Evening all, I'm having a bit of a nightmare with my dog Toby. He's a four-year-old Jack Russell that we rescued three years ago. He keeps attacking hedgehogs. At first, he’d just bark at them, but now he’s started grabbing them in his mouth to tear them apart. Once he’s got hold of one, it’s impossible to get him to let go, and he shakes them for all he's worth. Result: a total bloodbath! I have to grab Toby firmly by the scruff of his neck and lift him up just to make him release his grip, but it’s a proper struggle because he’s so strong (and I’m quite slight). He goes absolutely mental! The first time it happened, we had a quick trip to the vet; she made him sick and there were a few spines in there. He’s just done it again tonight, but luckily he didn’t swallow anything—there was just some blood around his mouth which I’ve cleaned up. What on earth can I do???!!!
Translated from French
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Hedgehogs are a fully protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which lists the protected land mammals throughout the country. They are protected across the UK and the EU, meaning it is strictly illegal to kill, capture, transport, or sell them, or even to have them stuffed (taxidermy), in accordance with the relevant wildlife protection laws.
Kiki45000, your dogs' behaviour could cost you a lot if a neighbour reports you
Hi there
You’re a laugh – I love hedgehogs, but when your dog turns aggressive because you're trying to save the little creature, it’s a nightmare. I’m actually scared of getting bitten by my dog, who is usually as gentle as a lamb. I can tell you quite frankly, I’d much rather see hedgehogs in the neighbours' gardens.
Unfortunately, people who keep chickens have no qualms about dumping hedgehogs on other people’s property.
At my place, it ends in a bloodbath; my dog won't let go and the poor little thing suffers for it. So, I’ve had enough of your "blah blah blah" about dog training – you’re making me laugh.
Hi,
I think the lady doesn't want to see any more bloodbaths every night... my Staffy caused one last night and I didn't like seeing that poor creature ripped to shreds at all, it was horrible and sad.
No matter how much I told my dog off, he didn't understand, because to him, the hedgehog was just an intruder in his garden... And he was only doing his job, just like with the rats, field mice and other intruders...
I love hedgehogs, so I'm going to keep a close eye on my dog to make sure it doesn't happen again....
Let's protect the hedgehogs 🦔
Hi,
I think the lady doesn't want to see any more bloodbaths every night... my Staffy caught one last night and I didn't like seeing that poor creature torn to pieces at all, it was horrific and so sad.
No matter how much I told my dog off, he didn't understand, because in his mind, the hedgehog was an intruder in his garden... And he was only doing his job, just like with the rats, wood mice and other intruders...
I love hedgehogs, so I'm going to keep a close eye on my dog to make sure it doesn't happen again....
Let's protect the hedgehogs 🦔
Hi there,
I think the lady doesn't want to see a bloodbath every night anymore... my Staffy got one last night and I didn't like seeing that poor little thing ripped to shreds at all, it was horrific and so sad.
No matter how much I gave my dog a telling off, he just didn't understand, because to him, the hedgehog was an intruder in his garden... and he was just doing his job, the same as with the field rats, wood mice and other intruders...
I love hedgehogs, so I'm going to keep a close eye on my dog to make sure it doesn't happen again....
let's protect the hedgehogs 🦔
I’ve got a Malinois... well-trained, knows 'drop it' and 'leave it' and so on... but sadly for two years now he’s been proudly bringing a hedgehog into the house like a trophy and dropping it right on the rug. There’s just no stopping him—if he goes out in the garden at dusk, sure enough, I’m getting a hedgehog. There’s usually a bit of blood, but it’s from the dog’s mouth; the hedgehog itself is just curled up in a ball! We just have to pick it up and put it back in the hedge where he must have grabbed it from. Other than the risk of the poor thing having a heart attack, it’s always fine! I’ve even thought about putting up signs for them saying 'don't come this way' or 'warning: greedy dog'! So what can I do? I try to stop him going out at night, but yesterday he slipped through my legs and bingo, I got my hedgehog!
Evening all,
As a dog foster carer, I heard last year that dogs raised in Traveller communities are often trained from a young age to hunt hedgehogs. I looked it up online and it seems to be true, though I wouldn't swear by it.
Gaston, the poor little hedgehog who’s taken up residence in my garden, bore the brunt of it at first. I managed to put a stop to it by training the dog to back away after just putting a paw on the hedgehog. It worked remarkably quickly, even though the dog in question was 16 years old.
You basically need to do what @Energie suggested: give a firm shout and reward them when the dog backs off, to put it simply! ;-)
My Moumouth brought one into bed about a fortnight ago and fell asleep right next to it! Since I put out bread for the birds every day, I have hedgehogs coming round in the evening to scavenge, and I give them an egg or a slice of ham. My three dogs never touch that food; they know it's for the little critters! Teach your dogs to respect hedgehogs!
Hi, I’ve got a Dogo Argentino that absolutely shreds hedgehogs!!! As you can imagine, it’s a bloodbath every time!
I’m looking for a way to get rid of the hedgehogs on my property (it’s a large garden, about 1,200 square metres); it’s meant for my dogs, not for hedgehogs… My German Shepherd doesn’t touch them, but the Dogo goes to town on them!!!
I’ve had enough, he catches one every single night—where on earth are they coming from!!
I don’t want to see them anymore, what can I do?
And for the record, I don’t leave any dry food outside!
Help!!!! Thanks.
Essentially, you're asking how to stop your dog from attacking hedgehogs, even when you aren't directly supervising him—like when you're indoors and he's out in the garden, is that right?
