Hunter Becomes Prey as Eagle Makes Meal of Dog

Reuters ^ | Thursday, January 9, 2003

[Chemnitz]

We have a Sheltie and met her parents. We are very happy with Precious.

We just adopted an Australian Cattle Dog, a lovable 5 year old that could not leave her Rhodesian ridgeback pals alone and wanted to be top dog. Sackett is her given name.

Do they get along? Sackett is supposed to stay outdoors, but she slinks inside for love and attention, so I call her Gollum. Precious and Gollum - a good team. They enjoy each other's company.

Gollum loves to retrieve 24/7. She did the strangest thing tonight. After her toy was good and gooey from dog slobber and dirt, she took it to the watering tub and washed it vigorously about 4 times. Then she brought it back.

[Spruce]

My house sits on 4+ acres of woodland. I often spend evenings downing a few brewskies and just watching the critters.
My kids are fond of bringing home stray cats. Needless to say I have an out-building full of cats. The pressure of these cats has made the varmint population drop drastically.
One evening I watched a Great Horn owl drop a wounded baby rabbit close to the shed where the cats stay. As the cats would investigate the screams of the dieing rabbit the owl would swoop and take them. Said owl took 4 cats that night and then picked up it's decoy for it's family as well. THAT was way cool!
We have lost 6 adult and numerous baby cats in the past year. There are a few of the cats that not only do not fall for this trick, but I now see them formulating their own ambush for the owl. Nature in action, indeed.

[Happy2BMe]

"Actually, the Dachsund is a true hound that was bred by the Germans for hunting badgers. Their small legs and powerful chest allow them to enter a badger tunnel and have a chance to survive the encounter."

I'd have to see that to believe it.

If European badgers are anything like those found on the North American continent, that weiner dog would wind up exactly that - a weiner.

BTW: American Badgers are now on the endangered list.

[Happy2BMe]

Good catch... same subject, different continent, both fascinating.

[mhking]

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!

[rboatman]

Once while fishing in Wisconsin we observed a seagull drop down and swallow an undersized perch we had thrown back. The perch must has added substancially to the gull's weight as it was having trouble taking off from the water. Just then an owl swooped down and tried to pick up the gull. As they struggled, a Bald Eagle stooped on the whole collection, easily picked up the owl who was still gripping the gull, and flew off with them. He landed on a stump about 200 yards from our boat and proceeded to eat the lot.

There has got to be a lesson in there somewhere.

boatman

[Rebelbase]

"due to size and shape it often took numerous nose to the frozen ground, skull thumping tries for my St. Bernard..."

Some guys I knew kept a St. Bernard in their old repair garage at night for a watch dog. By mistake the dog got locked in the office area one night.

There were rats living inside the walls.

By morning the office was completely trashed with busted drywall and 2x4s from the floor up to 3' high along the walls.

[Rebelbase]

"but I now see them formulating their own ambush for the owl. Nature in action, indeed."

Way cool. Please tell us when that happens.

[Rollee]

What cute dogs! Do they shed? How big do they get? What are their personalities like? Thank you in advance.

[Spruce]

The owl always drops the bait in the same spot. I have observed 2 of the older battle-scarred cats drop fresh kills in the same spot and position themselves at opposing sides within leaping distance. These 2 cats are old hands and just might pull it off.
Cat1 is named YoYo. PURE black and has managed to bring home a goose, a few ducks, and numerous adult male rabbits. He keeps trying to nail the Purple Martins, but I cannot believe He truly thinks He'll ever get one.
Cat2 is named Sam. 20+ pound siamese, missing 1 ear(The only cat I like). When a stray farm dog or raccon enters the yard He chases them away.
Yoyo has the agility required to knock down the bird, Sam will deliver the damage.
It is quite the drama watching them lay in ambush.
This Owl is BIG and smart but they are either gonna kill it or chase it away.

[Texas Mom]

Hunting with weinerdogs? What's the deal with those wacky Swedes?

