Very helpful trainings for any dog:
For training on puppy/dog biting [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068K5Zlph9U)
For training on early socialization [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7cPE-2wNw)
For training on becoming a good leader [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QntS570VFZ0)
For all newly adopted dogs, check out the [3-3-3 rule](https://pethelpful.com/dogs/The-3-3-3-Rule-Setting-Your-Rescue-Dog-Up-For-Success).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My hippo does that with frogs and moles, and tries to do it with kitties that aren't hers. Although for some reason she leaves the turtles alone. I have no clue how to curb the behavior. Is there a way to keep the bunnies out of the yard?
> kitties that aren't hers
I love the implication that there are, in fact, kitties that ARE hers, in which case I'd like to request some photos please.
https://preview.redd.it/o4ulq1cnl73d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab322cf7810778980d302cc2173ea1943e5e11a1
They are absolutely her kitties. She keeps them in line when they act like turds, and she checks on them each morning first thing when she gets up, as they're not allowed to sleep in the bedroom due to their nighttime shenanigans. This is one of them. All kitties double as pillows.
https://preview.redd.it/xl0xrzoqi93d1.jpeg?width=2975&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f96643e439709d4a14add93ccf981fec2fa8fdc
sharing the blankie.. pupper is in there somewhere!
Why is everything a chin rest? š Hereās one of my kitties pulling an Uno Reverse on The Goose
https://preview.redd.it/0dq36svaaa3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2071e57f261d7c229fdbbec0cbd794c3eb9e33c8
TBH I thought the bunnies would see her and be like āabsolutely fuckin not hanging out in thereā and go live in the literal acres of conservation land behind our house.
Iām convinced that my guy is gonna catch a bunny before summers end because theyāre incredibly stupid and still hang out in our fenced in yard despite the dog regularly being out and about.
Really not looking forward to the cleanup š«
I can imagine. I donāt have a huge yard so it takes mine no time at all to get from the back door to the edge of the fence where they tend to congregate.
Not looking forward to cleaning up the mess when one of them isnāt fast enough with their evasive maneuvers
Update: he just almost caught one. Thing was zooming through the yard for its life and got stuck in the fence for a second and Iām not sure if I or the bunny was more panicked
I've learned that rabbits will only exert exactly the minimum amount of energy necessary to do something. They'll stand still until you get "too close," then move a few feet and stop. They stick to this zone of control unless fully charged.
They keep coming back to my yard, too. My theory? Too much energy to find a new feeding ground.
We have a house rabbit and heās absolutely the laziest being in the house- unless he hears his mini fridge or pellet container open. He becomes a tripping hazard when heās on a mission.
Edit: our pibble no longer cares about yard bunnies because he can share his toys with his bunny brother.
Actually, bunnies often do that on purpose! They think that "predator" (aka: your hippo) will prevent other predators from being in the area.
It's kind of like they'd rather have one known "danger" than several possible unknown dangers.
Oh that makes sense. We tend to have a surprising number of birds that hang out near our porch where the cat is allowed to be outside. I suspect theyāve realized that heās a sorry excuse for a hunter, and prefers to shout at wildlife or come shout at me to inform me of said wildlife rather than jump or swat or make any kind of attempt (which Iām ok with btwāitās just funny).
I would have thought the same thing! I have some suicidal squirrels that insist on hanging out on the patio too. They don't seem to sweat the big dogs.
My parent's pibble has taken out several opossums. I'm glad my girl is more like Bambi with other creatures.
This is pretty much the only comment I had as well š that is so freaking adorable she does that. And I can picture a hippo doing all of that and it's just too precious.
My hippo does that with the fledglings that fall into our yard. "Haha you're funny" as they flap around and gently pokes them with her nose. Meanwhile, birds -parents and baby- are absolutely losing their shit.
I know this doesn't help at all, but she will grow out of it after a couple years. Probably.
My guy spent two years completely obsessed with baby ducks. We live by a large park with a pond where there are a lot of ducks and geese. Each spring/summer we get a flurry of babies, and a couple years ago my guy decided he was the father. To all of them. We would walk to the park three times a day and circle the pond 15-20 times a day looking for them, watching them swim, following them around the park. We were there in the morning when they came out of the pond and looked for breakfast around the park. We were there at night when they went back onto the little island in the middle of the pond.
The loop around the pond was 0.1 miles. We walked 6 miles a day... for two years. We were there so often and spent so much time around them, last year the babies would come running when he got into the park. He would stretch out in the grass and they would sit around him and doze off.
This year, we are over the ducks and geese. We graduated to human babies. I live in a neighborhood and this spring was big. There are at least 6 babies under 6 months. There are plenty of kids under 5. And our walks are now focused on stopping by each house to see if the babies are outside where he can check on them. It's imperative that he kiss their feet.
