it or anything.

Woof!

Eli

[hheldorfer]

Yap! Good to hear from you, Eli. Murdelization is the only way to deal with critters in the yard. Must have sucked that you didn't get to roll in it though. Did your Alpha B at least give you some roasted possum after it was tossed on the fire?

Buffy

[janis]

Ode de Opossum! I can only imagine how great that would smell! As I have said before, in Tennessee a Trifecta is treeing a squirrel, raccoon and a opossum all in one night! (We are starved for entertainment here) Let me say Eli, way to go! However, you need to be careful of raccoons, my husband is one of those dirty old coon hunters and he has seen a full grown raccoon kill a full grown hunting dog and injure several others, also, they can be rabid, if you get bit, and end up in my ER it's multiple shots for you!

[SARpartner]

Any thoughts on groundhogs? (This photo was posted on the Forum a few years ago. I thought it was too good not to save & recycle)!

And what does it mean when the groundhog sees a Cairn's shadow?

I would venture a guess that it means LIGHTS OUT in short order for the groundhog. And then comes the Cairn strut from a proud Cairn.

[KShep]

However, you need to be careful of raccoons, my husband is one of those dirty old coon hunters and he has seen a full grown raccoon kill a full grown hunting dog and injure several others, also, they can be rabid, if you get bit, and end up in my ER it's multiple shots for you!

I've heard this too. Mean little things. I've actually never seen one....but I saw a coyote the other day! Just hanging out on the side of the road. I think he was hungry.

[DemiSheep]

Opossums have got to be one of the most under appreciated animals on the planet. The problem I think is they are considered "ugly" by most people. I see them as cute shy critters that are just trying to survive in this world with everyone else, they are one of my favorite animals because of the lack of love for them.

An opossum would not hurt or attack a dog or other animal, they are scavengers. The only time a raccoon or opossum would attach a dog or a cat is if it had rabies. Skunks are again in the same category except they have defense artillery.

And don't forget Opossums are the only marsupial in the US!

Animals that would attack a dog or cat or even small children would be coyotes and larger predators, including birds of prey, depending on where you live.

[DemiSheep]

However, you need to be careful of raccoons, my husband is one of those dirty old coon hunters and he has seen a full grown raccoon kill a full grown hunting dog and injure several others, also, they can be rabid, if you get bit, and end up in my ER it's multiple shots for you!

I've heard this too. Mean little things. I've actually never seen one....but I saw a coyote the other day! Just hanging out on the side of the road. I think he was hungry.

Maybe I should stop reading this topic post.

Raccoons are not mean little things, the only time a raccoon would attack anything is if it was being attacked or if it had rabbies. I honestly do not believe even the largest racoon w/rabies could kill a hunting dog. Raccoons have huge fat butts, they run up trees to avoid a fight and if they end up having to fight they're not going to win.

Pretty mean looking:

[lindasue]

Pegi here! We also have a big possum living under our deck, and it's moves around under our living room! My mom says there's no foundation under this room, so when it gets under there I stare at the carpeting for hours. Sometimes I even keep everyone up all night barking at the floor! No ones likes that much.....I just wish I was small enough to crawl under the deck and get it!

[Zekey's Mom]

I may have posted these before, but they're just so darned cute... Here's the little guy that used to come up on my porch and got cozy in the cat basket. LOVE the white spots on his little ears. And then there's the baby that I rescued from my yard. It sounded like a huge bug, so I didn't go near it for hours, but finally went over, took it in, and got it to a wildlife rescue. Must have fallen off his momma's back.

[tlwtheq]

Loved the videos and the pics.

[josie&holly]

Zekey's Mum - That is a very cute mouse like creature in second picture but what is it?

Holly would like that as she is always trying to catch a field mouse when we go on the fields by diving into the long grass/weeds.

We don't have possums, ground hogs or racoons in UK [unless you go to a Zoo!] so this thread is interesting to read. I have seen groundhogs when I stayed with my sister in USA.

[Sam I Am]

We don’t have possums or raccoons in our immediate area so I have no personal experience with them. I know raccoons can carry a parasite that can be deadly for dogs but again not an issue in our area.

I do however feel that all animals on this earth have their place and it seems to me that humans do their darn best to eradicate the ones that don’t fit into their own lifestyle or landscape. Alberta is quickly loosing its grizzly population due to poaching and the infiltration of humans taking over their natural habitat. I know when I ride my horse I see shot coyotes lying in the bush… then people complain that mice are causing problems and the rabbit population is out of control. Ok I will get off my soap box now. The closest “wild critter” that Jock ever encounters are the wee mice that live in our garden… not to worried about Jock being mauled.

[Zekey's Mom]

Zekey's Mum - That is a very cute mouse like creature in second picture but what is it?

That's the baby possum. Old enough to have fur, but still too little to be on its own.

[Kathryn]

We have raccoons all over our neighborhood, as we live wtihin a half mile of the Mississippi River gorge. They are cute, but can be very destructive to home and garden. We have a fountain in the back yard and they occasionally come in to splash around. Luckily, the dogs seem to think they are cats, and give them a wide berth.

Our neighborhood e-list, though, has had numerous postings about raccoons over the summer. Occasionally they will take over a rooftop or other "convenient" location, often as a family group. When they do, they apparently make lots and lots of poop. Their "scat" is apparently quite toxic -- probably the bacteria or parasites mentioned earlier. We have been warned to wear gloves and face masks when cleaning any of it up.

So - maybe cute. Not sure if they kill dogs. But still some very good reasons to discourage them from hanging around your home or yard.