New basenji owner to Milo, 6 months old. He is outdoor/indoor dog and we found him going to town on a bird. Is this normal? And what anout chasing rabbits?
Totally normal! I've heard of a B jumping in the air to catch birds as they pass by and succeeding. B's have a very high prey drive anything that catches their interest they chase. Mine chase squirrels here.
Birds? Oh my yes - my female catches them just as they begin their takeoff from the ground!
Rabbits? Mine have all learned to corner these and then …
Chipmunks? Yes indeed.
Muskrats,
Mice,
etc
Absolutely wizard, birds, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, I've even known a few to take on possums and raccoons. Egads! Tough little buggers, aren't they?
My previous basenji killed several wild birds (much to my dismay) and I would not have been surprised if he attempted to kill pet ones. I have a friend who raises parrots and some of them are so large that I think they could do more damage to a B than the other way around!
Well, the lab I mentioned (chocolate overweight one) almost took me out by slamming into my knee. I commented loudly " he better not insure my knee!" No comment from the owner. Others were keeping an eye on this over exhuberant dog too. Many peeps were standing behind a bench for protection.
What really bugs me is that the park has very visible signs when you enter it that say you must have control of your dog.
My 15 year old Lab wants to devour my sons parakeet. He went after the lovebirds too when we had them. My mom has a ****zu that ate 3 of her love birds. The cats never had a problem with the birds. They'd walk around the house with birds on their backs like it was no big deal. The Macaw I used to have was a different story. He wanted to eat the cats, but didn't mind the dog even though the dog was scared ****tless of him.
That's right I forgot about goose poop. Also flattened dead dried out birds. Mine also would eat dirt and tan bark. "What the hell was I missing in their diet" I'd ask myself. (-: