The Hunter

It's been a while since I updated this blog, and a lot has happened since my last post. Most significantly, we moved into a new house which has a yard and great access to Frick Park. Both the dogs seem to love the house. Bodie enjoys not having to walk up an stairs, ever. Miles likes running in the yard, and in the park.

We have also learned that Miles has a habit of "hunting" small animals. Unfortunately, for the rabbits that live in our garden, he has proven to be quite proficient at catching the baby rabbits. Since moving in, we have been allowing him to roam the yard without a leash. There didn't appear to be any problems with this. However, while I was traveling last weekend, Miles took advantage of this freedom to conduct a little hunt.

Beth called and informed me that he had caught, and as you would expect, killed it. Beth was able to get him to drop the rabbit but the damage was done. We started keeping him on the leash in the yard, but I got a little relaxed about this, since it was quite a pain. A couple days later, while I was outside with him a rabbit must have come out of the bushes and it basically only took a single lunge for him to catch it. A couple shakes later and the hunter had another kill.

From reading online, it doesn't appear that this behavior is anything other than instinct, and isn't something to be worried about, but it is certainly not something I encourage.

I guess I continue to learn about Miles and his personality.