Author Topic: The Mighty Hunter  (Read 1651 times)

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Offline DeeDee

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The Mighty Hunter
« on: November 25, 2016, 07:18:05 PM »
Barkly managed to catch a mole after stalking them for about a month since he started hearing them with his wiggly, radar ears. (Neighbor gave away a lot of cats  bangshead since they're selling house and cats were messing up things around there. I've never seen those cats making messes in MY yard, but then I never tried to have my own cat to feed outside and attract other cats!)

Do I have to worry about anything? Can moles carry any really bad diseases? Hubs got it away from him, but not before it had already been in his mouth.

I never worried about this with Dannyboy because I never saw him actually have any. I just know they'd disappear once they decided to dig under to his fenced area. He never was a digger. They'd just go away.

They've not gone away here, but the cats used to catch them all the time. Vlad doesn't seem interested at all in any of this.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Pookie

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Re: The Mighty Hunter
« Reply #1 on: November 25, 2016, 10:01:13 PM »
Do I have to worry about anything? Can moles carry any really bad diseases? Hubs got it away from him, but not before it had already been in his mouth.

Personally, and I'm by no means an expert, I wouldn't really worry about it.  Barky's "inner wolf" came out and he caught prey.  You feed a raw diet and take excellent care of him, so I would think his immune system is really strong, enough to fight off anything the mole may have.  If he'd found the mole already dead and decaying, then I might be a little more concerned, and even then maybe not so much.

I don't know what diseases moles carry, if any.  I just did a super-quick web search and found this:

https://www.reference.com/home-garden/lawn-moles-carry-disease-ce1dadb88441e435

Quote
Q:  Do lawn moles carry disease?

A:  QUICK ANSWER
Moles may potentially carry diseases or parasites, but these rarely pose a risk to humans or pets, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife notes. The Virginia Tech Center for Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution is unaware of any serious diseases that can be transferred from moles to humans.

Also found this:  http://www.pest-control-products.net/907/moles/fifteen-facts-about-moles/

See #5 on the page.  It wouldn't let me copy the text to paste it here.  >:(    Basically, it says "there are no infectious diseases that humans acquire directly from moles."  It does mention ticks that can jump from moles to pets, wildlife and humans, and it mentions that moles can be infected with kissing bugs that transmit Chagas disease, which is a virus, "most common in areas that do not see freezing weather during the winter."

IMO, because of the diet and care you give him (e.g. not over-vaccinating, low exposure to toxins, etc.), my money's on him being fine due to a strong immune system.  Just my  2cents, fwiw.

Vlad doesn't seem interested at all in any of this. 

LOL!  And of the two, he'd be the one I'd be more concerned about, given his Addison's.
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: The Mighty Hunter
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2016, 09:15:16 AM »
I wouldn't worry about it.  He's a carnivore, meant to hunt and eat prey animals.  I have heard that moles are bad tasting though and most cats and dogs won't eat them.  :-*

Offline DeeDee

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Re: The Mighty Hunter
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2016, 09:21:16 AM »
Thank you, Pookie! I know there are still some out there b/c when we came home from shopping yesterday, there were new piles of dirt up on the ground, so I don't expect Barkly to quit going after them any time soon.

It still amazes me that he caught one at all. I've only seen him dig in one spot, and the hole was about 6"x 6" in diameter before I could get to him to stop it. He didn't catch the thing in the area he has dug at. Hubs said he just bit into the trail and brought it up out of the ground.

Dannyboy never dug at all though. He'd jump onto the raised dirt like he was trying to beat it to death. I've seen Barkly doing that a couple of times too. Vlad might be different if he'd been raised by Dannyboy like Barkly, so I'm glad he wasn't. Dannyboy's main specialty was catching birds in midair, and he'd lay them by the gate after he killed them instead of trying to eat them.

I wouldn't worry about it.  He's a carnivore, meant to hunt and eat prey animals.  I have heard that moles are bad tasting though and most cats and dogs won't eat them.  :-*

I can't imagine ANYONE liking something that tastes like dirt, but V&B love beets, so go figure. The neighbor's cats would lay moles beside their back steps.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Lola

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Re: The Mighty Hunter
« Reply #4 on: November 26, 2016, 07:47:34 PM »
I wonder if his plan was just to kill it ... and maybe gift it to you.  :) 
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Offline Pookie

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Re: The Mighty Hunter
« Reply #5 on: November 26, 2016, 08:48:56 PM »
I wonder if his plan was just to kill it ... and maybe gift it to you.  :) 

LOL!
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: The Mighty Hunter
« Reply #6 on: November 26, 2016, 09:15:29 PM »
I wonder if his plan was just to kill it ... and maybe gift it to you.  :) 

LOL. I wouldn't put anything past him.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

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