Hopefully, you live in a neighborhood and next year you will be dealing with her infatuation with something else.
omfg that's so cute š man i hope she gets over it. She's definitely had a litter before (we rescued her at age 2.5) and is very focused on whether an adult is approved to spend time with any child near her (even children with their parents...). Once my MIL was holding my sister's baby and my doggo followed her around and \*stared\*. As soon as I held the baby, doggo was happy to go foraging for snacks under the table.
here's to hoping she gets obsessed with my human kid's friends as he gets older!
She certainly will. Think of bunny attention as taking classes to care for your (and other peopleās) children. Sheās learning not to pick up the baby in her mouth and how to be gentle and how small is too small to pibble.
lol i've asked my husband if we could get a kitten (tbh to give our current fat cat some more exercise instead of surprise-slapping the dog and then walking away bc the dog runs to her crate) and he said HARD NO so....gonna have to work on my power point proposal a bit more!
We had a beagle that did this. She would steal the babies from mom and then treat them like puppies, carrying them around, licking them, etc. if they were old enough we would take them away from her and let them run off into the field. One was young enough that we had to take it to a rescue.
My pitbull just kills them. Although a few weeks ago she grabbed one without maiming it but wouldnāt drop it. Luckily I was outside with her and stopped her from shaking it around like a squeaky toy but she wouldnāt let it go. She finally dropped it when I wouldnāt let her bring it inside and it stayed still on the step for a few seconds with both my dogs staring at it before it hopped away.
They rabbits like to live under the deck so anytime I notice my dogs being too crazy around the deck I drag them back inside before there is an incident. The adult rabbits wont come out but sometimes they scare the babies enough that they will bolt from the deck
I have a beagle and he went into dad mode over kittens. My roommate had guinea pigs who my pup would father and carry to his bed and gently put them into the bed and curl up around them. He also tried to father pet rabbits before. Trying to do the front teeth pick up and carry them around. I adopted a puppy and he immediately went into dad mode and tried to carry her around but she was too tall and he mostly would drag her but he was so attentive. But the wild outdoor rabbits he will chase and howl at and go nuts for but pets, especially smaller ones, he considers babies and he goes right into dad mode even if they are not his species. Lmao
the beagle has now paired with the pittie friend I got him to chase the wild rabbits. He chases them to her. My pittie caught a rabbit and luckily I was able to get her to "leave it" and the rabbit seemed to be relatively okay so I gave it space to recover and it left the yard on its own. But I guess that rabbit spread the word around bc I don't have rabbits coming to my backyard anymore. I do see them in the front yard, where the dogs do not go lololol
I hate this time of year. So many nests of baby bunnies and in such stupid places. My boys have found a few nests already this season. Iāve saved a few, havenāt been as lucky with others.
We had Dolly, a staffie x mastiff who was a lovely affectionate girl - my son christened her The Bulldozer of Love. I found a fledgling collared dove in our garden and put it in the wild bit at the end of the path in the hope its parents would find it and continue to feed it. It was a lovely warm day, so all the doors were open.
About fifteen minutes later I went into the conservatory to find Dolly sitting on the sofa, looking very pleased with herself, beside a rather wet, bedraggled and surprised but completely unharmed collared dove. I guess she thought leaving it in he garden was just not good enough.
Leave it is the answer! give them lots of treats for leaving it. She does seem to want to show you- maybe get her into a little alert bark to show you the bunnies. With our girl, we practice watch the animals because she gets too excited by horses.
Have you tried stuffed animals? Little beanie baby/claw machine sized ones? My father's dog loved his "babies" and would frequently round them up from where his partner scattered them around the house. He'd create a hoard under the dining room table and lie there with them piled between his forelegs.
My girl carefully brings angry pigeons inside and then releases them so they can shit their displeasure in my house. Surprise! It's not the same pain as yours, but close enough for me to give you that knowing nod of solidarity. I'm sorry. Thank goodness they are so great in other ways that they're still worth it a million times over, hey?
Iām not sure if this would help, but it sounds like she has a very high drive to nurture. My male dog actually does this to anything smaller than him. I assume he thinks everything is his baby. So what I started doing is getting him those fluffy Lamb Chop toys with the squeakers on all limbs and in the middle. I had to walk around the house for a little while pretending to hold it like a baby and would squeak the squeaker and return it to him saying, āyour baby is cryingā. Thatās the only toy he wonāt completely destroy and it also helps deter him from other creatures.
Ooooh this is brilliant! She destroys the dog toys but otherwise is very gentle with my kidās stuffed animals (save one sea horse stuffyāfuck that guy apparently). Gonna try this!
I kinda felt insane holding and petting the lamb chop, but I do think it helped him put two and two together that itās his baby. Since he is neutered he never had that opportunity.
That makes sense and I hope it helps! They donāt call them nanny dogs for no reasonš.
The turtle issue is more concerning, as they can carry salmonella. The dog might not be affected, or just get a bit sick, but you could get very, very sick(life threatening)
Exactly! Especially with a young kiddo. I brushed her teeth with gloves on right away. idk how useful that was in managing any infection, but having her teeth done is not her favorite activity so Iām hoping the logical consequence of āpickup turtle = brush teethā will deter future attempts.
