This is what I was bred to do!

[Sam I Am]

 

Edited January 16, 2017 by Terrier lover

[bradl]

https://www.wired.com/2013/08/tnhyut-video-in-portrait-mode/ Grumpiness aside, it appears that the Cairn in this screaming video is named Haggis, so all is forgiven  

[hheldorfer]

Yes, that Cairn is simply following his instincts and I bear no ill will toward him.

I can't help but be fascinated by snakes, however.  They  have no arms, legs or ears and yet they have survived and flourished for eons.  Aside from the venomous varieties, I find them to be beautiful and strangely calming.

[Sam I Am]

I don't mind snakes either. When I lived in the interior of BC years ago there were lots of snakes. Rattlers, bull snakes and lots of garter snakes. When I picked a garter snake up I was surprised how dry and smooth it's skin was. 

It amazed me how hard that little Cairn in the video shook that snake. I have seen Jock with mice and it was only a couple of swift shakes, but I wonder if the Cairn in the video instinctively  knows that a snake could be very dangerous?

[Islander]

Gus, aka Snakebreath, kills his prey of choice exactly like in that video. I like snakes myself so will try to stop him, but sometimes the first bite/shake is so intense that I think it would be cruel to leave the poor thing half dead. He managed to get a really big one (garter) at a holiday cabin last summer. He also makes a weird, gurgling growl when killing that I have never heard otherwise. 

[Lynn in TN]

I think snakes are beautiful and interesting from a distance. I am always in awe of nature. I think mice are cute too, but I don't want either of the 2 animals anywhere in my yard or home. I have held both, Like Helene I found the feel of the snake interesting as they look like they would be slimy but are dry and smooth.

I find the Cairns speed and graceful kill to be equally beautiful. The way they move, the careful thoughtful attack. the shake and finish. Completely amazing considering how fast a snake is. I do believe they instinctively know that snakes can be dangerous.

[Hillscreek]

We've got snakes up here in the mountains. My jrts used run and shake and kill garter snakes and green grass snakes - both harmless. We also have timber rattlers. My Golden respectfully walked around a rattler twice. My jrt's put their lives at risk one time by standing one on either side of a curled up rattler barking and raising their hackles.

Cannot say why, but Angus, killer of field mice and voles, barker or screamer at most other wild life, seems afraid of snakes. He has only seen a couple of small grass and milk snakes when I've been with him in the yard but has flinched and backed away. Perhaps he has felt it from me because I am one of those that shudder at snakes especially these big guys. It's one thing to have one in captivity - it's another meeting one out on a walk.

There are not nearly so many of the timber rattlers as there once were. Still there are enough left for the ancient Rattler roundup held yearly just south of us. Catch as many as you can, weigh and measure. The catchers of the biggest get prizes. The snakes used to be killed as so numerous and a real threat to the early settlers. Now they are set free and a protected species as so few left.

[hheldorfer]

My brother-in-law is a herpetologist.  He lives in Arizona and studies all types of reptiles, with a special affinity for snakes.  He came to visit in September and went to Southern IL on a snake hunt with some colleagues.  Was very excited when they found a timber rattler.

As for Angus and his apparent shyness around snakes, my theory is that snakes don't move in the 'predictable' manner of other creatures and that is intimidating to some dogs.  Plus, it takes a minute to figure out which end is which.

[sanford]

Carrington was fearless in general, yet a hissing noise would always startle him and cause him to shy. Here in the city, it would occaisionally be the sound of air brakes on city busses. It also happened when there was a faulty radiator valve in the apartment, or even when I would uncap a bottle of cola. I speculated that this might have been an innate caution reflex, (snakes)!?!?, provided by Mother Nature, or perhaps it was a learned response, picked up from other dogs when he was a pup.?

[Sam I Am]

Hissing seems to trigger  reactions. If we make a hissing noise outside, Rosie assumes that a cat has dared enter her yard and off she goes to rid this creature from her domain...a bit Like releasing the hounds at a hunt.

[LindaMC]

I am totally in fear of snakes, always have been.  When I was little and my grandmother would be out in her garden, there would be worms all over the walkway due to her pulling them out while digging and then returning them back to the flower beds when she was through.  Well if I happened to walk in to the yard while this was going on, I would stop, back up, turn and go another way.  I was actually afraid of the worms. Today when I am out in my own garden, I do exactly the same thing as my grandmother had, I pick up the worms, set them aside until I am finished, and then put them back in the dirt so they can carry on with taking care of the soil.  As far as snakes go, well I am still very much afraid of them..

[Dempsy's Mom]

He had fun killing that snake - way to go little guy.  That's what they do - gophers, rabbits, snakes all get the killer shake. 

[Pepper Bug's Mom]

Honestly - that video made me laugh at the human screams and that little Cairn just having the time of his life!!! Good Job!!!