Expert Hunter?

musashi

Our 8 month old Akita caught a rabbit this afternoon in our backyard. I'm equally proud and amazed that he still has a strong prey drive and that he's quick enough to catch one. From time to time at night I've seen the rabbits darting around our yard but I never imagined Hiro would catch one.

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii570/rdgim/Dinner/Rabbit.jpg

Losech

Good catch! My dogs catch snakes all the time, but rarely anything else.
My Shiba decided to take on a raccoon on his own recently, but I didn't let them fight it out. That raccoon was as big as he was, I highly doubt he'd have been the victor if the fight had gone on longer than it had.

Heidi

Cool. My dogs tend to pounce things with their paws and then watch it run away. "Tag, you're it!"

Although Rakka has killed a thing or two over the years.

shishiinu

Nice! Excellent job.

atlas

Awesome! I'm constantly fascinated by my shiba's prey drive, too. She catches birds and rabbits.

shibamistress

Good for Hiro!

My AA dug up a den of rabbits once and ate them all.....And my Shibas are fast: snakes, lizards, rabbits, birds (sometimes out of the air), bats, rats and mice....bugs. They eat everything except for the reptiles. Bel eats the birds feathers and all.

ttddinh

Yea hiro!

jellyfish

Haha, awesome! Bunnies are too fast for poor Toki.

sunyata

Yeah... I was always amazed at Nola's speed and agility when hunting. There were a few times when hiking that she would nose dive into the brush and come out with a grouse in her mouth. She was also very notorious for snatching birds out of the air that flew too low in the yard.

Bella does not seem to have much of a prey drive unless it comes to bugs. She is the queen of cricket killing.

shibamistress

Leo's prey drive seems to, so far, be focused on inanimate objects. Paper and cardboard are particularly popular "prey" items. Live things? Not so much!

NotoriousScrat

Zim's greatest desire in life is to be able to chase rabbits. Unfortunately since he's leashed he can't go after them most of the time (sometimes we'll let him chase them by running with him my husband and I aren't fast enough to let him catch them).

WrylyBrindle

Juno (kai ken) has bagged rabbits, mice, voles and a ruffed grouse. She never eats them but will let me have them. She also will pursue pinecones or pebbles I happen to kick while walking, and enjoyed chasing moths and other crazy flying largish bugs all summer. She is a pursuit/reaction visual hunter.

Sage (kai x 17 other things mix) actually caught a really sassy squirrel once, rabbits, a mole, and voles. He *sometimes* eats them- he cached the squirrel for later

Reilly (greyhound x 17 other things mix) specializes in rabbits and voles (she loves a good chase or a hearty excavation project!) but also kills moles and snakes on sight. She eats rabbits and voles immediately, but doesnt eat moles or snakes. In fact she is really harsh on destroying the snakes, and its completely uncalled for so I try to prevent her from seeing them and hoosh them along, but we can be out on a casual leash walk up the road and she'll spot slithering motion in the roadside weeds out of the far corner of her eye and grab and thrash the poor snake before I even know what's happening. I have to be very alert and 'present.'

All of my dogs think moles are disgusting. Sage is afraid of snakes, and snake skins, and I think that's sensible enough, so I let him be.

Saya

Saya has caught 9 rabbits 7 were babies two were juvenile ones. Babies don't really count since they were in nest or ran off and she found them by their scent.

The juveniles one was out in the open and she went for it and another was in the overgrowth in the side of the house she went after it.

She has chased adult rabbits to keep them off my garden and returns when I call her.

She has met a trapped groundhog twice and she shown great interest in it she wants sniff it and investigate and when the groundhog charges and growls at her Saya barks up a storm at the critter. She goes in to sniff some more and dodges when it charges.

Even though the groundhog can't get her the action of the groundhog charging, hissing and growling gets her to dodge.

She has treed raccoons twice first time it was one raccoon another was two they were young raccoons or juveniles so not big adults, but still was neat to see her tree them.
The two raccoons.

Better picture showing it

Raccoon in the tree kinda hard to make out.




She barked up a storm at the raccoons.




She is a avid mice and vole killer she can sniff them out.
This is a nest she found in the wood pile I removed the wood she kept sniffing and digging at sure enough the mouse was under some other wood Saya chased it, but it evaded her.

Here's with the groundhog I worked with her on coming, leave it and watch me and she did good. Her reward were some treats and me allowing her to investigate the critter. The groundhog wanted to bite anything that came near it luckily Saya is good at dodging.

I caught a second groundhog too so far there haven't been any more damage to my tomatoes.. I got the groundhogs in the freeze.. I might use the hide for some dog toys or something..



She won't eat what she catches either, but once I offer it after it been frozen for while she'll eat it.

I don't give her the mice or voles I toss in trash they don't make much of a meal good she takes care of rodents though.

I work on her recall each day and she does well even mid searching for a bunny she'll come.

Though once she sees a bunny and knows it's in the overgrowth she'll keep looking for it. If I call her she'll come and then act like she wants to go look so more. I have her sit and watch me then I tell her to go in there and she gets go on the hunt. She did caught the rabbit. And brought it semi close to me and dropped it. She then sniffed it and licked it.

I might get rabbit scent to see if I can get her into retrieving them on command..

She's been on frequant off leash trail walks or with me while I cut up brambles and limbs and she seen rabbits and when I said no leave it she will and follow me.

When thing I like about being in the country is the land and ability to go out a lot to work on off leash and not chase certain things.

I haven't come upon deer much, but usually in fall and winter we see them I try my best to get it in both dogs brain deer is the no chase animal.

I don't mind them chasing rabbits, but deer is something I don't allow due to it being illegal and I don't want them getting hurt..

Saya did tree a squirrel once I don't have picture or squirrel as proof, but it was neat she is into chasing animals up trees.

Rabbits seem dumb they put their nest close where there are humans and dogs a lot.