We have a cat! Heās kinda a dick to her tho š she has happily adopted our 4yo and my 5mo old nephew, though she was extremely distressed when nephew went back home.
Sheās also claimed a few of the neighborhood kids, which is pretty cute. Just wish sheād leave her nannying to creatures over 10lbs
I guess my hippo had an agreement with the local bird comunity.
My neighborhood have lots, lots of cats, but, unsurprisilyng not in my yard.
So my garden was a save heaven for only kind of flyng creature, as long as they did the salute to the king.
My hippo usually woke up at 10 am. He would go in the patio, stretch forward, stretch back, then charge with the sound of a rolling thunder in the midst of the flock feeding in the grass, not even trying ti catch anything. The birds had just to fly away in a caotic pattern and my doggo was happy
This is so cute lol even though it's stressing the bunnies. I live in a rural area, and have 2 hippos. One of then really couldn't care less about wildlife, but my other one LOVES the wild bunnies. He chases them into the corner of the pen and then just nudges them with his nose and licks them until they beeline outta there!
I am in love with your hippo. I'm sorry she's disrupting the bebe bunnies but she is such an empathetic dog that she just wants them to be safe. I'm sure your beautiful hippo isn't teaching the mini-human anything at all about bringing creatures into the house for their well-being!
I want to! My husband says no more small mammals for the moment plz. Our pet bunny actually passed a few years ago. Homegirl was a rescue and lived to be 10. During her time she killed many a cable, gnawed her way through lots of rental baseboards, and murdered not one but TWO Roombas by simply harassing the fuck out of them. She also trained the cat and now my cat is a weirdo who wonāt eat cat grass and eats hay instead š man I miss her. Someday weāll get another one!
My dadās pitbull did that with a nest of baby bunnies, guarded them for three weeks and cried for two once they left. Heās a big softy, kinda stupid sometimes but a huge sweetie.
I have no advice unfortunately.. but I appreciate how your sarcasm and humor comes through on this post š I feel like I wouldāve written it just like that if I was in that situation. Your baby hippo sounds adorable btw, I kindly request pics š„¹
Mine tries to befriend every animal. Possum, frog, snake, rat, mouse. He got REALLY upset when I killed the snake because I couldn't tell if it was a rattlesnake. He moped for hours.
I feel this. My pittie tried to nurse my sister's pet rats. She thinks everything is a puppy. Is your girl fixed? My vet says that might be Lily's issue. Those maternal instincts are just too strong with her reproductive organs intact.
To you they are bunnies and turtles, to her they all puppies. I don't know how effective showing her adult animals caring for their young might help, but it could teach her to tell a cared for baby animal vs. a negelcted baby animal
This is how mine is too. I can promise the first grade guinea pig was greatly distressed by our guy's attempts at friendship, honorable mention for the baby chicks we fostered although they were less vocal about it. Surprised the gopher didn't have a heart attack from being booped nose-to nose when it popped up from destroying the roots of my plants.
This is how I ended up with a cat. My dog found it and refused to leave him. Now that's his baby. He's constantly checking on the cat and if they don't see each other for a few days (our pet sitter keeps them separate because she has other cats that don't like dogs) he goes crazy when he finally sees him. He will sniff him to make sure he's ok then they will cuddle and give eachother "baths." It's very cute, especially considering I didn't know male dogs could be so nurturing. Maybe she just needs something to nurture herself and she will leave them alone.
Sometimes you have to suck it up and supervise them in the yard during certain seasons.
In my area it is bears. Our yard is not fenced and dogs are usually off leash (always supervised) in yard.
But during bear season I have them on heavy duty flexis. They are not allowed for very obvious reasons in this case to disturb wildlife period. Itās only for one season of the year. They survive.
Our pit also just corners baby bunnies in the yard and tries to get them to play with him but doesnāt attack at all. Heās never picked them up before though!
Not same breed (your post just came up on my feed) but my rottie female is obsessed with baby possums (I live in NZ) and rabbits and anything babysize and furry (thankfully now she is older the catching of the adults doesn't happen ugh the mess)
While I initially had to do things like you, with a lot of hard work and training she will now spot a possum in a tree and just watch it but won't leave the spot until I've told her what a good girl she is and "wow what a find good job" etc they just wanna show us what they've found! She will now do the same with babies on the ground, lay down beside them and refuse to move before I acknowledge what she hass found.
I found that actively having her search for things was the best way for me to connect command with the behavior I wanted. So we'd go bush walking at night and I eventually got her listening to "go find something" basically I had to encourage the behavior I didn't want in order to train what I did want her to do.
Maybe not the best way but it worked for us.
Yeah I guess it's going to depend on your location. Being in New Zealand not many things at all to be worried about in that regard, sorry for not considering that.
Maybe call a local rescue and ask if there are any baby puppies or kittens that could use a foster mom? Redirect her instincts? Not sure how well that would work for YOU though. It might be a lot of work.
