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Post by Chelsea on Sept 19, 2009 13:30:36 GMT -5
Both my dog Bailey and my ferret Jake are on a raw diet. Right now they get mostly raw meat from the store, but Jake gets live mice and baby rats when i can afford it. I was breeding mice, but it didnt work out well and they all died. So he only gets them then when i make a trip to the pet store. Bailey has never had any type of whole prey before. He doesnt have much drive, he wont even chase squirrels (because he has been taught not to for when we are bike riding, so we dont crash lol) but the other day i was letting him run around in an open field off leash and he spotted a ground hog. Usually i call him off before he gets anywhere close to it, but this time i decided to see what he would do. He had almost got it but he got into a hole just in time. Im not sure what he would do if he got close enough, he would either kill it, or think it was a play toy and just chase it around. If Bailey ever did catch and kill a ground hog, or rabbit etc, would it be okay to feed to him and Jake? If not what about the ones from the pet store? Im kind of worried if i let Bailey actually kill something he might start seeing small animals as prey. We have 5 cats, and 1 ferret, which all get along pretty well at them moment. Jake killing live mice didnt change him at all, meaning he didnt get aggressive with other animals but its different with a big dog, cause all our other animals are much smaller than him. Hes very smart and he knows the difference between whos a member of the family and whos not, so i think it would be fine. Just looking for some other opinions...
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Post by Heather on Sept 19, 2009 20:02:54 GMT -5
I can't speak for other dogs, each is different. I have a high prey drive dog, a wolfhound. He loves to hunt, but I don't allow him the privilege of the kill. Sounds silly doesn't it. I allow my ferrets to hunt and kill but not my dog. I can call my dog off prey, I've called him off deer, I've made him drop mice that he's stolen from the cat (live), I think the poor thing almost drowned . A good hunting dog should always surrender it's prey but it takes one quick motion of the neck, and jaws and the life that dog holds is finished. You may get that animal back, but can you possibly look at your dog the same way if he's killed one of your furbabies. Prey is prey. I've had dogs that hunt outside and the furkids that are inside are mine.....but what happens if that furchild gets out. Then you're playing by the dog's rules. I lost a 6 month old kitten that way. The dog and she were best friends, they loved each other, they ate out of the same bowl, they slept together. One night, playing the dog killed her. He didn't mean to, he kept rolling her over with his nose, trying to make her get up. We had allowed him to hunt ground hogs and squirrels. Did that precipitate the problem....I don't know . Will your dog attack your furkids, I don't know that answer either. I only know that since that time (I'm dating myself now ) 30 yrs later, none of my dogs hunt to kill. This is of course only my opinion . ciao
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Post by Chelsea on Sept 20, 2009 13:15:10 GMT -5
Thanks heather. Baileys not much of a wolfhound lol. He has close to 0 when it comes to drive (with anything but food) Toys, ropes, balls, it doesnt matter what it is, if you throw it he'll just look at you like "Well you threw it woman! dont expect me to go get it!" He will do ANYTHING for food though. Bailey has a friend who is an irish wolfhound... He makes Bailey look so tiny lol I really want to add more to both of their diets, since they are getting only raw meat, and not much whole prey items. What about mice? Obiviously i give them live to Jake, but what about Bailey? I mean, coyotes and wolves eat them, would it be alright for a dog? He has killed mice before(i wouldnt let him eat them), and it had no affect on how he looks at the cats and ferret in the house. I guess cause they are so small? Hes chased squirrels when hes running off leash in a field before, but he wont in the yard or on walks, cause he knows its not allowed. We have deer behind our house all the time, and i have to call him off of them almost every time we go out into the field. Any idea where i can get whole prey for both of them? Ive looked online but the shipping is soooo expencive. What about like, guinie(sp?) pigs and rabbits from the pet store? If i decide not to let Bailey kill them, would Jake be able to kill a smallish sized rabbit? If i got a prey animal live, i wouldnt be able to kill it myself. I have absolutly no problem with Jake killing it. Im weird i guess but i see Jake killing it as more "natural" than me snapping its neck or somthing.
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Post by Heather on Sept 20, 2009 23:49:37 GMT -5
What a beautiful fellow..I don't see why you couldn't feed him whole prey. Mice...it would take an awful lot of mice to fill a wolfhound Mithrandir eats 4 to 5 lbs of food a day. He has had whole rabbits...the rest of it is whole meats and a lot of tripe (very good for wolfhounds). You can try looking up some reptile people and checking out their suppliers. I would think that for the most part, you will probably only be able to use whole prey as treats. ciao
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Post by Polecatty on Oct 7, 2009 11:38:55 GMT -5
My ferrets live almost exclusively on wild prey that they help catch themselves, but it will depend on the health of the population of wild animals you intend on using. I'm in Aus and the rabbits are fine to eat, but this may not be the case elsewhere. Allowing your dog to hunt should not make him view ferrets as prey- my dog used to hunt with us, was very drivey and she was absolutely gold with the ferrets. She knew that they were her co-workers, not prey. Heather, very sorry about your kitten. However, it really sounds as though it was purely accidental- big dogs can be overzealous with their playing and kittens are very fragile. A deliberate kill would have been very different with heavy bites and 'ragging' [shaking the 'prey' vidorously].
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Post by josiesmom on Nov 17, 2009 22:57:35 GMT -5
MY crew ate two raccoons this summer - I skinned and cleaned them after my neighbors trapped them ina live trap and finished themoff with a shot to the head. When I brought the first carcass into the house Roman dove under the sofa and took forever to come out! When he finally did he stalked through the house with his tail poofed out!
I wouldn't feed road kill, but a freshly short raccoon or rabbit or squirrel in the states if free from obvious parasites should be o.k to feed. Rabbit in the states can be prone to a disease whose name escapes me but the tell tale sign is white spotting on the liver. Its transmissable tohumans - so using rubber gloves when cleaning carcasses is standard protocol.
As afar as raccoons go Rabies is a concern but these were healthy animals and rabies wasn't reporte in our area at the time.
as with all things feeding raw and naturally allows your eyes, fingers and nose to investigate what is going into the maw of your ferret - so you DO have more control and more input than what comes out of a bag!
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Post by mustelidmusk on Nov 18, 2009 20:39:09 GMT -5
You do need to be VERY, VERY careful with wild prey. Example - we have deer mice in our Utah investment home. Big, fat, healthy mice.
30% of the mice in the area carry the hantavirus. The virus does not affect the mice. However, the virus is 30-50% fatal in humans and other species. All you have to do is sweep the floor and you can get the virus. The mice are in the crawl space. I go down there in a make-shift haz-mat suit wearing the recommended respirator for hantavirus.
All I can say is, " I ain't dead yet!!"
You really need to be very careful. I was a volunteer wildlife rehabber for many years, and we had to learn about some of the more common risks - there's some seriously hideous stuff out there. Take a look at rabbits, for instance....Off hand, rabbits can be infected with tularemia, RHD/RCD, lyme disease, brucellosis, trichinosis and plague. I strongly recommmend checking with your local health department to find out what risks are in your area and what precautions need to be taken before handling any wildlife. The potential for serious issues is not limited to eating raw meat.
-jennifer
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