Joel has a great idea there. I’m a beekeeper, and when I want to mix two weak hives to make one strong one, I mist them all (bees, honeycomb, everything) with a sugar syrup with a drop or two of either vanilla or lemongrass extract – this makes them all smell the same. Much better chance of them acclimating to each other. Without the extract, the bees would fight.

In the future, I would follow Joel’s advice, but mix it with water and mist down both the wildlife and the nest they are in.

Cool pic.

Thanks for sharing the story!

Cheers.

I think bunnies are cute too, but in most places their population is bursting from a lack of natural predators. Why not let your dog serve the ecological function of helping keep that population in check?

My dog loves bunny snacks. She’s a machine as she searches through the brush for nests. Though I do avoid listening to the (brief) squeals.

The one dog actually tosses them up in the air and scarfs them before they hit the ground – all in one smooth motion.

If you want to teach your dog to “drop it” on command, here’s a rough outline. I’ll assume you are already throwing things for dog to fetch. If you’re not, then just begin with some opportunity when your dog has something in his mouth and is near you.

1. Use the cheek squeeze method above, and say “drop it” while you’re doing it.

2. Reward the dog immediately after he drops it. Dogs are cheap about rewards, a hug and pat and voicing “good dog” will do; some doggie munchy along with a hug and pat and “good dog” won’t hurt but often isn’t necessary. Use massive amounts of hugs, pats and “good dog” at first. Always use some sound, like “good dog” along with the hug and pat.

3. Next time dog approaches with something in his mouth, say “drop it” just before you apply the cheek squeeze method. Reward doggie after he drops it.

4. Keep repeating (3) and gradually lengthen the time between “drop it” and cheek squeeze. Always reward doggie after he drops it.

5. After surprisingly few lessons, doggie will drop it without the cheek squeeze. Always reward doggie after he drops it.

6. After doggy consistently drops it when you say “drop it”, you can gradually back off on the rewards. Start early with long hugs and pats, and saying “good dog” several times. Gradually decrease to a quick pat on the head while saying “good dog”. Eventually all you need to do the reinforce the behavior is to say “good dog”.

7. You may be surprised how fast dog will learn. But don’t be surprised if you have to back up a bit to an earlier step sometimes in the first few weeks. Dog will catch up faster and faster from relapse over the days and weeks.

8. If you’re really into “reading” dogs body language, you’ll probably notice a distinct sign when he “gets it”, somewhere between steps 1 and 3.

All that may appear to be right out of B.F. Skinner, but actually Skinner just figured out what owners of well behaved dogs have known since Adam, Eve and Rover.

They did have a run-in with another animal they didn’t know what to do with. I was taking them on a walk through the woods outside our house. They heard an animal coming down the path, but couldn’t see it. As we approached a bend in the trail, a huge war horse came around the corner (the middle of it’s back was taller than me, and I’m just over 6′ tall). The hunde took one look at it and decided that they should give it some room. My hunde are very expressive, and you could see “@#$% that, I’m leaving that one alone” written all over their faces….

One time when I was a kid our free-range German Shorthair started scratching at the door. Opened it, he was standing there with something in his mouth.

“Drop it.”

Out plopped three intact and unharmed, although slightly moist, baby rabbits. Dog’s entire attitude was “Found these, didn’t know what to do with them, figured you might want ‘em.”

My parents’ old cairn terrier, whom I used to take care of frequently many years back, could never figure out turtles. They’d retreat into their shells and she knew there was something in there, but she had no idea how to get at it.

fun fact: if you pinch both sides of the jaw hinge with one hand, you can then open a dog’s mouth with the other with very little effort. they aren’t able to bite down while you do that, either.

Exactly. I learned that method as a kid when I was teaching my doggy to retrieve things and drop them into my outstretched hand.

Just to be a bit more specific, hand under doggy’s “chin” with thumb and middle finger placed on opposite cheeks just forward of the jawbone “hinge” so you can gently squeeze the cheek in between its upper and lower rear teeth. When you squeeze, if the doggy clamps his mouth shut then he is biting the inside of his own cheeks. It doesn’t hurt the doggy because doggies aren’t stupid.

Reward doggy, then throw something to fetch again. Rinse, repeat, etc. Pretty soon doggy will fetch and drop things into your hand without need for the cheek squeezing.

Works for kitty cats too, if you start very young.

Sounds like Drew’s doggy already has what dog trainers call a “soft mouth”, meaning it doesn’t chew up whatever it is retrieving. That’s considered a virtue by people who train doggies to retrieve downed small game.

You are right, I was confusing my Bug’s Operas.

I did find one critter that they just don’t have a clue what to do with – a two pound, extremely surly hedgehog that lives in our back yard. When it curls up into a ball of spines, the hunde are completely flummoxed….