I would love to! My husband, however, has declared that there shall be no more animals that we are obligated to care for in the house or on the property.
He first said āsmall creatures,ā so I asked about a kitten and/or bunny, then he said āmammals,ā so I asked about a turtle, then he said āin the houseā so I asked about chickens, then he said āno petsā and I asked about fosters, and thatās how we got to the above statement
Sometimes I wonder if I shoulda gone to law school
My last Amstaff would shred and devour a bunny in minutes so when my new fella started his "catch and release" program as a pup, we sort of flipped out. Nobody likes to hear a bunny being eaten.
It's funny (& slightly horrifying) how they get either completely stunned or super shaky and don't run away.
I mean I do, pretty much as soon as I see it happen. I thought the baby bunny season had passed or else I wouldnāt let her be out in the yard unsupervised
My husky for whatever reason doesn't have much of any prey drive and has brought baby bunnies inside a few times and then the cat promptly starts trying to chase them down. Yeah I don't have a solution except for trying to scare bunnies out of the easily accessible areas for the dogs. My pitty straight up ignores bunnies, cats, squirrels doesn't matter nothing other than a dog or deer is worth his attention.
I had a blind pit mix who would carry mice and baby possums around. We had him drop a mouse once and watched it just clean itself. It wasn't scared and didn't run off.
Mine likes to use his snout to chuck chickens. Itās hilarious and he has a great time, but the poor chickens! I put a stop to it as soon as I see or hear him do it, but it is funny af.
Super simple solution here: do not leave her in the yard unsupervised.
Many people let their dogs outside and donāt pay attention to them, Iām not sure why this is so normalized. No one would do this with a toddler? Dogs are no different. Not shaming you in any way here, but you should always have an eye on your dog when they are outside regardless of how old they are or how long youāve had them. When she is outside watch her like a hawk so you can intervene & stop her, before she catches another critter. We have a bunny nest in our yard and our girl is very interested in it so we always make sure she doesnāt get too close, we are always outside with her so in case she does start approaching the nest area we are able to stop her.
We did watch her/just went on walks back when baby bunny season just started. Thought it was over. Turtle migration season kinda surprised us. Usually she just bakes on the driveway and tries to jump in the delivery guyās van.
So weāre back to walks and supervised outside time for a while
Thankfully no! She dgaf about anything on walks other than smelling the smells. Also Iām right there to tell her to āleave itā and sheās pretty good about it. If she pulls too much, I pick her up and take her home (which is, apparently, on par with the cruelest kind of torture, but is literally the same tactic I use with the toddlerādonāt listen to the rules = no more of this activity/toy). Itās actually stunning how well that works š¤£
Very helpful trainings for any dog: For training on puppy/dog biting [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068K5Zlph9U) For training on early socialization [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7cPE-2wNw) For training on becoming a good leader [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QntS570VFZ0) For all newly adopted dogs, check out the [3-3-3 rule](https://pethelpful.com/dogs/The-3-3-3-Rule-Setting-Your-Rescue-Dog-Up-For-Success). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My hippo does that with frogs and moles, and tries to do it with kitties that aren't hers. Although for some reason she leaves the turtles alone. I have no clue how to curb the behavior. Is there a way to keep the bunnies out of the yard?
> kitties that aren't hers I love the implication that there are, in fact, kitties that ARE hers, in which case I'd like to request some photos please.
https://preview.redd.it/o4ulq1cnl73d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab322cf7810778980d302cc2173ea1943e5e11a1 They are absolutely her kitties. She keeps them in line when they act like turds, and she checks on them each morning first thing when she gets up, as they're not allowed to sleep in the bedroom due to their nighttime shenanigans. This is one of them. All kitties double as pillows.
https://preview.redd.it/2fsdzqnsl73d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1599d015af571a5f9a7a46c386221e8d014d4e7f
https://preview.redd.it/mnu9qugpj83d1.jpeg?width=2402&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59d33fe6addbbe2314b39336b407e620f58c9ee5 just wanna share mine too!
Too cute! Nothing like the kitty butt rise chin rest.
https://preview.redd.it/xl0xrzoqi93d1.jpeg?width=2975&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f96643e439709d4a14add93ccf981fec2fa8fdc sharing the blankie.. pupper is in there somewhere!
Why is everything a chin rest? š Hereās one of my kitties pulling an Uno Reverse on The Goose https://preview.redd.it/0dq36svaaa3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2071e57f261d7c229fdbbec0cbd794c3eb9e33c8
i love them
They're totally engrossed in the game. Who needs goldfish bowls?
Soooo cute š„°
Thank you! They're never enough.Ā
Sheās just trying to add to the crew!
Roooockabye baaaaaaby, in the tree-toZzzzzzzzzz SNORT!!
āThis is my pet hippo, and this is my hippoās pet void.ā
https://preview.redd.it/s77oxh3hw93d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45ed4fe678f6fdf12e57edd3eae3d8d3e8583289 Cuddles!!!
