The dogs I have had so far are a Schnauzer and Collie (during childhood), a Saint Bernard, two Labrador Retrievers and now a French Bulldog. Prior to Jake, none of the dogs I owned cared to hunt. Max and Melvin chased squirrels but to be honest, I don’t think either of them would have known what to do if they caught one. They’d probably have been terrified.
Jake on the other hand, well he’s like a little caveman. “Must hunt to eat”, which is totally not true since I am the one who buys all the dog food. Dude is 33 solid pounds, going hungry is not something that happens to him.
You know about the frogs, and about stalking the birds. If there is any rustling of leaves (Jake does not understand the concept of wind) he will attack said pile of leaves until he is sure nothing living is hiding there. Well now we can add bunnies to the list.
A family of bunnies lives in our front yard bushes. I’m fine with that, hopefully they won’t feed on the new flowers planted but whatever. Jake walked outside one day (he goes buggy-free on good legs days) and we were 40 feet from the front yard and yet he knew they were there. Bunny scent wafted straight up his flat face. The walk was over, he had to hunt. I of course had no clue why he was puling me towards the front yard, let alone the bushes until Bugs Bunny IV. leapt out from under some flowers and all hell broke loose in our yard. When Jake is hunting, the world around him disappears. There is just him and the prey. It’s like his own version of the Matrix. It’s so severe that I have to pick him up (he kicks and honks) and take him back inside. (In the meantime, Melvin has this look on face like: “OMG, why can’t we just take normal walks like other families. Why does Jake ruin this for everyone?”)
Once inside, he will “run” to the front of the house and try to hunt the bunnies through the walls. He may not be super smart or very fast, but he is very persistent. I have never understood prey drive until he came to live here. The fact that he knows the bunnies are there means that he will 100% always think they are there, long after they have left. We saw a cat once in a field where there are now houses and every time we walk by there, he moans with desire from inside the buggy.
“When is Easter? I’m hungry”
Oh Jake, how I love thee let me count the ways. You little hunter you!
He wants to hunt you!
I wont hide!
I’m the same way, not very smart or fast but quite persistent.
You and Jake are twins!
Two things: I must hear a dog honk one day and I can just pictureMelvin’s reaction. Lol.
I will get you that sound byte!
Try living on 8 acres with 2 terrors…….um, terriers! You never know what they’ll drag home!
Can Jake come to Hunters Camp there!???
Absolutely! He’s welcome any time to help my Jake & Sissy clear the land of any critters. The sound symphony would be quite melodious with the honking & yipping of that crew. 🙂
We only have one dog with a serious prey drive, but we also have a serious rat problem so he gets his workout! So far only the cat has actually CAUGHT anything but Snoopy gets into that “mode” when he knows they’re out under the deck. It’s totally like a switch flips in his brain and he’s just totally zoned out of real life.
Yikes! Rufus caught a squirrel once and I thought his head was going to explode with joy. Luckily he only grabbed the tip of the tail for a millisecond before the squirrel ran up a tree…Thank God! Growing up, I had a husky that would catch birds in mid-air. She was quite the little athlete.
Jake, are you sure that you and Dottie aren’t related? She hunts like you do and never forgets where she last saw her prey.
Mine like to hunt insects, lizards..and rats! i have to be vigilant as i dont want them to actually get a rat. A sound bite of Jake’s honks? yes please!
Aw, he is a cutie. I have a hunter, too, a Mini Xolo. She slings snakes around, hunts moles in our back yard, chases anything that will run. 🙂
Be thankful it is bunnies and not skunks. BabyGirl my German Shepherd mix was skunked a couple years ago and she is still trying to track down that skunk who still lives by us. I ask her what is she going to do when she finds it get sprayed again lol