Ugh give me strength -- yuck (Callie it's ALL dog-related)

 Ohhh, Tinkerbella, the mighty, fawn hunter!!!

You wanna trade? Emma and Ena are wild hunters, LOL. Ena's fav is crickets, *sigh* Despite catching and killing all sorts of stuff, Emma has learned to be calm around small animals, indoors. I'm very proud of that. She is a dog, and a hunting dog, no less. It is what she does, BUT she can be controlled, and she WILL, dang it!

 Eeeeew.... yeah... Rascal is enamored with bits of small decaying animal that he sometimes finds at BF's family house (they have 5-some acres that border on a wildlife refuge). He loves to eat them up and/or roll on them. UBER GROSS. I just have to watch him like a hawk when he's over there... he does the same sort of "hiding" things, too. Ick!

Rolling in dead stuff I can cope with -- and I don't have a clue WHERE She thot she was going with this thing -- except I think she'd already "played" with it. 

Remember -- *I* know what this dog does to a NYLABONE.  That poor lil thing didn't stand a chance (ewww I can hear the crunch already *sigh*)

Mostly it's a human thing -- I'm just ticked because I have this potential problem area where I can't supervise.  And I'm too much the former teacher to EVER allow a "kid" (pup or human) to be out of supervision. 

Oops, Tinkerbell, you've gone and done it now !!! Don't freak out your lady mom like that.

Callie, I completely agree with you with their ability to plan to do stuff out of sight. We have one area like that too and guess where Flem the poop-eater bathrooms when she wants to have a snack in peace and quiet (a.k.a. without me standing right behind here with the pooper scooper), guess where they both go when they feel like digging to China... yep, the out-of-sight area.

As far as having to put victims out of their misery, so far it has been DH's job - he's country raised and knows how to make it quick and painless. I guess I would do it if I had no choice but I am not confident in my ability to do it efficiently. We save and relocate what we can but there are cases when...

Having a rat snake around can do worlds of good in terms of rodent control. When we bought the house six years ago we had a big outside (and some inside) rat trouble because the house had been vacant for quite a while. While we did what was necessary to reduce the population, it is only two years ago, after a rat snake decided to settle somewhere in the area, that the problem completely disappeared. We've seen it only once but have found some sheddings while cleaning the gutters. Since they are not venomous, I'd rather have a rat snake around than a copperhead or a cotton mouth. I helps that I do not mind snakes. Do not go talking about spiders now !!!

Aww, Tinkerbell?! Why?!

Taz does it too - only to lizards and crickets! I had to try the poor things from his mouth a million times this summer....*sigh*

I agree with the 'no-out-of-sight-space' rule. I have half a yard that I can't see. Sam and I had are go-round tonight - he sliped out of the screen door on the back pourch. And RAN 1/2 a mile with me chasing him and trying to get him to sit/stay/down/come anything. Nope - I chased him for 1/2 mine before my Mom headed him off with that car. And then I walked him the 1/4 mile home(his lovely little zig-zag was twice as long as the straight way). I was so mad - to took me every ounce of self-control to NOT beat the living crap out of him. So, tomarrow morning I'm wraping my bad ancle in 2 ace bandages and going for a run in the 30degree weather. And then he's going back to his kennel. And another run tomarrow night.

It's ok Callie - just remind yourself that they're dogs, it's what they do! Thats what I told myself all night.

but but buttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt --- liddle signs?  "Rats go AWAY" -- if no rats then no snakes then no rats .... S*I*G*H

What '-- you mean they can't READ?????????????????????????????

Maybe you should set up school for the lil rat babies....LOL....That was mean - I'm sorry!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh they were UN-happy campers tonight.  Because I made them wait til Pa came home at 8:30 to eat!!  (I knew I could never take four dogs out on leash and have ANYbuddy poop nor could I control them.)  And I really didn't want them to 'find' it.

David gave the "back 40" a close once over with the big flashlight (that I couldn't find) while I was fixing their dinner.  Then HE went out with them.  Tink was sooooo into "looking for the thingy" that she completely forgot what she was OUT there for (and came in and pooped almost as soon as she walked in the door .... ewwwww the joys of puppy-dom).  Dad did the 'stern Scot Dad' thing (lordy he can be intimidating with those busy eyebrows without even trying LOL) and she went back outside.

