Ollie the mouser
 

Well Ollie caught and killed a mouse! I was putting on my pjs when my mom came running into my room to tell me Ollie had a mouse. So out I ran and she lifted the chair while I reached under and grabbed Ollie who was holding it in his mouth with the tail hanging out. I was carrying him to the kitchen to set him on the counter to take it out of his mouth (ewww yuck) when it fell out on the way to the kitchen thank god! Mom grabbed it and threw it in the trash. Ugh can’t get the sight of my baby boy with a mouse tail hanging out of his mouth.

LMBO, Congratulations Ollie.

My Matese on her first kill had a glazed look on her face like she couldn't believe she finally caught her prey, she was under the deck (her hunting grounds) all I could see was a tail hanging out, I screamed to drop it, thankfully she did. A sight I still have not forgotten lol.

My dad is all excited and telling me I should have given him a treat.

I hated to take the prize away from my girl, but we really can't encourage or reward them for a kill. One day they could go after something that could cause them much harm.
The steps that lead off my deck is gated, the steps post is appox. 3 1/2 away from my house (not attached to house). 3 years ago 4AM I let Cody out to potty there was a young opossum just starting to squeeze through that opening, we all saw each other at the same time and the opossum fled, I was able to snatch Cody up before he could reach that area which was just a few feet from the house door. How cute this lil opossum was, I couldn't get that picture out of my head all day.
That night my motion light at the front of the house came on, I looked out to see what had activated it, there on the trash pail that cute mid size opossum was sitting on the pail trying to pry the lid up. I got my banging pots to scare it off, when I opened the door the opossum got scared, opened it's mouth and I saw those teeth, not a cute lil opossum any more. Had that opossum gotten on the deck that morning I let Cody out it would have shredded my dog. So praising, rewarding for a kill, not a good idea.

Back when we were at the old house and it was just Callie she went out for her last potty of the night and there was a opossum in the yard. It stood still and Callie was very interested in it but would only get maybe three feet from it no closer and circle it. It was not fun trying to get her inside. It was a really long time ago but I had people on here telling me I was terrible to let my dog out in our fenced in yard. It was crazy.

You're very lucky Callie didn't go after that opossum, Cody would.

To see a photo of opossum's teeth is nothing like seeing it in person 1 1/2 feet away, it will make your heart skip a beat.

Cody does not use the yard for potty when it's dark, he uses the deck with me and my bat. I have seen coyotes 7 miles from my house, I take precautions and pray I never have to use that bat.

Luckily we don’t have coyotes. Callie seems to have a very small prey drive unlike her siblings. It was doing that terrible hissing noise.

When we lived in NY we had opposums, and they were known to carry rabies. Vaccinated or not, none of my yorkies were a matrch for that!

Matese and I have a matched pair in the way of their prey drive--relentless, determined, focused---oh, let's face it, they're both obsessive in their pursuit of little fast critters! If she thinks a chipmunk has dashed under it (ground level) Piper will do her rapid-fire-terrier-trot around and around our huge deck without stopping for a half hour easy. I always have to intercede and bring her in/off deck. And even then she'll paw at sliding door sure that she has seen and can get that waskely varmint!! Below is Piper "tree-ing" a squirrel...little huntress!!

LMBO that photo could be of Cody, he does the same thing, many times he will leap at the tree wanting to climb it lol. I swear he has kangaroo genes. I have many, many very tall oak trees, Cody knows that's where the squirrels hang out so his head is always turned to the sky lol.

Ohhh I hope your little ones will stay out of trouble and will not get hurt!!! But your stories are giving me a LOL moment here :D Fearless, relentless little hunters :animal-pa

I have had yorkies since the early 80's, I know what a yorkies prey drive is like lol. In my back yard I have 6 inch black tubing attached to my down spout to divert water away from my deck footing, chipmunks hide their stash in it, Cody caught a rodent scent, ripped the tubing off the down spout, photo of the result. I watch my yorkies like a hawk, in a split second they are off looking for trouble lol.

I was talking to my vet when I took Callie in about Ollie catching his mouse. Well the biggest issues with mice are worms and Lepto so if it wasn’t a fluke and he catches another mouse and or the others catch one I will be seriously looking into vaccinating for Lepto. He never broke the skin of the mouse and I have been watching him and I’m pretty sure everything is ok.