So Angry!

[Ronah]

I am so angry. Embarrassed. Sad. Disgusted. My dog has just killed a beautiful blue tongue bob tail lizard at the park.

She has a sick fascination with them and hunts them out whenever we are near bushy areas. I thought he just barked at them but today I saw her take the poor creature in her teeth and ferociously slam it into the ground and viciously swing it around like a rag-doll. Try as I might to get to her, she was in thick brush and I have an injured knee and I couldn't crawl in to get her. She certainly would not come to my calls. Her intent was clearly to kill it. Which she did. Once it was dead she came out of the bush, quite satisfied with herself, and surrendered. YUCK! I roughly pinned her, but I think this had no effect. I know dogs live in the moment, so the cold shoulder I am now giving her is for my benefit not hers. But I don't know what to do. This killer behaviour is a complete surprise to me and I was horrified watching.

Although she is a rescue (at 4yo) she is not at all damaged. Other than not being terribly obedient, she is a joy. Until today.

Is there anyway that I can train her to never do this again. One day she will take on the wrong kind of reptile and find herself with a snake bite and dead. We don't want her to die. Ever! But I don't want her to go around killing other animals.

Could we try some sort of electrocution collar or whatever they are? Give her a little zap when she goes into bushes? Would this be effective? Any other suggestions? I'm desperate.

Had I known I was going to be so harshly judged and criticized I would never have asked for help on this forum. How many times do I have to be told the same thing by so many people? I am not a negligent, uneducated dog owner. I understand dogs instinct. I get it that she is just a dog acting like a dog. I wanted to ask for guidance and advice that would help us. Not comments that make me feel like a abusive dog owner, and that I have no right to own a dog. So for all those that offered me the advice I was seeking, thank you very much. If there is anyone else who has anything constructive to offer, thank you as well. For the bullies who want to jump on the bandwagon and attack me, I don't need any more judgemental comments.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Ronah

[Kirislin]

It's instinct. Dont be too hard on her, it's in her nature, the thing you have to worry about with dogs like that is she'll do the same thing to a snake.

I dont know if you could train her out of it, perhaps all you can try to do is avoid those situations and that can be hard too unless you constantly have her on the lead. Poor lizzy. One of mine has killed 2 blue tongues here, it's awful, and once they're dead the dogs loose all interest in them.

[persephone]

and surrendered. YUCK! I roughly pinned her, but I think this had no effect. I know dogs live in the moment, so the cold shoulder I am now giving her is for my benefit not hers. But I don't know what to do. This killer behaviour is a complete surprise to me and I was horrified watching.

Breathe!!

she is a D O G .

Dogs are predators , and most of them are very capable of killing other animals .

people tend to forget this fact.

Unfortunately you, in your panic, pinned her at the exact wrong time...and I hope that now her recall, and trust is intact.

I suggest your dog stays on a nice long line when out & about , until you obtain good advice about trying to proof her with reptiles.

Hug her and love her ..she has not done an evil thing - she has done a dog thing.

[Allerzeit]

Please stop giving your dog the cold shoulder. You say it's for your benefit, not hers, but what you're doing is punishing her for being a dog.

[teekay]

I agree with Pers. Be very careful with your timing. You actually inadvertently punished her for doing what you wanted her to do. You wanted her to come to you, she didn't at first, which isn't ideal I know, but when she did, you punished her.

You state she is not terribly obedient so should probably not be off lead the the park. You need to work on her recall and for the time being keep her on a leash or long line if you want to give her some freedom.

[Tangwyn]

Agree with the others here. What you witnessed was normal

dog behaviour. The best thing is that you actually saw it so you now know exactly what our loving pets are capable of. I think a lot of owners kid themselves that their dogs would never hurt wildlife or livestock. Our dogs are just that. Dogs. Nothing more or less. Don't punish her for who she is. Just keep her on a lead in bush areas and recognize how deeply ingrained her instincts are.

Cheers

[Tangwyn]

PS Poor lizard :-(

[persephone]

I am so angry. Embarrassed. Sad. Disgusted. My dog has just killed a beautiful blue tongue bob tail lizard at the park.<br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); ">She has a sick fascination with them

No she doesn't - she is a dog with prey drive ..and knows these are easy prey.

Breathe again.

Now - try & stop projecting human thoughts/rules onto your dog - that is not how they think :)

You have been really fortunate today - and have learned a lesson many people have yet to - that pet dogs are still predators, and still have instinct - and teeth!

Dogs should be respected for these abilities and instincts - like they are for their intelligence and ability to bond with humans :)

It is up to us owners to make sure our dog's instincts are channelled , and that our dogs are kept safe and happy.

She is not the devil..she is the same gorgeous girl you hugged this morning.

[Maddy]

Dogs are predators , and most of them are very capable of killing other animals .

People tend to forget this fact.

This.

People need to learn to respect what they have. In the case of dogs, it's a predator with certain drives and those drives make dogs what they are.

