We had a rat in our backyard a couple years ago. I saw it crawling through the canteloupe vines in my veggie garden and encouraged my bassett hound to catch the scent. She did and followed it backwards to where the rat had been instead of following to where the rat was hiding! She never headed the right direction to catch the rat. She just ain't all up there, I guess. Then a couple years ago we adopted a labrador retriever. He can chase, but has yet to catch anything. We usually have bunnies who will sit real still in the backyard when the dogs are out. When the lab finally sees the bunny, he will charge after it, but never catches it. All I can say about my two brave hunters is that they try!

That's so cute! At least you don't have to worry about them picking up a parasite! PJ

All three of mine will hunt.

The two old ones will hunt for the AC register, the Boxer dog will hunt for the bed.

They DO all chase birds out of the yard.

Janie

See? My stupid dog is eating rats and stuff. I think your dogs might be smarter than mine! LOL!PJ

Oh, I forgot that the lab decided this spring that he should pick up the fledgling grackles. We've caught him twice just sitting out there in the backyard with the birds in his mouth. We tell him to drop them and he does and the birds hurry and run away as fast as tney can while we hold onto him. I don't think he hurts them, but he thinks it is a game to catch them. This is something new for him this year. I know they're "just grackles", but those grackles love to eat all those crickets that hatched out earlier this month. So, they are good for something other than making a bunch of noise and pooping all over.

My dogs are just spoiled.

The cats are the hunters here.

It sounds like you have a nice lab, with a good soft mouth. He will treat the dead birds the same, never tearing or biting them. We always looked for labs like that.

Janie

That dog does have a good,soft mouth!(Hear that Song Ye you nit wit???) My DH's auntie raised Cockers and I remember her and another breeder talking about soft mouth vs "Jaws" dogs. I guess Chow/labs aren't good retrievers!PJ

This is wierd. Song Ye must not like being called a nit wit. She left me a dead rat in her crate. I know, her generosity is overwhelming. Gack! So is the SMELL!!! I promise never to call her a nit wit again (maybe) Chagrined owner,PJ

She didn't leave it for you!

She was saving it for later! The smell was for rolling in, and she would have had plenty of time to savor the aroma before you found it and took it away from her.

WAHAHahahahahahahaha! I just love dogs.

Janie

I don't want to think about that....EWWWWWW!!!!!!! PJ

My adolescent Springer just brought us a rat, carrying it by the rat's tail. He had been after it for a day or two. He was sort of bewildered but did "drop" it on command. I would worry about him if he ate it since this rat might have been eating bait. I think dogs are much better ratters than cats. Out big problem with him is that he likes to chew on rocks which I can see will lead to big dental problems if he doesn't grow out of it. That must have been a real hullabaloo with all those rats and gang-ho dogs!

They mowed the big pasture next to us, and the next wk my old cat, Uno was found two days in a row with a big rat in her mouth (headed in the house, I'm sure). She is quick to kill, and disposes of them herself. We were suprised because she is so old, and not lacking in food (she has a food disorder, she's always worried the bowl will go empty and she'll have to do without:), so we decided she must be afraid the rats were after her food:); All mine dogs hunt, kill, and eat their prey when out of the fence (heaven help anything that enters that pen). All are in great health-I just keep them up on their rabies shots. The vet told us unless the prey is full of posion, there is no worry. Now you just need to get that momma, before she blesses you with more rat babies. CJ

LOL! You're right about the hullabaloo Red! If I hadn't been so grossed out that rats were in my yard it would've been funny!
Thanks T.Lily, we are up to date on shots and worming.

I think the rats are gone. The "girls" got out of their area while I was away. They must have spent most of the day trampling my beds!!! The good news is that 98% of my plants are aggressive and came right back. I haven't seen a rat since. I think a good ratter cat is an exceptional ratter. I haven't met too many cats that would hunt something as big as a rat. Cats do a lot less damage hunting which is a big plus. I only have an indoor kitty who is a snot. Hunting and all that would be below her "station" anyway. LOL!PJ

My cats are hunters. Avid, excellent, proficient, efficient hunters.

The old girl kitty is 18 years old now. She was a barn cat before we got her, and always had kittens to feed. Nobody ever fed her, lest she not keep the mice and rats under control. I think that is why she loves corn tortillas now, as she lived all those years eating the mice and rats that ate the corn in the barn.

She is the smallest adult female cat I have ever seen, but she will gladly take on a rat. She comes alive when she gets in the hunting mode.

The young cat is a orange tomcat that came here when he was about 3 months old. He adopted us, and that was that. The old girl kitty taught him to hunt I think. He has been neutered, but will still whup anything that shows in our yard, be it another cat, a bird, rat, or snake. (Just not possum. LOL) He stays in the flowerbeds with me when I weed, and I always feel that he is there to protect me.

Is that weird, or what?

It was funny that neither of the cats wanted anything to do with the possums that invaded us awhile back. Looking at possum teeth, I can see why.

Janie

Janie your girl is VERY old-I guess ours is about 12 or 13. And what's not to like about possums? Teeth? Or maybe the glowing possum eyes? Or the scary hissing, or the fact they don't (usually) run, or, or, or, well, possums are just scary looking.

PJ-my girl, Uno, may be a ratter-but she is also a 'plant flattener' many of my plants have fat cat syndrome. She would rather be inside-but she has fleas and since the weather is nice (says me, don't ask her), she's outside for now. Today my other cat is home (she's a wanderer), so Uno is on food bowl watch, ever ready to alert her people should the bowl even look empty (thats why we switched to a self feeder-to save her some stress:). Your dogs were probably just 'scenting up the place' and protecting you from future rat invasions. I'm sure they had your best interest at heart. :) CJ

I totally forgot! My mom had fat cat syndrome in her yard when I was growing up! Especially potted soft plants. The cats ripped off the trailing (pretty) parts and squished the plant flat. LOL! PJ

Anytime I see a bald spot or tender plants broken off at the ground-I know my Uno has been there (don't even ask about the dwarf marigolds that WERE blooming this year-amazingly when broken off at the ground-they don't come back (however, she did look really pretty tucked in that pot:) CJ

Frodo was a LaMarque mix dog. He weighed 33 pounds his whole life. I never had a cat or a dog that was anywhere near the mouser he was. I had an aviary in the backyard and a problem with mice. I would stick the hose in one of the mice holes and he would chase them down. He got soooo excited whenever he saw me headed to the back with a hose. I think it was his absolute favorite thing in the world. I saw him catch a mouse, then turn and grab another as it ran by, without dropping the first mouse. Of course he killed all the white mice I was raising to feed the snake, I think he was color-blind. He also caught the HUGE rats that seem to like the coastline.
Tally HO!

A terrier would fit nicely under the shed....Wait! NO! NO more animals....!!!
Tally, what's a LaMarque dog? PJ

PJ, that was funny! I have cats and a nutty insane vet who knows everything. He lectured me about cat livers, basically that they are meat eaters and anything that ain't meat is likely to mess up their livers. His lecture did include a solliloquy about what dogs eat, which includes cat poop, dead things, and everything else you can think of. I seriously, I mean very seriously doubt that your dogs caught anything from any wild living thing they ate or might eat. Possibly with the exception of skunks, which sometimes have rabies, and armadillos, which sometimes have leprosy. But I ask you: when have you ever heard of another living creature having caught a disease from eating either one? Having said that, you might call your vet and ask.

Thanks Prarie! Miss Song Ye is fine. I figure as long as we keep her wormed and keep the rabies shot up to date it's gonna be OK. PJ