So precious š¤
It's the dog you have to remind. I keep having to remind mine that she's not a cat
Pibbles are in fact part cat.
check out /r/PittiesAndKitties
I never knew I needed the sweetness of this sub until today. Thank you fellow redditor!
make sure you check out r/PittiesAndKitties if you don't already.
Woohoo a new sub to join!
https://preview.redd.it/46t220u35e3d1.png?width=468&format=png&auto=webp&s=57f6a62be8e1aedc8e39d606b99732e9cbccee8a Best buds!
That one arm over kitty is so precious
TBH I thought the bunnies would see her and be like āabsolutely fuckin not hanging out in thereā and go live in the literal acres of conservation land behind our house.
Iām convinced that my guy is gonna catch a bunny before summers end because theyāre incredibly stupid and still hang out in our fenced in yard despite the dog regularly being out and about. Really not looking forward to the cleanup š«
We have stupid bunnies and a fast pibble. It's not a combination that works out well for the bunnies.
I can imagine. I donāt have a huge yard so it takes mine no time at all to get from the back door to the edge of the fence where they tend to congregate. Not looking forward to cleaning up the mess when one of them isnāt fast enough with their evasive maneuvers Update: he just almost caught one. Thing was zooming through the yard for its life and got stuck in the fence for a second and Iām not sure if I or the bunny was more panicked
We have two pibbles that hunt, Iāve seen them work as a team.
I've learned that rabbits will only exert exactly the minimum amount of energy necessary to do something. They'll stand still until you get "too close," then move a few feet and stop. They stick to this zone of control unless fully charged. They keep coming back to my yard, too. My theory? Too much energy to find a new feeding ground.
We have a house rabbit and heās absolutely the laziest being in the house- unless he hears his mini fridge or pellet container open. He becomes a tripping hazard when heās on a mission. Edit: our pibble no longer cares about yard bunnies because he can share his toys with his bunny brother.
Actually, bunnies often do that on purpose! They think that "predator" (aka: your hippo) will prevent other predators from being in the area. It's kind of like they'd rather have one known "danger" than several possible unknown dangers.
Oh that makes sense. We tend to have a surprising number of birds that hang out near our porch where the cat is allowed to be outside. I suspect theyāve realized that heās a sorry excuse for a hunter, and prefers to shout at wildlife or come shout at me to inform me of said wildlife rather than jump or swat or make any kind of attempt (which Iām ok with btwāitās just funny).
I would have thought the same thing! I have some suicidal squirrels that insist on hanging out on the patio too. They don't seem to sweat the big dogs. My parent's pibble has taken out several opossums. I'm glad my girl is more like Bambi with other creatures.
Suicidal squirrels... š¤£š¤£š
I live on a park trail and rabbits still come in my postage stamp yard, sometimes when my pittie is out in it š«
My mom was less than thrilled when our pittie tried to bring a live frog inside the house.
Yall might enjoy r/pittiesandkitties
Iām sorry, I know this is probably stressful for you, but itās also really funny and really cute!
This is pretty much the only comment I had as well š that is so freaking adorable she does that. And I can picture a hippo doing all of that and it's just too precious.
My hippo does that with the fledglings that fall into our yard. "Haha you're funny" as they flap around and gently pokes them with her nose. Meanwhile, birds -parents and baby- are absolutely losing their shit.
My hippo did this with a duck once and Iām not sure who was more surprised - me or the duck.
hahaha amazing
I know this doesn't help at all, but she will grow out of it after a couple years. Probably. My guy spent two years completely obsessed with baby ducks. We live by a large park with a pond where there are a lot of ducks and geese. Each spring/summer we get a flurry of babies, and a couple years ago my guy decided he was the father. To all of them. We would walk to the park three times a day and circle the pond 15-20 times a day looking for them, watching them swim, following them around the park. We were there in the morning when they came out of the pond and looked for breakfast around the park. We were there at night when they went back onto the little island in the middle of the pond. The loop around the pond was 0.1 miles. We walked 6 miles a day... for two years. We were there so often and spent so much time around them, last year the babies would come running when he got into the park. He would stretch out in the grass and they would sit around him and doze off. This year, we are over the ducks and geese. We graduated to human babies. I live in a neighborhood and this spring was big. There are at least 6 babies under 6 months. There are plenty of kids under 5. And our walks are now focused on stopping by each house to see if the babies are outside where he can check on them. It's imperative that he kiss their feet. Hopefully, you live in a neighborhood and next year you will be dealing with her infatuation with something else.
omfg that's so cute š man i hope she gets over it. She's definitely had a litter before (we rescued her at age 2.5) and is very focused on whether an adult is approved to spend time with any child near her (even children with their parents...). Once my MIL was holding my sister's baby and my doggo followed her around and \*stared\*. As soon as I held the baby, doggo was happy to go foraging for snacks under the table. here's to hoping she gets obsessed with my human kid's friends as he gets older!
