I realize I am coming to this chat very late but I want to give you some hope. I have 6 chickens and though my 3 year old Piper will chase down and kill a bunny or squirrel and eat it ....she has demonstrated time after time that she understands the chickens are off limits. Infact I will go further to say that she acts as their protector. If one flies over the daytime fence she lets me know, if one is making any unusual noise she comes to get me. It has become quite comical how motherly she acts to them. 4 of them she was introduced to just a few months ago as I brought home baby chicks.....so they were small enough for her to attack for many months. I just kept telling her they are special and I would even let her sniff them while holding her collar. She knows the difference between prey and protect. I would love to get a few goats but I am not certain if that would work. I am still thinking about that.
Just wondering - do dogs leave home to die?
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I'm thinking about this because of my friends dog that got hit by the car and returned home after several hours. I've talked to her since then and she said she thought that after he got hit, he probably wandered off to die somewhere, and then fell asleep for a while before waking up and limping home. Apparently he has a lot more bruises/scrapes than they originally thought and he has some tissue necrosis (death) which they are trying to take care of before resorting to surgery. I'm really hoping he pulls through this!
Anyway, I have heard that cats will leave home and die away from their homes… wondering if dogs are known to do the same thing? What is the purpose of this behavior anyway?
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I've wondered the same thing. Why do they go off away from the home to die? I know that an animal never wants to appear weak even when injured in a hurd - it's like a death sentence by the others - I think because they get rid of the weak to keep the hurds strong for survival.
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I know our family dog growing up made several attempts to go off as the end grew near.
It was very sad. But I think there is something to that survival of the fittest thing- that animals accept their fate easier (and dare I saw with more pride) than we as humans do. I don't think they see death as this "terrible ending"…