Punishing an animal for doing what comes naturally to it (especially when the dog had returned) is not going to be effective in stopping the behaviour in future.

A better method of dealing with the issue would be training the dog to a specific behaviour when it sees the cue (in this case, the cue being other animals) and then rewarding with an activity that still rewards the drive, to reinforce the behaviour you want to see.

For example, when the dog sees a prey item, teaching him to stop and sit. When he does this, reward the correct response with something like chasing (you run, he chases) or throwing a toy or ball for him.

Prey items will still get a response but it becomes the response you want.

[Jade~Harley~Bella]

poor lizard. I've come home twice now to 3 dead wild brown ducklings. Their little family have to cross our yard to get from one dam to the other and unfortunately these guys weren't quick enough.

Makes me mad as hell because I hate to see any animal die, specially by my dogs. But it's what they do! No point being cranky at them about it.... Well for a long time anyway. I did make my dogs stay outside most of the night! Lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bjelkier]

Please stop giving your dog the cold shoulder. You say it's for your benefit, not hers, but what you're doing is punishing her for being a dog.

Exactly.

All my dogs have killed various lizards, mice, rabbits, birds etc. I don't like it but I'm not going to punish them for doing what comes naturally.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Bjelkier

[Kavik]

Mine get Blue Tongues too - it's just what dogs do. I watch for them and move them if I see them. No point in getting angry with the dog. I try to keep grass low so less inviting for snakes and lizards, doesn't always work though.

[HazyWal]

Please stop giving your dog the cold shoulder. You say it's for your benefit, not hers, but what you're doing is punishing her for being a dog.

Exactly.

All my dogs have killed various lizards, mice, rabbits, birds etc. I don't like it but I'm not going to punish them for doing what comes naturally.

Agree.

I have greyhounds with high prey drives, one far more than the other. I have seen Maddie kill a bird as it flew out of a tree, it was that quick I didn't even know she was waiting. She would not have a clue what she had done if I gave her the cold shoulder.

[Snook]

I agree with what others have said. Your dog is a still a dog no matter how much you might like to think otherwise. By pinning your dog to the ground and punishing her when she came back to you all you did was teach her that she will be punished for coming to you, making it far less likely that she will come to you in future. Even if it had been administered at the correct time I think the punishment was inappropriate for the behaviour. Dogs have prey drive and we as their humans have to ensure they don't get in to a position where they can act on that drive and/or train them sufficiently that they can be called away from trouble if they are allowed off leash. Your dog will have absolutely no idea why you are treating her poorly and ignoring her tonight and I think it's really quite poor behaviour on your part to be doing that. If you want to punish anyone for what happened you should be punishing yourself. You are the one who let a dog off leash who doesn't have a good recall or the ability to leave something alone when told. Your dog was just being a dog. You need to go and give her a big cuddle and let her know everything is okay and your'e not mad at her. It's just not fair to be giving her the cold shoulder.

[Christina]

I would understand you being angry, sad embarrassed & disgusted if a person did this but its a dog. A normal one.

Teach your dog to obey the command Leave it. Also sit & stay.

That's as good as it gets. Stop being disgusted & punishing your dog with your attitude. The dog does not understand it. You can also keep the dog on a lead if it makes you feel better.

[Rebanne]

sorry but it is not the dogs fault it is your's for letting an untrained dog off lead to roam around. You knew she was interested in hunting them out and did nothing about it.

[persephone]

to the OP:

last year, we had some pups- 3-4 mths old .

We lost about a dozen guineafowl from our free range flock - and thought The wedgetail eagles did it .

One day I caught the pups catching and eating their organic/free range dinner

My fault entirely.

pups were then contained, , not punished ..and closely supervised when out!

[Dogsfevr]

dear god i thought i was going to read something horrific

I don't now how many our dogs have killed over the years that also includes birds that happen to land in the yard .They come in the yard chances are they won't leave,often they will bark & alert us to something there but if where not here it may not leave

May i suggest for starters you slap yourself roughly for having a dog offleash that in your own words isn't good at recall.

Put the dog on a leash or long line & the issue will be solved & then do obedience classes to train the dog & yourself .

Edited September 20, 2012 by showdog

[W Sibs]

sorry but it is not the dogs fault it is your's for letting an untrained dog off lead to roam around. You knew she was interested in hunting them out and did nothing about it.

I have to agree with this.

It's hard thing to see your dog kill another animal but it's what they naturally do.

[Ronah]

Had I known I was going to be so harshly judged and criticized I would never have asked for help on this forum. How many times do I have to be told the same thing by so many people? I am not a negligent, uneducated dog owner. I understand dogs instinct. I get it that she is just a dog acting like a dog. I wanted to ask for guidance and advice that would help us. Not comments that make me feel like a abusive dog owner, and that I have no right to own a dog. So for all those that offered me the advice I was seeking, thank you very much. If there is anyone else who has anything constructive to offer, thank you as well. For the bullies who want to jump on the bandwagon and attack me, I don't need any more judgemental comments.