Bel killed a snake today

shibamistress

So some of you may remember that earlier this summer, I had a snake scare, as Toby, my male Shiba cornered a pretty good sized bull snake in the yard (and I was freaking out before I realized it was not the rattlesnake it was imitating, and still freaked out since I knew Toby would not know the difference, and would probably go after a rattler). I managed to get him away from that pretty big snake and save the snake too.

Well today, it was Bel's turn. I was out with her and Oskar, and I heard the wierd, almost rattling sound these snakes make, but before I could even register it, Bel darted past me and grabbed the snake right behind its head. It was actually pretty amazing to watch: she bit hard and fast behind the head, then let it go and leapt out of the way, and while I was trying to catch her to get her away from it (didn't know what kind of snake it was yet), she darted in and did the same thing twice more: fast bite, and then leap out of the way. By then I realized it was a bull snake (not the same one Toby had--it was smaller than that, about two feet long). I still wanted her to get her away from it, but by now she was shaking the snake and tossing it into the air. the whole thing took less time then it took me to write this--it was amazingly fast.

I'm sorry she killed the snake--I'd prefer not to have them kill the bull snakes, and of course it's very worrisome--she could get really hurt if she tried it with a rattlesnake and wasn't so quick. But on the other hand, it was fascinating to watch her technique too, and damn, was she fast!

And it's one of the reasons I love my crazy little girl: she's fearless, and she is SUPER prey driven, which I find fascinating. She's an excellent hunter, and during the summer, usually gets at least one critter a week (sometimes more), and by now, she knows what to eat and what not to eat (she gave up the snake pretty willingly, as she has already decided she doesn't eat snakes or lizards. But she eats birds whole, feathers and all, and eats most of rats/mice/rabbits too, even though I would do try to get them away from her (as I worry about worms/parasites from the rodents).

Anyway, here's one Shiba who hasn't lost her drive to hunt!

(and I kept Oskar far away from the snake. I don't want Mr. Clumsy Puppy to even THINK he should try that).

dlroberts

That sounds pretty amazing to witness! If I were watching my Shiba girl do that I'd probably go into complete panic mode. Last time Lucy ate a lizard in the yard we had two vet visits for sub-q fluids and two sleepless nights of me letter her out every hour to have the squirts. :-(

Despite the frustration it causes me to to have to monitor and attempt to dissuade Lucy from hunting, I am fascinated by it. She is definitely the first of my dogs on the scene if there is something moving. I bet it's even more exciting when you can just sit back and enjoy the show like you do with Bel (when it's not a snake). :-)

tjbart17

I read this wrong and thought Bel was dead! Thank goodness she's ok. That does sound pretty cool to watch.

sunyata

It really is amazing to watch them hunt. I love watching Nola go after things... However, I really do wish she would not catch and kill them. But it is still really cool to watch.

WrylyBrindle

Reilly welcomes her to the Dead Snake Society and will put Bel's Snake Badge in the mail to her directly! she says, "good job, Bel!"

If I can find the bandwidth to post it, i have a short video of Sage vs a snakeskin that shows the darting shibamistress is describing. I have never seen him move so fast! She's right, it is awesome. When I manually run the slider frame by frame, its neat to see his posture and facial expressions.

Reilly once killed a snake at the bus stop in front of three little girls- it was horrific yet impressive and absolutely definitive.

shibamistress

Bel is delighted to be an official member of the dead snake society and will wear her badge with pride! *lol* And I would love to see that video! It's really amazing to see how fast they move....Quite impressive!

Apparently this is a big hunting week, because fat and lazy Toby caught a dove. It must of landed nearly on top of him for him to catch it! Bel eats birds whole, feather and all, but Toby "plucked" all the feathers off before he ate it.

jujee

Glad that Bel is alright! It was have been amazing to experience that. When I take Mika out back she's always keeping a close eyes on the birds lol and always play bows with bees! I'm so scared she's going to get stung!

Saya

Mika play bows at the bees? That sounds so cute.. lol

Saya tries to catch bees when they are flying, but leave it works on them pretty good now.

It's amazing to see dogs hunt.

Lady

My UK Shiba Bracken, also hunts. She kills and eats birds and rabbits. Knows exactly how to do it, right at the back of the neck. Last year she also killed a frog. Tried to eat it, but it obviously didn't taste nice, so now she doesn't bother to kill them. Bees, wasps, oh lor, she kills them, and eats the head end. Drops the stinging end on the floor, and I see something on the floor, and of course pick it up. I get stung!. She looks at me, as if to say, "what did you pick it up for, I didn't want it. silly you" I fall for it every time.

Halcyon

Chloe will kill rats and opossums, grabs them and shakes them against the concrete till they break their back or something doesn't eat them though (thankfully) she'll try to snap up flies too, she leaves bees and wasps alone, because she got stung once. Kira is fascinated with birds, in the spring when all the baby birds start leaving the nest and end up on the ground while trying to learn to fly she'll catch them and carry them around in her mouth. Doesn't kill them though if I see her i'll tell her to leave it and put the bird up in a milk crate I have wedged up in a tall tree, seems to work okay, occasionally i'll see the parents come to check on their poor traumatized chick.