Dog Community

Dogs vs. Turtles...the war continues

Posted : 6/6/2013 11:29:03 AM

I'm not sure what it is about turtles that drives my dogs insane, but any dog that I've ever had absolutely goes bonkers when a turtle is present. Now, random turtles may not be the norm in your area, but it is in my neck of the swamp. There's a canal at the back of my property, which borders a levee, which blocks off a swamp, which leads into a lake (you followed that? lol) so we have a ton of critters here. Mobilian turtles wander from the canal to lay their eggs in the soft dirt in my and my neighbors' yards. I always feel bad for them because, no sooner than they drop off the eggs, some other critter digs them up and destroys them, usually snakes and armadillos. And then, if Brett and I don't catch them in enough time, they somehow flip over on their way back to the canal because it's such a long trek. That leaves us with a stinky, dead turtle cemetery in the back acre of the property, so we usually go on turtle patrol and watch out for when they're walking back and give them a lift so they actually make it there. Well, the dogs went on turtle patrol before I did yesterday, and by the time I figured out what was going on, I ran outside to find Tar's big head under the fence. I thought he was stuck until Junior, who was screaming the entire time, dug a bigger hole under the fence and nearly got out to grab the turtle.The turtle must have been in the fence and managed to escape. Unfortunately, she didn't escape quickly enough time because the dogs cracked her shell, or at least I'm assuming they did because I doubt she showed up looking that way. So here I am, fighting off four big dogs and one fat Puggle to shoo off the turtle into safety. I wasn't able to do this successfully until I grabbed the shovel and started filling the show/blocking the dogs with it. I managed to get everyone into their crates except for Junior, who, by this point, spotted a second turtle outside of the fence but further towards the back of the property. So now he's screaming even louder and almost jumped the fence until I caught him and wrestled him to the ground with him baying in my ear the entire time. I'm fairly certain I have hearing damage now, and I'm praying my neighbors did not witness this fiasco because they'll never let me live down this scene.

tacran

Posted : 6/6/2013 12:05:23 PM

Oh my gosh, Marlania --- I don't have any words of wisdom to help you with the turtle war. But it sounds like you live on a wildlife refuge ---- turtles, snakes, armadillos???? Honestly, the only thing I can think of to tell you is to move where there's more concrete and less swamp (but that's just me --- I'm a city girl at heart!) Wink

We're fortunate that a very reputable wildlife rehab facility is about 2 miles from our house, so if we had a turtle with a cracked shell, that's where we'd take it. We've brought injured birds there, and I know they've treated turtles before. I've never seen one in this area, but I'm sure they exist. And if they did happen to be in our yard, I'm certain Ruby would behave the same way as Junior and Tar!

Boy, you must've been worn out by the time you got everyone settled again!

edited grammar

JackieG

Posted : 6/6/2013 1:10:42 PM

I can imagine what that sounded like. Poor turtles. :( Poor you.

Every dog I've ever owned has had the same attraction, if you can call it that, to turtles. We had a small one get stuck in our fence. It was actually between two fences that are next to each other with a small gap between them. I heard a ruckus and found all the dogs furiously trying to get at it. My JRT managed to get himself stuck sideways in the fence in the process. I left him there while I dragged the other three inside. Fortunately, we don't have that many get into our yard. I can always tell when there is one outside the fence by the dogs behavior. It's different from their reaction to anything else. They will rub their heads and bodies on the grass where a turtle has been. What is it with dogs and turtles?

Did you know that there are some dogs used to track endangered species of box turtles for biologists? Apparently many dogs share the same "love" for turtles.

calliecritturs

Posted : 6/6/2013 1:12:02 PM

And my dogs simply know NOT to mess with Mom when she's helping a crittur (or getting rid of one). When I roar "LEAVE ITTTTTTT" they tend to drop back and let Mom do her thing! LOL I live in suburbia, Marlania - and I have the same thing. Central Florida is riddled with lakes -- and they ALL drain into the Florida Acquifer (that means any old gator just dives to the bottom, goes into the acquifer and comes out in another lake). It's not at all uncommon on my street to see a stranded turtle -- sometimes a box turtle, snapping turtles, gopher turtles, painted turtles (probably someone's pet baby turtle that grew up). I try to help them because they are SO long lived. A turtle with a shell as big as a dinner plate is probably 30 years old. They don't try to get INTO my yard b/c of the dogs, and usually when I find them they are stuck in the road. One day I found a snapper who had fallen off the curb into the road -- and his shell was wedged between the seam where the curbing met the asphalt and the edge of the curb. But I could tell by the zig zag mouth that I did NOT want my fingers anywhere near him so I wound up using a palm frond to help move him up on the grass. He would have loved to sever a finger or two had I touched that shell. LOL Another time I found one similarly stranded -- but he was handicapped!! He didn't have a left rear flipper! There was a thick membrane covering the hole where that flipper should have been and you could see a "stump" inside. I suspect for some reason that never matures properly -- I dunno if they are born with some sort of membrane covering the shell holes until they can swim or not?? I doubt his body would have grown that after the fact. He was fun - I actually laid down something I had in the back of the car to make a little "step" for him so he could crawl back up on the grassy area -- just before he disappeared down the bank, he turned around and gave me a long look. *grin* Kinda made me feel good! LOL If I lived where you do I'd probably be out there rescuing turtles all the time. David's as bad as I am bout stuff like that.

Freedom

Posted : 6/6/2013 3:02:09 PM

Wow, I don't know whether to laugh - what a wonderfully well written description of the antics -- or cry for the turtles.

kpwlee

Posted : 6/6/2013 3:38:54 PM

We have Eastern Box Turtles and they are declining in numbers so that is one species that dogs are being used to track. I actually LOL'd when I read a story about a particular dog who was used for this because he had a 'special' ability to track turtles.