 However, THIS time while she was out she *FOUND* it -- it had crawled around the laundry building onto the patio itself, and of course she had it in her mouth before David could even see it.  She does a darned good "drop it" even when it's a prize like this. 

By this time it was dad and rigor mortis had set in and David finished the outside thing.    He thinks I was right and it was a very very *young* tree rat -- perhaps not even formed properly (hard to tell at that point).

Let's just hope the one 'found' was the one Tink had earlier.  I hate that it lived in pain while it took time to die, but ... *sigh*

Good thing I get to go to Wally this weekend -- I got way more grey hair tonight ... and good old Wally will cover it ALL up so nicely on Saturday.  Have I ever mentioned what a great colorist I have??? *grin*

(Still gonna work on that tiny signs idea ... *mental note to check for rat sign language book at library*)

 Heh, its things like this that make me glad that Kirby is too much of a pansy to be much of a hunter.  The other day a two inch long baby lizard had him jumping back in terror because it decided not to flee when he ran up to it but instead glare at him and give him the lizard stink eye.

 Callie, I think Gina is having some success with a bell on her hunter's collar, it's keeping Buckwheat away from the squirrels.  Maybe such a thing would work for Tink, even if uou just slipped the collar with the bell on it on her before letting her outside, then taking it off again when she's done?  I can imagine having an energetic puppy you wouldn't want it ringing ALL THE TIME when she was in the house, but it might work for outside time. 

calliecritturs

Sooooooooooooo where do I find tiny little rat-sized signs that say "Beware of Dogs you dumb rats!! VAMOOSE!"

I have heard a life size plastic owl [natural predator of snakes and mice] mounted on your fence is an effective deterant.

Tena

Callie, I'm sorry you are so scared of snakes but I totally understand that some people just are not reptile lovers.  I know that like Texas you have to worry about the dogs safety.  Now I have to tell you a story that you may not want to read!!  Warning contains yucky snake stuff.

When my now deceased Lab, Tia, was around 3 months old we were coming in the house from the front yard.  It was dark, she was on a lead but she stopped near a huge honeysuckle in our front yard.  She was rooting around and I pulled her away and we went inside.  When I took her lead off I noticed she was holding her mouth funny, when I went to get her to see what she had (thought it was a cat turd) she ran away as fast as her legs would carry her.  I got her and pried open her mouth.  I had a paper towel ready to get the nasty whatever from her and when I saw what it was my heart just stopped.  It was the severed head of a small rattlesnake. It was not fresh and I think it must have been killed by the weedeater or maybe a cat. I found other pieces of it the next morning.  I am sure she was planning to eat it or at least CHEW on it and I have no idea if any venom at that point would have hurt her or not.  I have had quite a bit of experience with rattlesnakes but this was the scariest and the snake was dead!  I get all my dogs vaccinated for rattlesnake bites because it is not uncommon to encounter them and I don't want to lose one of my dogs to a snake bite.  BTW, years later when I snake proofed Tia, she proved to be one of the dogs that this does not work.  She was the type to go after anything that hurt her and two weeks after the snake proofing she saw a snake curled up near a tank and was running full speed toward that sucker!  Turns out it was a rat snake but she didn't know that!  DH and I are still amazed that she lived as long as she did because she had an Evil Kneivel personality!

Hey Tink....Rocky here....   Sounds like you made you mommy make dat funny face dat my mommy makes when I bring her prizes that I find.   You should come to visit me in Arkansas.   I know the best places to find stuff and we kin git all muddy and we kin get those tings from the pond that jump real high dats fun and we kin git those tingys that make squeeky noise that makes my mommy make dat funny face and we kin try to get those thingys dat sit in da tree and yell at me.  I try to git them but they is toooooo fast but maybe if you was here we could sneak up on dem.  Now if you come here you wud like my Daddy cause he always pets me and tells me dat I wuz a good boy and give me treats when I take him a prize but dont take prizes to my mommy.