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How I Miss My Little Spider Hunter


Kirislin
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My Kibah was the champion when it came to disposing of huntsmen spiders. She passed away in Feb last year and it's been all that time since I've had one in the house.

This morning I had cause to start teaching another whippet to take up the challenge and Puck's the most responsive. I showed him where it was (behind the toilet!!) but he kept running into the shower cubicle instead of beside it. He's just not as tuned in as Kibah was.

Anyway, when he finally followed my point he saw the spider and grabbed it at which time I took off in case he flung it like Kibah used to. :laugh: But instead he gently carried it and I could see its legs poking out of his mouth, so I commanded he go outside, which he did but the silly bugger lost it.

So now who knows where the angry spider is? He must have a very soft mouth, he could get a job as a gun dog if he can carry spiders without harming them. :(

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Harper will play with Funnel Webs, but can't be bothered with Huntsmans... stupid dog!

The other 3 won't lift a paw to earn their keep around here either... grrr! You should have seen them when I had mice... just sat and watched them, but wouldn't try to catch them unless they were already dead... *sigh*

T.

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I just get a soft broom and carry them outside. But then spiders don't really worry me, but I would jump a mile high if one landed on me.

When I takes scraps down to the compost heap, I have to wave a rake or broom in front of me because I have spider webs from the bushes to the fence. When I put up the deck clothes line, by the time I go back to hang out the washing there'll be little spiders start to weave. :laugh:

You couldn't live here and be an arachnophobe.

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I just get a soft broom and carry them outside. But then spiders don't really worry me, but I would jump a mile high if one landed on me.

When I takes scraps down to the compost heap, I have to wave a rake or broom in front of me because I have spider webs from the bushes to the fence. When I put up the deck clothes line, by the time I go back to hang out the washing there'll be little spiders start to weave. :laugh:

You couldn't live here and be an arachnophobe.

I have recently started using my mop to get them outside and I actually tried that with this one first but it wouldn't cooperate so it got the whippet treatment.

There is an end to this story now. Later on I went looking for it because Pucky was still looking for it over an hour later. I saw it on the outside of my house and pointed to it. Puck took more notice this time of where I was pointing, he is learning :D and grabbed it off the wall but just chucked it around a few times, then dropped it and just looked at it. Tag shouldered past him, picked it up and ate it, so it might take 2 big whippets to do the job that tiny little Kibah used to do by herself.

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Genuine question from the peanut gallery - could a huntsman not bite the dog if he is playing around with it/carrying it in his mouth. I have been bitten and it hurt like mad, do they not bite dogs? Or does the bite not bother dogs? I know they are not venomous but my bite festered and was gross for ages. I would have a fit if the dogs grabbed one - am I worrying about nothing?

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Genuine question from the peanut gallery - could a huntsman not bite the dog if he is playing around with it/carrying it in his mouth. I have been bitten and it hurt like mad, do they not bite dogs? Or does the bite not bother dogs? I know they are not venomous but my bite festered and was gross for ages. I would have a fit if the dogs grabbed one - am I worrying about nothing?

Yes, I know someone who was bitten and he said it hurt. I think Puck may have been bitten as he shook his head a few times. I also think when Kibah was alive she was either bitten or instinctively knew she might get bitten and that's why she'd grab and fling it a few times before she ate it. In the beginning, I never encouraged her to catch spiders for me. It was her thing that I made use of. She could recognise the difference between different types of spiders though and wouldn't go near white tails or wolf spiders. I doubt she'd been bitten by all to learn not to touch them. Kibah was a very instinctive little girl though, quite in touch with her inner wolf. She's the only one of my dogs to learn (by herself) the magpie word for fox. When she'd hear them call a warning she'd go charging outside all hackled up and barking.

I think Puck's already learnt not to just carry it around as when he saw it the second time yesterday he did the fling thing.

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Huntsman bites can affect small mammals - at worst they may paralyse a limb (or part thereof) for a while. Overall, they are pretty harmless venom-wise to larger dogs.

I was bitten by a Huntsman once on my neck - it came up in this huge nasty boil like thing and was not fun at all! Horrid scuttly things must die if they come in my house!

T.

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Harper will play with Funnel Webs, but can't be bothered with Huntsmans... stupid dog!

The other 3 won't lift a paw to earn their keep around here either... grrr! You should have seen them when I had mice... just sat and watched them, but wouldn't try to catch them unless they were already dead... *sigh*

T.

So are funnel webs deadly to dogs? We think my mini foxie had one the other night, kept a really close eye on her all night.

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Harper will play with Funnel Webs, but can't be bothered with Huntsmans... stupid dog!

The other 3 won't lift a paw to earn their keep around here either... grrr! You should have seen them when I had mice... just sat and watched them, but wouldn't try to catch them unless they were already dead... *sigh*

T.

So are funnel webs deadly to dogs? We think my mini foxie had one the other night, kept a really close eye on her all night.

no, apparently only to primates, and the little bugs they intend to eat of course Edited by Kirislin
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Dogs are generally immune to Funnel Web spider venom... unless they are allergic, then you'll see pretty quick symptoms and need to get them to a vet - like with a bee sting...

My Harper was playing with a Funnel Web the other week... picking it up and swooshing it about in her mouth then spitting it out. It was arcing up at her each time she went to pick it up too - one seriously unhappy Funnel Web! Then I squashed it and spoiled all her fun... *sigh*

T.

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