Is it silly of me to be a little shocked watching my dog catch and kill her first wild rabbit earlier?
by 
Dirty-Ninja-Misses-NYC
ANSWERS: 7
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No. I'd feel the same. We tend to humanize our dogs, but then we get a glimpse of their true nature, the realization that they are animals, albeit domesticated and we see 'the call of the wild' it can be quite confronting.
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No, I would be a little shocked too. I would also suggest deciding right now if you the dog to continue this behavior. Allow them to kill wild rabbits and they may graduate to killing cats that they can catch. Some people are okay with that...I am not. My dogs are not allowed to kill things, period. I have too many wild animals that think my yard is their home.
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My dogs have done that a couple times and I was so proud of them. They actually ate them too, the whole rabbits.
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Shocked no. It is the animal instinct. I will give a word in warning...once she/he gets a taste of blood you may have a bigger problem on hand. She may start chasing other small animals,up to and including your neighbors cats.This could lead to complaints and reports of viciousness of the dog, and the animal control can be called in;if they deem the dog vicious towards other animals it could lead to alot of sadness on your part.
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A little. People have gotten so used to seeing pets just be pets that they forgot that dogs and cats were wild long before they were domesticated. Also, people have become very desensitized against reality. Animals kill each other , the same as we do. I see this as another part of the problem that comes from shading humanity's eyes to honest reality. Things aren't always g rated in life. Many people have just forgotten that.
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Well you used the phrase 'her first'. I can only take that to mean that you will be encouraging this behavior in the future... Knowing that, yes, I do think it is silly for you to be shocked. If this is something you will not be condoning, I think it is okay to be shocked.
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No, dogs are animals - period. That's what they do - it is instinctual. I also think it is ridiculous to suggest that b/c your dog killed a rabbit, that it will graduate to larger animals. I have 2 dogs, we live in a fairly rural area in NC. One dog is a mutt about 10 years old & she has killed 1 mouse & 1 rabbit in her life time. The other a hunting dog (1 years old), has just recently killed his 1st rabbit. In our 10 years they've only done this 3x's. We live on a half an acre & it is quite absurd to expect a dog not to feel protective of it's property when stray critters roam in. Do I like it? No, but it is in fact "nature". We quite often have neighbors dogs also roam in & they are never touched. My dogs also frequently hunt lizards.... does that make them killers? C'mon, some dogs are more likely to be "hunters" while some are more likely to be "herders", etc. What type of dog do you have? That may be the answer to your issue also. I would not lose sleep worrying that I'm living with Cujo now b/c my dogs bring down the occasional bird or rabbit. It's sad but it is the circle of life.
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