My dog just killed two baby birds.

[mygirlrosie]

I knew they were under my deck, and I know her prey drive is on the high side, so I always went outside with her to make sure she left them alone. Today I got distracted for literally one minute and when I got back out there the nest was on the ground and the babies were dead, and there was Mabel sniffing at one of them.

I don't know *for sure* that she did it. For all I know something else rustled the nest and my dog just couldn't help but to sniff at the results, but I can't shake the thought that she did it.

I am literally crying I am so upset...both because those poor dead birds, and their parents are sitting on my fence calling and calling and calling for them and because the thought of my dog being responsible is heart-breaking.

Whenever she sees a squirrel or a chipmunk or a bird...anything smaller than she is...she goes after it. She's not aggressive at all in any other situation. She loves people. She loves other dogs. She's friendly with and even a little cautious around new people. She's the dog most likely to get beat up by the Jack Russell who lives down the street...she's just not a fighter. But backyard critters stand no chance.

I don't get it. And I don't know what to do about it. Has anybody else had to deal with this?

 

[mguiette]

Mine are the same way, as far as no other critters allowed in their backyard! We have 2 mice (bllleeeccchhh) living under/around our deck, and i am seriously ALL FOR them getting rid of those!! sorry, but they're yucky! i'm such a germ person! we have no nests in our trees, b/c the boys won't let them sit up in the trees long enough to build nests! squirrels-- same thing. their mama (who lives in the country) has chased (it's on video too) a squirrel and a cat up a tree-- she climbed up too!! I don't know if it's instinct to "kill" or if, like you said, it's curiosity that causes them to be over-excited and oopsie-- the critter is dead. I'm sorry you had to see those poor babies die, and to hear the parents calling for them was heartwrenching, i'm sure.

it does sound like you being out there with her constantly is one of the most immediate things to do, but maybe some strict training is in order too. good luck, and i'm sorry about the babies.

 

[lovemygracie]

Awww...I am so sorry.

We were on a road trip over Memorial Day weekend and we stopped to let Gracie and Gus potty in a field. They started chasing some birds and I wasn't worried that they would catch any until I saw some babies. I thought Gus stepped on one and killed it and I freaked out yelling for them to "come". But then when I went back to show my husband where it was, the baby was gone. So maybe it was okay. I hope anyway. I know how upsetting it is. I don't think the boxers know their own strength sometimes. Though mine love to chase, I don't think they mean to kill. It is so sad though. I am sorry that happened to you and the baby birds.

 

[sandy's mom]

As much as we think of them as our babies, they are really animals...
They have that hunt drive, it is normal. Some of them destroy their catch.
I know it is very sad. Napoleon is my hunter, he will chase and destroy anything that moves, so I have to deal with this quite often and I never will get accustomed to it. It is just so heart wrenching.

At first, I would scold him for chasing things and bringing it to me. Then he started catching things and hiding it and I would find it later. Believe me, that is even worse. He doesn't seem to do it as often since I don't make a big deal out of it.

Good Luck!

 

[GreenOpal]

As much as we think of them as our babies, they are really animals...

This is very true. Ory isn't too interested in chasing things unless Bella is. And Bella was a stray for a while and I think that's how she survived. My cat kills lizards that get in the house. If I can find them first, I'll put them outside, but that really is their nature to hunt and unfortunately for the prey and us (when we have to see it) that's part of being an animal. You could train your pup to not do it. But that would be like someone training us not to use our dominant hand when writing. It's part of us to be left or right handed and training someone to be the other would be changing them. It's not the best example, but all I could think of right now.

It is very hard to witness something like that, and in the future you may just want to relocate anything like that. I know if you touch a nest the birds won't use it, but I think if you use gloves or something where your scent is not on the nest it will be OK. (Anyone else heard of that or know what I'm talking about?) After all, the birds will just build a nest somewhere else and the babies may be safer and out of reach then. That's just my many sense. Sorry so long.

 

[boxerloverbp]

I agree that some are naturally driven to chase and kill small animals. My Champ would chase and catch small animals but then only hold them in his mouth without hurting them. Once he caught a baby duck and by the time I got to him all I could see were the little duck feet sticking out of his mouth wiggling. I screamed put it down and sure enough he immediatly dropped it. The poor little duck had slobber all over him and was probably scared half to death but ran off unharmed. Ali was another story. She didn't just kill what she caught, she would eat it to keep me (or another dog) from taking it away from her. She ate a squirrel and a bird right in front of me. It was the most horrifying thing. I kept thinking she can't possibly be eating it . . . not the tail and the claws. But she did. She would also stalk birds like a cat would so she would catch them more often. I don't think any amount of training could have helped her.

 

[beausmommy]

Beau murdered one bird and mangled another in my backyard a few weeks ago. I was upset but as other have said, I have to remember that he is an animal. That doesn't make it feel much better though, does it? It's still horrible to see.

 

[jimseabee]

Remember they are dogs that were trained to hunt. that is why they point when they hear something unusual or see something. They can be trained to be a hunting dog, they come by it naturally.

 

[warmellie]

Lucas kills any small animal he can catch and cats too. He almost killed a stray cat a few years ago and did kill kitten we had. We cannot have cats at our home.

The odd thing is he did not try to harm one of our ferrets when he had a chance. I have never allowed them to freeroam together, but I had one ferret before Binks, who escaped the confines of a room twice and ended up roaming by Lucas. All he did was follow behind Yoda and check out everything he did.

Yoda didn't react to Lucas like other small animals do though. He didn't freak out and run, so the prey drive was not triggered, I guess. That's all I can figure out to be the difference. Binks has never gotten around him though when he's out of his cage, so I'm not sure that would still hold true today. I try to make absolutely sure they don't mix, especially after Lucas killed our kitten.

Lucky for the small animals around, Lucas is not the fastest thing on four legs. They have plenty of time to get away if they are paying attention.

 

[punchinella]

We have two cats at home and Punchie likes to give chase, but has never injured them.
However, my mother had put her cat on the porch a few weeks ago, while she did some insect spraying inside. Apparently the cat ran off the porch. My mother found her cat later, dead in the woods beside her house, with all of her dogs, plus my Punchinella, standing around the dead body. One of the dogs was standing guard over the dead kitty, not letting the others near it. We have no way of knowing which dog killed the cat (her neck was broken) and it breaks my heart to think it was Punchie. But, Punchie does love to chase and is the fastest runner of all the dogs, so could have gotten to the cat first. But, she's also the lowest ranking in pack order over there, which I have no idea if that's relevant or not, I guess I'm just hoping one of the more dominant dogs would have gone in for the kill. I'm glad I don't know for sure what happened, it would tear me up badly if I knew without doubt it was Punchie.
Sorry so long, but I do understand how you feel. In the end though, animals will behave like animals.