Bugsy takes me to box turtles regularly - I feel VERY glad that he doesn't harm them - he could I suppose because his tendency is to bop them on the shell so they DO something. B doesn't really seem to get that they really aren't going to play with him.

I love turtles so I would be in total distress every time I saw a dead or injured one or discovered the nest had been raided - I honestly have no suggestions to help I just pity you and the turtles.

I hope your hearing is coming back - I know that when Bugsy howls it is painfully loud so I cannot imagine having my head near his when he's doing it.

griffinej5

Posted : 6/6/2013 9:43:50 PM

As a turtle lover, I appreciate your trying to help them out. We have a good population of dumped pet turtles here (mostly red eared sliders) but they are mostly in the lakes and ponds at the parks, and so not really getting into yards or roads. Our local nature center a few minutes away from me actually has a huge red eared slider population. Apparently, we must have had a huge dumping issue around here for some time. I actually did end up putting one over there. It got to someone's driveway who lived near the nature center. We had a turtle where I worked, and they tried to put it in the entirely too small tank with the resident turtle. This went pretty horribly, so the turtle was sent home with me to take care of. I couldn't keep, as housing a dinner plate sized turtle requires a very large tank. I ended up taking her over to the nature center. Given that she refused turtle food and came from that area, it seemed like she was probably from the feral population.

Good luck keeping the dogs away.

marlania

Posted : 6/6/2013 11:44:14 PM

Tracy, we have all sorts of wildlife out and about regularly. Once, we had four baby nutrias, which were cute, but they don't grow up to look quite so cute. Ive run across a bobcat for the first time recently too. Right now we have a coyote wandering about. A neighbor told me he saw it in my front yard recently and as far back as last August after one of the hurricanes. I suspect that its crossing my yard to get to the garbage at the restaurant across from my house. Brett has spotted it at night, as have the dogs. I was surprised to find it out during the day, but it waltzed across my yard once as I was looking out of my bedroom window. I guess no one is messing with it so its feeling comfortable enough to go about its business whenever.

calliecritturs

Posted : 6/7/2013 7:52:45 AM

griffinej5
Apparently, we must have had a huge dumping issue around here for some time. I actually did end up putting one over there. It got to someone's driveway who lived near the nature center.

I had a bunch of them when I was little -- and it honestly never entered my head that my mother had gotten "sick of it" and had dumped it ... nor did it really occur to me until a few years ago that they may actually survive in the wild. About a year ago I was driving thru a really bad area and saw a red slider trying to cross the road. me being me, I told Tink to stay put, threw the car in park and got out to try to help move it ... and thankfully some guy pulled up behind me to see what the crazy lady was doing and he actually carried it down the bank into the retention pond. Then he gave me a "be more careful WHERE you stop, Lady" lecture but I'm sure we both felt better that day. I go by there all the time and I've never seen it out again.

I've had tons of weird animals in my yard -- all manner of snakes, osprey, wood ducks nesting, an iguana (honking big one), owls galore, tree rats, squirrels, and lately both a ton of turkey buzzards. Makes it interesting.

griffinej5

Posted : 6/7/2013 9:24:06 AM

Well, in your area you aren't horribly far from the native range of red eared sliders. Around here, we are well outside the native range. They also have feral populations in other countries. They used to have a bunch in Busch Gardens in Tampa. Actually, when we were in Busch Gardens in Williamsburg the other week, I saw on in a retention pond as we whipped by on a roller coaster.

marlania

Posted : 6/7/2013 10:21:06 AM

Okay, I can't claim that I've had an iguana in my yard before. lol We have had so many snakes out lately. I spooked a snake when cutting the grass the other day. By the time I got back to my house to grab by gun (I'm a country girl. Can you tell? lol), I couldn't find it. I tipped-toed around until I was confident it wouldn't pop up and scare the crap out of me. It was a water moccasin, which is poisonous, so it had to go. Sorry snake lovers, but I can't live among poisonous snakes. Maybe I can enlist the coyote to get it.

griffinej5

Posted : 6/7/2013 12:43:29 PM

I'm a snake lover, but I'm okay with getting rid of poisonous snakes from your yard.

tacran

Posted : 6/7/2013 1:29:16 PM

marlania
We have had so many snakes out lately. I spooked a snake when cutting the grass the other day. By the time I got back to my house to grab by gun (I'm a country girl. Can you tell? lol), I couldn't find it. I tipped-toed around until I was confident it wouldn't pop up and scare the crap out of me. It was a water moccasin, which is poisonous, so it had to go.

OK Marlania -- it's official -- I will not be coming to visit you! :-) I'd turn into an agoraphobic and never leave my house if the chances were that high that I'd see a snake in my yard. Poisonous or not: I hate all of them! Surprise

(We need a little icon that has a more terrified look on its face!)

We've seen coyotes walking on a hillside on the other side of our subdivision (where few houses are). Sometimes when walking Ruby at night, we can hear them howling, and a couple times we've heard several pups barking (if that's the right term -- it sounds more like yipping). Ruby stops walking and listens really carefully -- I think she must know it's not a "regular" dog sound!

calliecritturs

Posted : 6/7/2013 2:30:26 PM

tacran
Poisonous or not: I hate all of them! (We need a little icon that has a more terrified look on its face!)

Tracy - me too. My reaction to them is nothing like "sane" -- they frighten me which makes me MAD, so in turn I get mad as heck at them for DARING to slither near me!!

tacran

Posted : 6/7/2013 2:34:48 PM

At least getting mad can be a productive reaction. I'm frozen in fear -- all I can do is shriek and run. I'd never be able to take action to kill one or scare it off or anything. I have to get AWAY where I can't see it -- ASAP!!!