caveninit Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 I am truly puzzled by this and was wondering if any of your dogs do this?? My almost 5 year old BC mix Buster hunts for Yellow Jackets. We have this tall lilac bush in the yard and whenever he goes outside, he runs to the bush and stares at it. If no yellow jackets are around, he starts shaking the bush with his paw until a few fly out. Then, he chases them and eats them! He gags on them sometimes, trying to get them down..then he goes running back for more! I am so worried he will wind up getting stung! Today when he shook the bush there were 4 or 5 yellow jackets flying around him and he was in his glory trying to catch them! He wound up catching 2 of them with his paw and once they were grounded, he ate one. ( I was able to remove the 2nd one before he could eat it) And now he is teaching this little game to the puppy! Callie is only 13 weeks old, so what Buster does is he barks for Callie to join him at the bush, and when she gets there, he shakes the bush for her so the yellow jackets come out and then they both try to catch them! I spent most of the day today blocking the bush. It's crazy! Isn't it dangerous for them to go after these yellow jackets? Can't they get stung in their mouths eating them alive? Why do they even want to??? Callie also goes after tiny ants. If she sees some on the patio, she pushes them along with her paw and then tries to lick them up! My dogs are crazy!!! Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 YES.....Lacee is always on the look out for flys, bees, or anything that flys (including airplanes). She's been stung a coupld of times, but the worst that has happened is her lip swelled. You would think this would stop her, but NO! All we need to say is "Where's the fly" and she's off on the hunt. We decided that since we don't have sheep, we need to keep pet flys to keep Lacee busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahoops Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Yes Gypsy is also a flying creature hunter.She has been stung a couple of times once it freaked me out coz her whole face swelled up for a few hours !!!!!She also tracks ants down and chases flies and flying seaweed on the beach.However the big brave hunter met me friends pet bunny the other day and took off and under cover like it was a huge attacking monster LOL. Seems she is a bit confused on the hunter and hunted equilibrium HA HA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKB Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Ingrid hunts flies- not very well- but when I was little we had an Airedale who was obsessed with bees. She would hunt them on the screened porch, graze on them in the yard. You're right, it's bizzarre. Aside from her predilection for buzzing stinging insects she was an extremely intelligent dog, and she never did get stung, if it's any consolation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadows Mom Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Woo, Shadow isn't the only one! And here I thought she was insane =P Her favorite is moths, and if they're onthe outside of the door she'll growl at them, its so cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurae Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Sophie is a bee and fly hunter, also, and she eats her prey. She has been doing this for the seven years I've had her and has never had a problem. AK Dog Doc, or someone else, can correct me if I'm wrong, but I was told by my old vet that most dogs are kind of immune to bee stings. About five years ago, during a hike in the woods, Sophie uncovered a bee hive on the ground. (I always thought hives were in trees, but I think that assumption came from watching too many Looney Tunes cartoons as a kid.) Anyway, she upset the bees inside and they swarmed her. She has thick fur and was snapping all around herself to try to get them off. Of course, I ran over to help her and got stung several times myself (and I am allergic to bee stings, so it was horrible). Anyway, on the way home, before I went to the hospital , I stopped by the vet because I assumed Sophie would need medical attention. The vet told me she probably wouldn't, just that I should watch her over the next few days. And he was right; Sophie was completely fine. (I, on the other hand, did not fare quite as well--but these are the small sacrifices we make to care for our pups. ) Now I let Sophie get all the bees she wants and even point them out to her if one gets inside my house. I might be more concerned in your case that Buster may be displaying some OCD behaviors, so I'd probably want to put a stop to the bush whacking for that reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthfieldNick Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Nick hunts spider, but the yellow jackets he leaves alone. Of course, this is the dog who trid to herd a peanut once... My sister's Lab is the ultimate fly hunter! She catches them, pins then down, then lets them go again and again, until she smooshes them. Then she pokes at them looking all sad like, "Oooohh, I killed my friend." Then she eats it & goes in search of another. If she's outside, there's one black hen that she "shares" her flies with. It's very cute- 70 Lb lab, 1 Lb chicken, both black, sharing one measly dead fly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caveninit Posted August 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 I might be more concerned in your case that Buster may be displaying some OCD behaviors, so I'd probably want to put a stop to the bush whacking for that reason. What's "OCD behaviors"? I still have to learn all the doggy lingo here lol Thanks Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha J Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 What's "OCD behaviors"? I still have to learn all the doggy lingo here lolThanks Janet obsessive compulsive disorder - similar to the human form i would imagine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WoobiesMom Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 I don't know if dogs are immune or not but my Airedale got into a yellow jacket nest in the ground of our back yard (darned things are so hard to see!) and got quite a few stings on his face. He swelled bad, the wound began to weep quite badly and got infected. He had to get shots and antibiotics. A single or maybe just a couple of stings might not be bad, but if there's a nest in there and they all get pizzed, it might not be so great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caveninit Posted August 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 obsessive compulsive disorder - similar to the human form i would imagine Thanks.. but why would shaking the bush in order to find bees be considered a sign of OCD? He loves chasing bees, and he knows that they will fly out of the bush if he shakes it. I thought he was just being smart. Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurae Posted August 26, 2007 Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 Oh, I just meant that you said every time you let him out he runs to the bush and you had to spend all day blocking him from it--like he couldn't get his mind off it when he was denied access. I agree the whacking part is pretty ingenious . But I could be reading the situation incorrectly--I just had visions of him not being able to leave it alone. If you don't see that (and he's not one of the pups affected by bee stings), then I'm sure he's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caveninit Posted August 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 Oh, I just meant that you said every time you let him out he runs to the bush and you had to spend all day blocking him from it--like he couldn't get his mind off it when he was denied access. I agree the whacking part is pretty ingenious . But I could be reading the situation incorrectly--I just had visions of him not being able to leave it alone. If you don't see that (and he's not one of the pups affected by bee stings), then I'm sure he's fine. lol..oh ok...I thought it was something about swatting the bush itself...hehehe Thanks for explaining that! I can get him away from the bee hunting by tossing balls to him and playing with him...but, yeah, he does spend an awful lot of time by that bush. It's the first place he runs to when he goes out and he will stand there for a long time hunting. Then we play for a bit, and he goes back to the bush. Today I had hubby trim most of the bush down and spray with Palmolive. That usually safely kills the bees. My main concern was Buster teaching Callie this bee hunting. She is so little and I am really afraid she would get stung. She tries to copy everything Buster does. THAT'S scary. lol I will definately keep trying to get his attention away from the bee hunting when I am outside with him. He has a dog door so he can go in and out whenever he likes...but I take the puppy out myself every 2 hours or so and play with both dogs since she can't be out in the yard unsupervised. Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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