Our feral cat Lucky caught himself a field rodent this afternoon. He did his usual routine - take it close to the house and play with it until he is ready for the kill.
I don't notice that Lucky has caught something and take Spike out for his afternoon walk. He runs up to Lucky and grabs the rodent in his mouth. Spike is part bird dog so he doesn't bite, doesn't swallow, just grabs it gently and holds it in his mouth.
Normally Spike is very good with the "drop it" command. But today, perhaps because it was still alive and wiggling, he choses to ignore it. I can see the tail and feet hanging out his mouth and Spike is just standing there with a very confused look on his face. No forceful use of the drop it command is working with him.
OK, so had to do what I did with him as a puppy - have to grab his mouth top and bottom and open it up so it can fall out. There's no good place to grab without touching the poor creature. The rodent falls out, now suffocated, Lucky runs up to it, gives it a big sniff (ew, dog breath), and gives Spike an annoyed look. An easy afternoon meal wasted.
OK, call me squeamish, but I did go in and wash my hands for about 5 minutes. The joys of dog ownership!
I don't notice that Lucky has caught something and take Spike out for his afternoon walk. He runs up to Lucky and grabs the rodent in his mouth. Spike is part bird dog so he doesn't bite, doesn't swallow, just grabs it gently and holds it in his mouth.
Normally Spike is very good with the "drop it" command. But today, perhaps because it was still alive and wiggling, he choses to ignore it. I can see the tail and feet hanging out his mouth and Spike is just standing there with a very confused look on his face. No forceful use of the drop it command is working with him.
OK, so had to do what I did with him as a puppy - have to grab his mouth top and bottom and open it up so it can fall out. There's no good place to grab without touching the poor creature. The rodent falls out, now suffocated, Lucky runs up to it, gives it a big sniff (ew, dog breath), and gives Spike an annoyed look. An easy afternoon meal wasted.
OK, call me squeamish, but I did go in and wash my hands for about 5 minutes. The joys of dog ownership!