# Rabbit killing



## mosby2 (Mar 18, 2015)

The other night out golden Maisy found a rabbits nest and caught a few but I was able to separate her from them. Well tonight I guess the mother came back and she caught it as it tried to get through the wire in our split rail fence...shredded the hind leg pretty bad before I got her away - blood...I had to take care of the rabbit.

But I guess i am concerned that she is too violent? Is this normal? With the babies she caught she was playing with them and trying to 'catch' them all....but this was gastly.

This is my third golden and she has a nose like a blood hound. The bloody rabbit will stay with me for a while.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Lol. Some dogs even a golden have a prey instinct. Chloe killed two baby bunnies at like four months old. She did the same thing and was throwing them in the air thinking they were a toy. Our bridge boy Jake also caught a baby rabbit or two. Don't sweat it, it happens.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Perfectly normal, if somewhat disturbing to some of us. In the early days of the breed, Goldens were used for fur and feather.


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

My young girl snatched either a field mouse or a chipmunk as it ran thru the yard the other evening. Couldn't distinguish what it was since it was dusk. I just saw a bit of tail hanging out of her mouth and she quickly swallowed it. She's the sweetest dog and although it shocked me, I realized that she is a dog and sometimes these things happen. It is perfectly normal.


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## mosby2 (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks - I know it's normal but man, Maisy is blazing fast and has a strong hunting instinct.

It was not fun hearing the rabbit scream....I hope she drove the last of the rabbits out.


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

My daughter's Lab mix is just over a year old. The hunter is strong in him. He caught fur off of a rabbit one day, several days later he found a new nest of bunnies in the backyard.
My daughter was also traumatized by watching one die.
She takes the dog out on a leash and scopes out the backyard before letting him off leash.


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## MommyMe (Jan 20, 2014)

Our first golden (who was the biggest baby of them all) happened to be standing next to a bush when our other golden scared a bunny out of it. Unfortunately it ran right past her, her instincts kicked in and she grabbed it. Almost instantly she dropped it but it was too late. She had broken its back. We didn't realize the extent of the damage at first. We tried to get both dogs away from it, but she laid down next to it, with it between her front legs, and she wouldn't let our other dog (the wayyyy more dominant one) near it. We finally managed to get her inside and took the bunny to a wildlife center but there was nothing they could do.

As sweet and soft as our dog was, that instinct was more than she could handle for that brief moment.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

It is disturbing. My rescue Charlie has a very strong prey instinct. He caught a baby bird a few months after I got him and I had to force him to drop it. He did and it survived, but he was salivating at the back door until the baby bird recovered enough to fly away. It upset me way more than him. It's just natural for a dog. I do try to chase away any bunnies to protect hem...


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

I figure Casper will never starve if he gets lost in the woods. He caught a baby bunny today. Though I guess it was more like found than caught. The nest was in the flower beds, not that hard to find at all. I heard squealing, then realized it wasn't a bird sound and it was going on too long. I went out and Casper was standing there with the bunny. He was mostly sniffing it. I called/lured Casper away with some treats and put the bunny back in the nest. I covered the nest with some brush, so maybe that will keep Casper out but the mom will be able to get back in.


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## SunnynSey (Jan 17, 2015)

I would say completely natural, my Sunny has devoured whole squirrels on their way up a tree (her favorite snack) and pinned 30 lbs raccoons (my husband has to finish the job as that's a little too wild for us and can end up going very bad for so many reasons).


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## rooroch (Nov 7, 2012)

Grit has killed and eaten coypu in our river. These are a very large kind of water rat which are not indigenous to Europe but were introduced (or got free from a fur farm) years ago and they kill all the other kinds of small mammals that live on river banks. 
Glitter goes after the baby ducks on the river and unfortunately got one the other day and ate it.
It is their instinct as hunting dogs. Normally they are trained to pick up fur and feather and bring it back uneaten to the hunter but mine missed that lesson in their training!!


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Perfectly normal! But, since your dog has been exposed to a warm blooded animal like that be sure to watch our for worms. Most wild animals have some type of worms, and that now could be passed to your pup. Let you vet know she has been exposed. Hopefully she is already up to date on her rabies...


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I've had dogs who chase and bring back rabbits, but no marks on them and still alive. Reading this thread I'm very thankful that they've not gone all carnivore too!


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## Cookie's Mom (Oct 14, 2013)

quilter said:


> I figure Casper will never starve if he gets lost in the woods. He caught a baby bunny today. Though I guess it was more like found than caught. The nest was in the flower beds, not that hard to find at all. I heard squealing, then realized it wasn't a bird sound and it was going on too long. I went out and Casper was standing there with the bunny. He was mostly sniffing it. I called/lured Casper away with some treats and put the bunny back in the nest. I covered the nest with some brush, so maybe that will keep Casper out but the mom will be able to get back in.


Oatmeal found a nest in our backyard a few weeks ago and we ended up creating a temporary fence around the area so that mom could go in/out but the babies were protected from Oatmeal. She was extremely interested the first few days but lost interest after that.


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

rooroch said:


> Grit has killed and eaten coypu in our river. These are a very large kind of water rat which are not indigenous to Europe but were introduced (or got free from a fur farm) years ago and they kill all the other kinds of small mammals that live on river banks.
> Glitter goes after the baby ducks on the river and unfortunately got one the other day and ate it.
> It is their instinct as hunting dogs. Normally they are trained to pick up fur and feather and bring it back uneaten to the hunter but mine missed that lesson in their training!!


Buddy is terrified of those horrible Coypu/Ragondin things (thank goodness)! We have quite a lot here too and they freak me out. If he sees one when he is splashing around he runs out and hides behind me! He got spooked by a baby squirrel the other day. I think he is a fake Golden lol


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## rooroch (Nov 7, 2012)

I wish mine would hide from them!! They charge into the water and dig like crazy until they get one out and then the fun starts!! Ughh.


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## TheBladeRoden (Jul 26, 2015)

As someone with a pet rabbit this is kinda worrisome


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

The first paragraph of the breed standard states that this is "primarily a hunting dog". Bunnies, frogs, chipmonks, skunk, racoons or even deer an become prey in their eyes. The urge to chase and catch is bred into their dna and it can be hard for them to see the difference between hunting ducks and chasing rabbits. 

You can discourage it but you will most likely not be able to eliminate it.


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