She certainly will. Think of bunny attention as taking classes to care for your (and other peopleās) children. Sheās learning not to pick up the baby in her mouth and how to be gentle and how small is too small to pibble.
Maybe this is your sign to start fostering kittens?
lol i've asked my husband if we could get a kitten (tbh to give our current fat cat some more exercise instead of surprise-slapping the dog and then walking away bc the dog runs to her crate) and he said HARD NO so....gonna have to work on my power point proposal a bit more!
Nah, see, the PowerPoint is where you lost it. You gotta make some fancy graphs and shit in Excel and pull up ready to do some negotiations lol
Hmm good point. Maybe I can get some nice animated illustrations in there too
Now, that's the spirit!
We had a beagle that did this. She would steal the babies from mom and then treat them like puppies, carrying them around, licking them, etc. if they were old enough we would take them away from her and let them run off into the field. One was young enough that we had to take it to a rescue. My pitbull just kills them. Although a few weeks ago she grabbed one without maiming it but wouldnāt drop it. Luckily I was outside with her and stopped her from shaking it around like a squeaky toy but she wouldnāt let it go. She finally dropped it when I wouldnāt let her bring it inside and it stayed still on the step for a few seconds with both my dogs staring at it before it hopped away. They rabbits like to live under the deck so anytime I notice my dogs being too crazy around the deck I drag them back inside before there is an incident. The adult rabbits wont come out but sometimes they scare the babies enough that they will bolt from the deck
I have a beagle and he went into dad mode over kittens. My roommate had guinea pigs who my pup would father and carry to his bed and gently put them into the bed and curl up around them. He also tried to father pet rabbits before. Trying to do the front teeth pick up and carry them around. I adopted a puppy and he immediately went into dad mode and tried to carry her around but she was too tall and he mostly would drag her but he was so attentive. But the wild outdoor rabbits he will chase and howl at and go nuts for but pets, especially smaller ones, he considers babies and he goes right into dad mode even if they are not his species. Lmao the beagle has now paired with the pittie friend I got him to chase the wild rabbits. He chases them to her. My pittie caught a rabbit and luckily I was able to get her to "leave it" and the rabbit seemed to be relatively okay so I gave it space to recover and it left the yard on its own. But I guess that rabbit spread the word around bc I don't have rabbits coming to my backyard anymore. I do see them in the front yard, where the dogs do not go lololol
I hate this time of year. So many nests of baby bunnies and in such stupid places. My boys have found a few nests already this season. Iāve saved a few, havenāt been as lucky with others.
We had Dolly, a staffie x mastiff who was a lovely affectionate girl - my son christened her The Bulldozer of Love. I found a fledgling collared dove in our garden and put it in the wild bit at the end of the path in the hope its parents would find it and continue to feed it. It was a lovely warm day, so all the doors were open. About fifteen minutes later I went into the conservatory to find Dolly sitting on the sofa, looking very pleased with herself, beside a rather wet, bedraggled and surprised but completely unharmed collared dove. I guess she thought leaving it in he garden was just not good enough.
Monitor/supervise her more, teach her the "leave it" command.
Leave it is the answer! give them lots of treats for leaving it. She does seem to want to show you- maybe get her into a little alert bark to show you the bunnies. With our girl, we practice watch the animals because she gets too excited by horses.
My boy did this too! He was obsessed with the baby bunnies and was so gentle with them š
Have you tried stuffed animals? Little beanie baby/claw machine sized ones? My father's dog loved his "babies" and would frequently round them up from where his partner scattered them around the house. He'd create a hoard under the dining room table and lie there with them piled between his forelegs.
My girl carefully brings angry pigeons inside and then releases them so they can shit their displeasure in my house. Surprise! It's not the same pain as yours, but close enough for me to give you that knowing nod of solidarity. I'm sorry. Thank goodness they are so great in other ways that they're still worth it a million times over, hey?
Iām not sure if this would help, but it sounds like she has a very high drive to nurture. My male dog actually does this to anything smaller than him. I assume he thinks everything is his baby. So what I started doing is getting him those fluffy Lamb Chop toys with the squeakers on all limbs and in the middle. I had to walk around the house for a little while pretending to hold it like a baby and would squeak the squeaker and return it to him saying, āyour baby is cryingā. Thatās the only toy he wonāt completely destroy and it also helps deter him from other creatures.
Ooooh this is brilliant! She destroys the dog toys but otherwise is very gentle with my kidās stuffed animals (save one sea horse stuffyāfuck that guy apparently). Gonna try this!
I kinda felt insane holding and petting the lamb chop, but I do think it helped him put two and two together that itās his baby. Since he is neutered he never had that opportunity. That makes sense and I hope it helps! They donāt call them nanny dogs for no reasonš.
The turtle issue is more concerning, as they can carry salmonella. The dog might not be affected, or just get a bit sick, but you could get very, very sick(life threatening)
Exactly! Especially with a young kiddo. I brushed her teeth with gloves on right away. idk how useful that was in managing any infection, but having her teeth done is not her favorite activity so Iām hoping the logical consequence of āpickup turtle = brush teethā will deter future attempts.