Weiner dogs were bread to be hunting dogs. Small animals like Rabbits, Badgers etc. They are great little hunters. My son has one and it brings him dead possums all the time and lays them at his door. He is always so proud. He will also kill a rat or squirrel in a heartbeat if he sees one. He does have a little problem though if they decide to climb a tree since he hasn't quite mastered that yet, but he keeps trying.

[AnAmericanMother]

Precious and Gollum! Too funny!

A friend of mine has a Sheltie. SMART little dog! The farrier at our barn has an Australian Cattle Dog who is quite a character. He loves to retrieve too. (I'm glad he likes CLEAN retrieve toys - wish our girl did.)

Talk about strange stuff - this girl startled us one evening when she came staggering into the living room with a BOWLING BALL in her mouth! She managed to get hold of it with her teeth in the finger holes, she could just barely carry it, neck muscles bulging, front legs braced. I took it away from her because I was afraid she would break a tooth. Wonder what she'll bring us next . . .

[AnAmericanMother]

My parents' Siamese was an inside/outside cat (mine are indoor kitties because of all the big dogs and traffic around here). She was a professional hunter and used to work in team with the neighbor's calico kitty.

They would set up an ambush near the birdfeeder and wait for the squirrels to come in (my dad called it "Hunting over a Baited Field".) They would take turns doing an elaborate stalk in plain view of the squirrels - while the squirrel was watching one cat who seemed to be at a safe distance, the other would sneak up from behind.

They made a major reduction in the squirrel population (good thing too.) On the other hand, all my Labrador has managed to get is one chipmunk and about 2 inches of squirrel tail. (You would have thought she caught a Boone & Crockett buck the way she was carrying on!)

[CCWoody]

Good looking dog. You can see the English features in her head. This is unlike my mom's pointy-headed American bred lab.

[Chemnitz]

That seems to be the ultimate cattle dog compliment, bringing an object to throw. I pet our little Gollum often. She goes into writhing of joy, then gets her toy to throw.

[oldcomputerguy]

Any chance you could find that story? I'd love to read it.

I believe it was a newspaper article and it is doubtful I can find it as I don't have access to the Lexis-Nexis database. A Google search would be the best I could do.

I recall it being taken on one of the Florida canals in front of the owners who were heart broken of course. It then reappeared 2-3 days later at their door. The 11 foot deceased alligator was found floating with a hole in its side.

[rintense]

under Swedish law, the government compensates losses of cattle and dogs caused by bears, wolves, wolverines, lynx and eagles.

I really don't know what to say.

[Chemnitz]

That seems to be the ultimate cattle dog compliment, bringing an object to throw. I pet our little Gollum often. She goes into writhing of joy, then gets her toy to throw.

[AnAmericanMother]

Thank you. Her head started off a little on the pointy side, but as she hit one year old her head began to get blockier. She has a very pronounced dome to her skull now (even more so than that photo which was taken at 1 yr 3 mo. - she will be 2 March 1st.) Must be to hold all those brains . . . ;-)

[AnAmericanMother]

Here it is:

Dachsie Shows Gator Who is Boss

Sun Magazine of Boca Raton, Florida 1/10/95

A huge alligator swallowed a plucky dachshund who promptly chewed her way out. The eleven foot gator was found floating belly up in the pond the next day, and Daisy, obviously a lot tougher than she looks, was back pawing at her family's door.

"The dog didn't have a mark on her, since the gator gulped her down whole. At first I really thought she was a ghost," says Melanie Nelson, whose son, Mark, saw the gator snatch Daisy as she chased a ball next to the pond behind their house in the swampy country near Everglades City. But Daisy went straight to her dish and the family knew they had their pet back. "We'd lost dogs to gators before" Melanie recalls. "It's a hazard of living out here. But this is the first one who has ever come back."

She took Daisy to her vet, who explained that if any dog could chew its way out of an alligator, it would be a dachshund. "They are a lot feister than they look," says Nelson. "The vet says they were bred to go down a hole and kill badgers. Also, Daisy didn't need to make too big of a hole to get out. She's very low to the ground."