I think my dog may have killed a rabbit :-(

[tulpe]

My dog was left to play in the garden for a few minutes whilst I took a phone call. When I went outside to her she was nudging this poor little mite of a rabbit with her nose :(

I am assuming it is a wild rabbit - it is greyish-brown and we live across the road from some fields so not beyond the realms of possibility.

Might sound odd but do I need to "do" anything? Aside from confirming with neighbours that nobody is missing a rabbit, do I need to be worried about my dog getting a "taste for the kill"? She is a gun dog if that makes any difference at all.

I have covered it up in anticipation of DH moving it (cannot bring myself to do so) and the dog is going mental, pining and pawing at the back door to be let back out to it.

Sorry if this is dramatic am just desperately upset by this.

Thanks all for your kind words and advice.

Yep, despite being a country girl at heart I still find it difficult to deal with the cats (and now dog) killing anything. I find it hard to equate my soft as muck, loving dog with a predator but then it shouldn't surprise me since she has a very strong prey drive and spends half her walk "pointing" at potential kill!

Thanks again. I really do appreciate it :)

I wouldn't worry about a wild rabbit -- my dog has had a few. And pheasants. And sparrows.

Some consolation: the only rabbit that we ever saw within our garden was very poorly from mixymatosis(sp!): I don't think a rabbit would come into our garden unless it was confused by illness.

So it may just be that this rabbit was ill too, in which case your dog has put it out of its misery.