Puppy survival thread. Nov. Read this and buy a hamster instead

[WomblingKnobhead]

Or a rabbit, or a goldfish, or a cuddly toy.

I love how quickly they learn which side their bread is buttered 🤣

It amazes me how clever they are, I didn't realise! Love that he takes you to the pet shop!

SuperPup just caught a rat!!! He was taking a while in the garden, I whistle recalled and in he cantered with a big smile on his face holding a rat of epic proportions. Cue mass hysteria (from DP who is dressed in my pink fluffy dressing gown. What a sight we must have been!) Fortunately he gave the rat up in exchange for some frankfurters but sadly the rat was no longer of this world. We think it died of shock/broken neck as there was no blood
Given that superpup is a golden retriever, with currently no coordination and even less agility I wonder if the rat was already unwell.
Any ideas if I should be ringing the vet?

Oh dear! Was rat cold and already dead or still warm?? The only issue with rat catching is if they've died of poison but if the dog hasn't ingested any of the rat that shouldn't be an issue. They're little sods, aren't they?

@GuyFawkesDay

Oh dear! Was rat cold and already dead or still warm?? The only issue with rat catching is if they've died of poison but if the dog hasn't ingested any of the rat that shouldn't be an issue. They're little sods, aren't they?

The poor thing was still warm, DP is adamant that it was still alive when he brought it in to the house. But I'm not so sure. Either way, I hope it had a quick end. It definitely hadn't be chewed thank goodness, although I'm sure SuperPup had plans to settle down with his tasty treat next to the fire We're at the vets tomorrow so I'll mention it then. There is a lot of rodent activity in the garden as we/neighbours have chickens. Perhaps I should double check that no one is putting poison down in case it happens again in the future, but hopefully this is a one off! Now I'm wondering if this is a good/bad sign of things to come at gun dog training..!

Lostfrog Sorry, just seen your post. It’s stairgate central in our house, so she can be penned in the kitchen and/or hallway, or both, depending on which gates are open/closed. She barks and whines no matter where she is.

@LBF2020 eeek I hate rats I would not be thankful if pup came in with a rat!

@Aria20

We're all pretty traumatised, including SPup ! So hopefully it will be a one off. I was worried it might be alive so was frantic to get it away from him, so I think that overrode my fear I spoke to a lady with an elderly GR on our walk this morning, she said hers has caught rabbits and pheasants! Eek!

Mine is desperate to get after pheasants. And squirrels, which taunt him from the fence.

@GuyFawkesDay
What do you think he would do if he caught one?
I wouldn't have expected SPup to kill anything, which is why I am hoping it died of shock (probably wishful thinking!) I am seeing him in a new light

@GuyFawkesDay mine is desperate to catch a squirrel or bird/duck too she always looks sad when they get away

Mac pup would love to catch something. He is sooo fast when he’s on a chase! I don’t know what he’d do, kill it with a shake or just carry it around 😳

My mum and dads last retriever once caught a pigeon in there garden. Shredded it and then guarded for ages 😲

Any other pups carry a chew around whining when first given them? Mac wants to take them in the garden but often then loses them. It’s a bit annoying as I’m generally giving him one to keep him quiet/occupied but instead he paces and whines carrying it around. He’s also a pest for asking to go in/out a million times; always while
I’m on a work call! Not on a work call now so he’s obviously crashed out happily 🤦🏼‍♀️

Ours takes chews straight to his crate as we usually give them in there. High value stuff especially. But he does trot round the house with a dental chew and scoff it on the rug. Doesn't tend to take things outside at all though that may change when it gets warmer.

I'm not sure what he'd do. He does retrieve and then "rag" his toy pheasant as if to kill it so I suspect he would have a good go. Squirrels I doubt he would get anywhere near catching one!! He's quick but not that fast.

@TheBigMacDougal it depends on the chew lol some like a lamb braid she will happily lay down quietly and chew it.... others like a goats ear she likes to throw them around and chase around having a little game with herself- this sometimes involves play bowing and barking at the goats ear presumably she wants it to throw itself around for the game? She does then settle to chew them. In the summer she'd do the same in the garden. She generally finishes a chew now in one sitting lol but when she was younger she used to hide them under her bed to finish later! My neighbours dog though takes all chews out to the garden to bury

Oh my pup does that with the chew toys - the throwing around I mean. It does make me laugh.

Yes, I think golden retrievers are unfairly deemed non-toxic (!) to small furries. Mine seems to have other ideas and is definitely never to be trusted around our pet bunnies. She looks far too interested, and her full sibling from an earlier litter catches and kills squirrels.

I bought one of those Adaptil diffusers yesterday, in desperation at the barking nightmare pup when I go out to my weekly club. I actually (whispers).... think it worked because I plugged it in behind her crate where she rarely goes voluntarily, and could see on the cameras that she went to sleep in the crate. Could just be coincidence but I suspect not.

FawkesPup chucks chews about too!! Chucks and does little play wuffs and bows at them. I thought he was just an idiot, turns out it's normal behaviour 😆

DH now has nickname for the dog and is very definitely in the fan club now ☺️

Ada caught a vole or a shrew when she was little but dropped it when it squeaked and it ran off! I don't think she's likely to catch anything, possibly one of the incredibly dopey wood pigeons that come to the garden. She likes to give chase but gives up fairly quickly.

Haha glad mine isn't the only weirdo throwing chews around and bowing at them funny animals!

@tizwozliz ah bless her she's obv not got killer instinct!

Billy was throwing around a flaming seagull (I think) wing on our walk 🤢. Maybe a gun dog isn’t the best dog for someone with a massive phobia of birds!

Oh my, was it stinky and we'll dead too?? 🤢🤢

Idiot puppy has just been playing with 4 friends on the park and taken out DD from behind at full gallop 🙈🙈

Dunno I didn’t get close enough! It was just a mass of feathers that spread out as he threw it about 🤢 I don’t know if it was connected to the rest of the bird at first. I was glad he left it eventually as there’s no way I could have touched it!

Oof it hurts when they run into you!

Terrier has a squirrel once a month, has had rats and mice and a baby bird 😢

Dopey lab ....I cannot imagine him being a successful hunter

Our cat brings in rats all the time, never eats them though! He killed a bird today and then ate the whole thing except the head, which Frogdog finished off so we think they may have come to a (temporary) truce