Cairns and Wildlife

[gd4]

Did any of your Cairns ever catch a rabbit, etc? The last few days, I noted in our backyard in the snow, something that looks like an animal may have been caught and/or killed. There is no carcass. Forgive me (tmi), but it looks like possible possibly diarrhea and dribbled blood that continued to the fence. It has been there several days. I finally inquired to my husband if he noted anything that leaked out of our garbage bag that could have leaked on the way to trashcan (I know of nothing that we prepared/cooked). He stated that he noted this, too. I am very careful when we take Trina Joy out and she is always tethered by a leash so I can walk and/or catch her. I have no idea if she could have caught a rabbit or injured one. I know we would have noted blood on her. My husband is more relaxed in his potty breaks with her. He usually has her tethered on a leash but does let her run in the backyard  (I wouldn't be surprised if he took his eye off of her for a moment or two).  We have a fenced in yard and it is in the suburbs. Thoughts? Has any of your Cairns caught wildlife? She has her rabies shot. And, as I noted this was days ago and  she does not appear sick. I'm a suburb girl, so please forgive my lack of knowledge in advance.

Edited January 7, 2018 by gd4

[Kathryn]

I don't think you would necessarily know -- at least from blood on its mouth or fur -- that your cairn had killed a small animal.  Both Oban and our previous cairn, T Bone, have killed rabbits in our yard.  It's just a quick shake and then they drop it.  I think they probably snap the rabbit's neck.  Neither showed any interest in chewing on the animal after they killed it -- they actually both backed off and looked a little confused.  (I thought they might be thinking-- "Was I supposed to do that? It felt right...but I am not sure mom wanted me to do that..uh oh...better get out of here soon...")

We have lots and lots of rabbits here -- and squirrels too, though they have never caught any - and I guess I don't feel too bad about one occasionally caught in the yard.  The rabbits have eaten shrubs and bushes down to the ground over the winter, and also decimated my strawberry plants when they came up in the spring.  

If Oban went after a raccoon in the yard, though, I would stop him.  They are big, and have really nasty claws.  Luckily, though, Oban seems to think they are cats -- and he is, due to a bad experience, very wary of cats...

Another thought? Perhaps a coyote or hawk killed something in your yard, and you saw the evidence.

Edited January 7, 2018 by Kathryn

[gd4]

Thanks, Kathryn. I appreciate your sharing the experiences with Oban and T Bone. I know our previous Cairn, Max, snatched a rabbit one day and after the initial shakes, really didn't know what to do with it. It was a similar experience.

I'm thinking that maybe, this was a kill by a hawk. Not sure but will definitely be mindful when I take the pup out. We have to watch for coyotes around the neighborhood.

 

 

[pkcrossley]

what an interesting subject. i think it makes sense that terriers would have no instinct to eat what they kill. i will never forget an episode of a martin clunes program i saw one time, when he let a farmer lead him to a barn where jack russells had been let loose to kill rats. they were blindingly fast (and screeching the screech we know well the whole time) and i think their instinct was clearly to not waste time on killed vermin because they have to speed on to the next kill. clunes nearly fell down in shock and it was an amazing performance as the jacks piled up literally hundreds of dead rats in a matter of minutes. i think terriers by instinct would not linger over a kill. i'm not sure dogs in general have much interest in eating anything fresh.

[Sam I Am]

When Jock used to kill the occasional mouse he would also jump back and not touch it. However our previous Scottie, Sandy, had no problem with fresh meat. We had put out mouse traps close to our shed, partially covered by flower pots so she wouldn’t get her nose in it...well surprise, a mouse got caught in one, she must have tipped the pot over, proceeded to eat most of the mouse, and then while carrying the bloodies part of the mouse anatomy still stuck in trap, tried to find a place to bury the whole thing. Perhaps for a future snack!

PK our dogs are fed raw bison and beef and love the taste of real fresh meat.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Terrier lover

[Hillscreek]

Angus never killed anything as big as a rabbit - not for want of trying! But he occasionally caught a vole or field mouse on our walks. Ate them with relish! Fine with me. What better than an organic freshly killed snack?? He chewed on half a deer leg he found one hunting season and a rabbit's leg lying by the trail. It's my impression that dogs being scavengers might eat fresh or old. Our well fed pets may not need to do this but feral dogs seem to eat anything - whatever it takes to stay alive.

I've seen videos of terriers ratting. Think them not stopping to eat may be because of the abundance of live food and the need to catch as much as possible. I wonder if they would eat after all the rats were caught? Or if they were really hungry.

 

[gd4]

Thank you, all. I enjoyed reading your responses. I agree, it is obvious these little terriers are into ratting. In addition, I've read countless other posts on other sites of Cairns doing such things. Truly amazing!

[pkcrossley]

when i say "fresh" i mean like just instantly been killed. i'm sure there are exceptions but i've read before that dogs' digestive system works close to that of a scavenger, meaning they like a little bit of the chemical changes of at least slight decomposition to occur first. butchered meat or kill that has been dead for half an hour or so would fit. terriers might have a taste for instant kill, but what i meant to say was, they may have an instinctive sense of the strategic disadvantages of stopping to munch on an instant kill. we can always come back for it later.

Edited January 9, 2018 by pkcrossley

[gd4]

Pk - that makes sense to me

 

[sanford]

Just wondering... Whether or not to eat a fresh kill might also depend on the quantity of, and how recently the terriers' last meal was.

P.S. I never saw the Martin Clunes show that PK mentions, but the irony was not lost on me: As far as I know, Clunes is an avid animal rights activist. Also, his popular TV character of Doc Martin suffers from a crippling aversion to the sight of blood. The idea of him witnessing the wholesale slaughter of the rats  conjures up some interesting sit-com possibilities!😀

Edited January 9, 2018 by sanford

[Hillscreek]

Quote

 

7 hours ago, pkcrossley said:

terriers might have a taste for instant kill, but what i meant to say was, they may have an instinctive sense of the strategic disadvantages of stopping to munch on an instant kill. we can always come back for it later.

Yes such as when dogs bury their bone or other food. Angus did that too. But fresh killed was always eaten perhaps because a vole only takes a few minutes to eat. Something larger might be partially eaten and then hidden for later.

[gd4]

Exactly! I'm sure they would want to save such a larger kill.