What would you do if your dog caught a bird?

[tinstaafl]

When I was a kid, a cat had managed to collar a pigeon which had somehow managed to get itself into our pond. The cat was tormenting the pigeon - as they do - but couldn't quite reach it. Not being a cat-lover and being quite fond of birds, I let our rather mad and not terribly trained springer into the garden. After he'd seen off the cat he returned to me, now standing by the pond wondering how to rescue the panicked pigeon which was still struggling in the water! All I had to do was point at the bird and in he went, retrieved it and upon command dropped it on the lawn at my feet!

It was flying off a few minutes later.

I was pretty amazed but I'll never forget how gentle he was with it...

Simon

[Penel]

Coming from an owner of two lurchers as well as an English setter and two cockers, let's get real here.  Pet dogs do flush birds, and chase them, and pet dogs also catch wild rabbits (if they are fast enough !!).... and if they kill it, fine, that's nature ( know I don't like it either but hey that's life) - if they don't then you either release it if it's ok, or kill it yourself if its injured.  All part and parcel of being a dog owner.  Spose it depends where you walk as to what they might catch - a park in London might have squirrels and pigeons, where I walk is rabbits, pheasants (Barley flushed a beaut today !)  and the occasional deer.
Totally different thread is needed if you are discussing what to do if your working gundog does the same though.

[*jean*]

pheasants are notoriously bad mothers and will abandon chicks in an instant.
 allowing dogs to run freely through breeding grounds could cause a high mortality rate in chicks.. and thats without touching a bird.
 please check that where you walk your dog is not a breeding ground for birds,  some birds even nest on shorelines so its worth checking.
I try to avoid areas that young birds are in during spring and early summer.. I dont want my dogs getting the blame of a poor wild bird population.

[jools]

If Bramble or Poppy caught a bird I'd run at top speed in the opposite direction screaming at the top of my girly voice  

[Cob-Web]

I'm with nicola on this one, first of all your dog shouldn't be chasing pheasants and if they are then YOU should be practising your 'STOP' and 'RECALL' commands, effectively if you are not working for the keeper then you are poaching if you are on private land and can be prosecuted for it, its a similar thing to if you hit one on the road you can't pick it up but the person behind you can.  Worst case senerio is that the keeper can shoot your dog.  No different to sheep worrying.

What about on land open to the public, such as National Trust land like where I walked this morning? They don't have "gamekeepers" and the hundreds of pheasants and rabbits are wild - so it's definitely not poaching  I do tend to agree, that if a bird or rabbit can be caught by a pet, then it is probably ill

Gamebirds are not considered to be the same as livestock under the Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 - I checked after someone else posted this information because it particularly worried me as I live and walk in an area that is teeming with gamebirds. Any farmer/gamekeeper who shot a dog that was *worrying* the birds could (and imo, should) be stripped of their firearms license and prosecuted for the killing/injuring of the dog 
(there is a linky here - the relevant section is about two-thirds of the way down the page)

[*jean*]

baby birds can be caught easily by dogs .. I think if you arent sure if there are protected or in danger birds nesting  where you plan to let your dog loose you should phone RSPB before letting dogs of leads in the country. Its not about breaking the law its about being a responsible dog owner.

[Cob-Web]

baby birds can be caught easily by dogs .. I think if you arent sure if there are protected or in danger birds nesting  where you plan to let your dog loose you should phone RSPB before letting dogs of leads in the country. Its not about breaking the law its about being a responsible dog owner.

I am certainly not suggesting that I allow my dog to rampage on an orgy of bird-killing when we go walking 

If there has been no information published locally about rare ground-nesting birds, and no signs posted when I get there - then I am certainly not going to phone the RSPB or any other animal welfare charity every day once I decide where I am going to walk, just in case they might know something they haven't bothered to share with the public who use the land 

[amanda]

Zephie managed to catch a sparrow a couple of months ago and brought it in and dropped it in my lap.  I was on the phone to the police at the time and when I realised that he hadn't dropped a ball on my lap I screamed, the policewoman kept shouting'is everything okay, talk to me' down the phone  .  Luckily the poor sparrow was unhurt, just shocked.

[Tasha]

Your right that not all dogs are gundog trained but STOP and RECALL is basic obedience and if your dog can't do those then it shouldn't be off its lead.  If your dog chased a pheasant onto a near by road and was killed I am sure that you would wish you'd practised your basic obedience.  The other basic is LEAVE. 

I know that our keeper would shoot your dog if it was killing his birds and probably charge you the fee for the cost of the bird as well.  Each bird on average has a price tag of £30+ to it to a keeper and its his/her livelihood.  The majority of birds in the UK are bred not wild born so they belong to someone even if you are on National Trust grounds they belong to the trust.

[sarah25]

I would panic   

[fraggle]

Thanks people.
Having had cats for many years, I'm used to them bringing me interesting "presents", but hadn't though about what I'd do if Charlie ever got something.

The woods we walk in is council owned, so there's no question of him rampaging through someones private land! I do train him with a whistle, and he's good at exchanging something for a biscuit, so if he were ever to catch something, then I'm confident he'd drop it for me (as he did when he proudly presented me with the decomposing rabbit corpse!)

So, I think to answer the original question I set - if he ever brings me anything, I will release it, then run away screaming like a girl 

[Penel]

Your right that not all dogs are gundog trained but STOP and RECALL is basic obedience and if your dog can't do those then it shouldn't be off its lead. 

guess you've never had a rescue lurcher that's lived wild then    would you keep it on lead forever ?  how about the lurcher that has perfect recall 95% of the time, apart from when it sees a rabbit ?  methinks you need to put yourself in other people's shoes once in a while.   I have four dogs with perfect recall - and one with 95%.... and believe me it isn't from lack of training.

[*jean*]

what if a bird chased  your dog??
 see link  from telegraph! 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2006/02/03/nowl03.xml&DCMP=EMC-exp_03022006
 
 at the end of the day a dogs a dog and its a predator, its in its nature to hunt. If it catches something it shouldnt let it go or put it out of its misery if its beyond hope.

[Penel]

Blimey that is scary - eagle owls are very very big 

[Tasha]

Penel I used to be a regular at the waterloo cup.... and have always gone rabbiting with either ferrets or the dogs.  No dogs got 100% recall but thats no reason not to practise these things