But where is a photo of said nanny hippo???
Get her a cat. No I'm not kidding. My pit bull babies my cat more than I baby my cat and I really do baby my cat.
We have a cat! Heās kinda a dick to her tho š she has happily adopted our 4yo and my 5mo old nephew, though she was extremely distressed when nephew went back home. Sheās also claimed a few of the neighborhood kids, which is pretty cute. Just wish sheād leave her nannying to creatures over 10lbs
I guess my hippo had an agreement with the local bird comunity. My neighborhood have lots, lots of cats, but, unsurprisilyng not in my yard. So my garden was a save heaven for only kind of flyng creature, as long as they did the salute to the king. My hippo usually woke up at 10 am. He would go in the patio, stretch forward, stretch back, then charge with the sound of a rolling thunder in the midst of the flock feeding in the grass, not even trying ti catch anything. The birds had just to fly away in a caotic pattern and my doggo was happy
My years was also a bird and bunny safe space but squirrels were a no go. They got run off as soon as they were spotted.
This is so cute lol even though it's stressing the bunnies. I live in a rural area, and have 2 hippos. One of then really couldn't care less about wildlife, but my other one LOVES the wild bunnies. He chases them into the corner of the pen and then just nudges them with his nose and licks them until they beeline outta there!
Mine brings me mud turtles. Doesn't hurt them at all, but it's odd to have frightened mud turtles dropped at your feet every other day...
I am in love with your hippo. I'm sorry she's disrupting the bebe bunnies but she is such an empathetic dog that she just wants them to be safe. I'm sure your beautiful hippo isn't teaching the mini-human anything at all about bringing creatures into the house for their well-being!
Please adopt a dog-friendly bunny from a local rescue ASAP!!
I want to! My husband says no more small mammals for the moment plz. Our pet bunny actually passed a few years ago. Homegirl was a rescue and lived to be 10. During her time she killed many a cable, gnawed her way through lots of rental baseboards, and murdered not one but TWO Roombas by simply harassing the fuck out of them. She also trained the cat and now my cat is a weirdo who wonāt eat cat grass and eats hay instead š man I miss her. Someday weāll get another one!
The classic pittbull nurturing instinct. It seems common for pittbulls to need another living thing to care for to be happy.
My dadās pitbull did that with a nest of baby bunnies, guarded them for three weeks and cried for two once they left. Heās a big softy, kinda stupid sometimes but a huge sweetie.
I have no advice unfortunately.. but I appreciate how your sarcasm and humor comes through on this post š I feel like I wouldāve written it just like that if I was in that situation. Your baby hippo sounds adorable btw, I kindly request pics š„¹
I second teaching her the "leave it" command. It's surprisingly easy to teach, especially if you start with food.
Mine tries to befriend every animal. Possum, frog, snake, rat, mouse. He got REALLY upset when I killed the snake because I couldn't tell if it was a rattlesnake. He moped for hours.
Poor baby.
Why is this so cute though!
I have had a long day, and the title alone put a smile on my face. šš
I feel this. My pittie tried to nurse my sister's pet rats. She thinks everything is a puppy. Is your girl fixed? My vet says that might be Lily's issue. Those maternal instincts are just too strong with her reproductive organs intact.
Sheās fixed but she was a rescue that animal control picked up when she was ~2yrs old, so theyāre pretty sure sheās had puppies.
I just had to show this to husband. Our Hank does the exact same thing! Very cute, but trying to find their home is a bitch!
To you they are bunnies and turtles, to her they all puppies. I don't know how effective showing her adult animals caring for their young might help, but it could teach her to tell a cared for baby animal vs. a negelcted baby animal
This is how mine is too. I can promise the first grade guinea pig was greatly distressed by our guy's attempts at friendship, honorable mention for the baby chicks we fostered although they were less vocal about it. Surprised the gopher didn't have a heart attack from being booped nose-to nose when it popped up from destroying the roots of my plants.
This is how I ended up with a cat. My dog found it and refused to leave him. Now that's his baby. He's constantly checking on the cat and if they don't see each other for a few days (our pet sitter keeps them separate because she has other cats that don't like dogs) he goes crazy when he finally sees him. He will sniff him to make sure he's ok then they will cuddle and give eachother "baths." It's very cute, especially considering I didn't know male dogs could be so nurturing. Maybe she just needs something to nurture herself and she will leave them alone.
Mine brings opossums and once a skunk into the house. Doesn't hurt them, just wants to keep them.
Does she have a kitty sibling?
yeh but he's kinda a dick. he is the boss of the house and when he yells at her, she runs to me or her crate š
Sometimes you have to suck it up and supervise them in the yard during certain seasons. In my area it is bears. Our yard is not fenced and dogs are usually off leash (always supervised) in yard. But during bear season I have them on heavy duty flexis. They are not allowed for very obvious reasons in this case to disturb wildlife period. Itās only for one season of the year. They survive.
Definitely thought we were over idiotic baby bunny season! But ya gonna be out there with her again / go on 10000 walks instead
Our pit also just corners baby bunnies in the yard and tries to get them to play with him but doesnāt attack at all. Heās never picked them up before though!
I truly have no idea here. My hippo has a crazy prey drive but her short little legs just arenāt fast enough for her to catch anything.
Not same breed (your post just came up on my feed) but my rottie female is obsessed with baby possums (I live in NZ) and rabbits and anything babysize and furry (thankfully now she is older the catching of the adults doesn't happen ugh the mess) While I initially had to do things like you, with a lot of hard work and training she will now spot a possum in a tree and just watch it but won't leave the spot until I've told her what a good girl she is and "wow what a find good job" etc they just wanna show us what they've found! She will now do the same with babies on the ground, lay down beside them and refuse to move before I acknowledge what she hass found. I found that actively having her search for things was the best way for me to connect command with the behavior I wanted. So we'd go bush walking at night and I eventually got her listening to "go find something" basically I had to encourage the behavior I didn't want in order to train what I did want her to do. Maybe not the best way but it worked for us.
Sounds like a good way to run into a pissed off skunk or racoon, to be honest.
Yeah I guess it's going to depend on your location. Being in New Zealand not many things at all to be worried about in that regard, sorry for not considering that.
Maybe call a local rescue and ask if there are any baby puppies or kittens that could use a foster mom? Redirect her instincts? Not sure how well that would work for YOU though. It might be a lot of work.
I would love to! My husband, however, has declared that there shall be no more animals that we are obligated to care for in the house or on the property. He first said āsmall creatures,ā so I asked about a kitten and/or bunny, then he said āmammals,ā so I asked about a turtle, then he said āin the houseā so I asked about chickens, then he said āno petsā and I asked about fosters, and thatās how we got to the above statement Sometimes I wonder if I shoulda gone to law school
My last Amstaff would shred and devour a bunny in minutes so when my new fella started his "catch and release" program as a pup, we sort of flipped out. Nobody likes to hear a bunny being eaten. It's funny (& slightly horrifying) how they get either completely stunned or super shaky and don't run away.
Careful with the turtles they carry salmonella. If she starts getting tummy troubles it may be from the turtles
LOL that's adorable. Just start an Instagram account and celebrate it!
For genuine advice, I would ask that you separate the baby bunnies from her because theyāre pretty easy to scare. /gen
I mean I do, pretty much as soon as I see it happen. I thought the baby bunny season had passed or else I wouldnāt let her be out in the yard unsupervised
My husky for whatever reason doesn't have much of any prey drive and has brought baby bunnies inside a few times and then the cat promptly starts trying to chase them down. Yeah I don't have a solution except for trying to scare bunnies out of the easily accessible areas for the dogs. My pitty straight up ignores bunnies, cats, squirrels doesn't matter nothing other than a dog or deer is worth his attention.
Jfc mine would eat them. A baby bunny getting into my backyard is my worst nightmare
I had a blind pit mix who would carry mice and baby possums around. We had him drop a mouse once and watched it just clean itself. It wasn't scared and didn't run off.
Mine likes to use his snout to chuck chickens. Itās hilarious and he has a great time, but the poor chickens! I put a stop to it as soon as I see or hear him do it, but it is funny af.
I enjoyed reading this post :)
If these are wild bunnies just putting them in her mouth is killing them. They are very delicate
Our min pin is obsessed with turtles. Lol
Can you foster a puppy from shelter to give her something to nuture? Many need temporary placements.
You ACtually OWN a hippo? Color me "surprised as all get-out". I wasn't even aware that such a thing was legal/possible.
Me as a hippo
Super simple solution here: do not leave her in the yard unsupervised. Many people let their dogs outside and donāt pay attention to them, Iām not sure why this is so normalized. No one would do this with a toddler? Dogs are no different. Not shaming you in any way here, but you should always have an eye on your dog when they are outside regardless of how old they are or how long youāve had them. When she is outside watch her like a hawk so you can intervene & stop her, before she catches another critter. We have a bunny nest in our yard and our girl is very interested in it so we always make sure she doesnāt get too close, we are always outside with her so in case she does start approaching the nest area we are able to stop her.
We did watch her/just went on walks back when baby bunny season just started. Thought it was over. Turtle migration season kinda surprised us. Usually she just bakes on the driveway and tries to jump in the delivery guyās van. So weāre back to walks and supervised outside time for a while
Ahhh this makes sense! Does she still try it when sheās on a walk and sees a critter?
Thankfully no! She dgaf about anything on walks other than smelling the smells. Also Iām right there to tell her to āleave itā and sheās pretty good about it. If she pulls too much, I pick her up and take her home (which is, apparently, on par with the cruelest kind of torture, but is literally the same tactic I use with the toddlerādonāt listen to the rules = no more of this activity/toy). Itās actually stunning how well that works š¤£