* dog haterz look away now *

Had been enjoying a stroll whilst it was dry and was approached by a dog with what I assumed to be a toy in its mouth. It wasn’t. It was a most definitely dead leveret (baby hare). 😯

Was talking to its owner, who had 2 other dogs all English pointers, ready to engage in a Daily Mail stylee rantette. But I didn’t. Instead I asked an array of questions in order to determine if this was typical behaviour of this dog. It was. 🙁

Now pointers are obviously a gundog who ‘point’ to the fur and feather but am very surprised that this one killed. Any gundog experts around?

The woman took the dead leveret off the dog and was holding it whilst she answered my questions, quite bizarre.

What should I have done? I feel I should have done something to challenge the behaviour of this dog, and its owner too.

Aren’t this type of dog trained in bringing the prey to the owner? More likely that the dog found a dead leveret and did its duty in bringing the quarry home.

It was a most definitely dead leveret (baby hare).

wild animals pointlessly killed by domestic pets shocka!

dog thinks its a cat, innit

Ok for humans to kill wild animals though?

What should I have done?

the bunny in a slow cooker in a rich red wine or port sauce

Sorry, but what’s the issue here?

Dog (possibly) kills prey. Pretty natural no? Rabbit/hare is a pretty common ingredient in dog food for a reason.

We used to have a dog which we rescued from the street. She killed rabbits on occasion. My dad would just bring them home, skin them and cook them up for her (and/or us). Saved buying a few tins of Chappie.

Ain’t they part of the HPR group so its just the hunting part.

As for killing defenceless bunnies, well you could look at it as its culling the weak so the stronger one survive, as old/weak ones will die painful lingering deaths in the winter.

she wasn’t picking daffodils as well was she?

I used to walk someone’s retriever for them. It was always picking up and carrying around dead animals. The point is that they were already dead though.

love the way that the legislation about hunting with dogs is on a page called ‘looking after nature’ 🙂

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Thewiderenvironment/Lookingafternature/DG_180360

our next door neighbours cat was always getting baby rabbits off the downs and killing them under our caravan

they make horrible squealing noises as they are tortured to death over a few hours!

Well, it turned out that these 3 pointers are working dogs. I was then informed that this one has killed other creatures and owner had ‘despatched’ squealing animals. 😯

I had seen the dog diving into a gap in the hedge and suspect that the leveret was resting/sleeping. Funnily enough, there were a couple of partridges nearby but dogs didn’t bother!

My issue is that gundogs do not normally kill and am pleased to report that no daffodils were involved. 🙂

Is the issue that the dog killed something (in which case i guess we have to take into account the damage done by all pets, including cats on wild birds etc, people releasing terrapins into rivers and so on, not to mention things like mink);

Or is it more specifically to do with the fact that this particular dog had a hare? Would it be a lesser issue if the dog had a rat or a rabbit in terms of challenging the owner?

I dont see a huge issue here. As has been said was it already dead etc, however it would be reasonably natural for a dog to kill sosmething like that.

Definitely not saying I agree with it and if my ogs caught or brought something furry back to me I would be horrified, but I dont put it deyond the realm of possibility.

If it is a fresh dead thing, my Springer may pick it up. If it’s old and rancid he’ll just roll around on it.

edit: He will run after furry things though without success

My old cat wasnt fussed; if it moved and was smaller than him then he’d try to kill it. He brought a rabbit through the cat flap once.

am very surprised that this one killed

I’m saying nuffin ! 8)

My issue is that gundogs do not normally kill

I think you’re mistaken, my dear. 🙂

My issue is that gundogs do not normally kill

seriously? 😯

My old cat wasnt fussed; if it moved and was smaller than him then he’d try to kill it. He brought a rabbit through the cat flap once.

A friend once told me the story of how her utterly useless at hunting cat once came back with the biggest rabbit she’d ever seen, unfortunately it was on its last legs through myxy, rather than any great feat of hunting by the cat.

My dogs caught and killed a few rabbits, saves them from getting myxomatosis. I rode over one once aswell, if it wasnt dead after that it would soon be fox food.

Wheres that squirrel/discbrake interface pic?

lived in town all your life by any chance ?

My dog has killed a fair few rabbits, never a hare though, how young was it, if it was anywhere near grown up a pointer would never catch it unless it was already injured. Hares are bloody fast and agile. I dont see what the problem is. Hunting hares with dogs is illegal but taking a dog for a walk and it killing a Hare isnt.

My issue is that gundogs do not normally kill

I think you’re mistaken, my dear. [/quote]

I’ll second that 😉

Our labrador must have caught a dozen rabbits. Probably half ended up being killed, half were not dead and I had to ‘dispatch’.

The best one was when he brought us a pheasant. We took that home and ate it. YUMMY. Even gave Max some.

My Collie/Whippet X seems a bit conflicted about other animals, should he herd them or should he kill them? However should he decide one day to kill a rabbit this > < is how much of a plop I’d give.

Evolution in action.

The dog did the Hare world a favour by weeding out the offspring of the Hares that gave birth in an area where people walk their dogs.

Hares as a species will be stronger because of this, therefore you should have thanked said woman if you think this is good/chastised her if not.

All members of the canine species are hunters. They can and will kill other animals (much like felines).

My father in law’s old lab emptied an entire burrow of baby rabbits one by one and brought them in, laying them down gently – if it’s well trained (as a gun dog, rather than a pet) then no, it shouldn’t kill.

Dez, I’m saying nowt either!

It’s not like the dog was savaging cats in the high street or you found it coming out of a creche with a child in its mouth. Wild animal getting chomped by bigger animal. Seems like the way of the world to me.

surely that depends on a type of gundog though doesn’t it? As Labs are much more retrieve than point/hunt.

gundog != lab all the time.

I’d have asked for the leveret so I could’ve had it stuffed for my collection.

or you found it coming out of a creche with a child in its mouth

Could easily happen though. I’d suggest contacting the authorities and having the animal (the pointer) destroyed immediately.

If it is a fresh dead thing, my Springer may pick it up. If it’s old and rancid he’ll just roll around on it.

My old cat wasnt fussed; if it moved and was smaller than him then he’d try to kill it. He brought a rabbit through the cat flap once.

+1 for the first point, my parents prefer’s to eat poo than roll in it though!

Our cat (my parents live in a flat) is some kind of hunting genius though. It could catch a rabit his own size (he’s not a very big cat despite eating easily 2x his daily recomended food all his life, he spent a lot of time outdoors), jump up a 4ft wall, then from that 3ft up onto the top of a spiked wooden railing, then from that another 4ft to the top of the next wall, he’d then make his way accross the house next doors (steeply sloping) roof, jump the 3ft gap (over a 60ft drop to the cellar windos/vents) accross the flat roof then upto the windowsill and get it through the catflap! And the rabit was usualy still alive at this point!

Could easily happen though. I’d suggest contacting the authorities and having the animal (the pointer) destroyed immediately

And the owner. And anyone she ever came into contact with. Nip this sort of thing in the bud IMO.

If it killed a Hare, I expect that animal was on its last legs anyways. Survival of the fittest innit?

Got a working springer here, and she will bring you things still alive, if they don’t fly off, as she is trained to push the birds up and to retrieve.

Although it was a very funny sight when she tried to pick up next door neighbours fat chicken.. Now found a very quick way of defeathering a chicken! & now our neighbour keeps them in her garden rather than letting them roam the street.

It would seem that the police are not at all interested in next doors serial killing cat.