Carrion-eating Lab.

[thorneyglatt]

Half an hour ago our 5 month old black Lab, Angus, scavenged part of a long-dead pheasant or something from a hedge-row. He wouldnt come when called (knowing we wanted to take it off him) and managed to swallow the very smelly portion in one piece we think, after making a few crunching
noises ! The badly decomposed bird was about the size of a large thrush. Is it likely to pass through him, be regurgitated, - or do him any harm internally ?

Thorneyglatt

 

[Eric the Red]

It might upset his stomach a bit, depending on how decomposed - but dogs are natural scavengers. Don't feel you're alone in this - mine do it often!!

 

[david1976]

Last year my bitch (That's the dog not she who must be obeyed ) picked up a live mouse in her mouth and swallowed it in one gulp, no chewing and thankfully no side effects.

My terrier is a little sh1t and frequently eats bits of dead things when we are out and after nearly 13 years he has never shown any adverse affects.

 

[nick100]

I would not worry about it mine eat anything they can get hold of. The older the better for them.
It does make me wonder, they are meant to have a good sense of smell, but if it makes our stomach turn they want to eat it.

 

[neil_r]

As someone once said the only food a Labrador won't eat is the food it can't get at.

 

[pitiliedon]

A dog that s allowed to eat that sort of crap from a pup would have the gut flora to cope with it without many worries apart from maybe being a bit farty!
But it is not a good thing to let dogs decide for themselves what to eat you just never know what it is ,maybe a rat full of warfarin or worse. Also a dog that scavenges carrion and then doesnot come when called risks taking road kill and becoming road kill.
Break the habit if you can.
I have working terriers that i dont allow to eat carrion and my brother fed one some green tripes when feeding his hounds, it was off its legs within two hours and on a drip with a massive antibiotics doses and a 50/50 chance of surviving the night. Apparently a massive toxic shock from the bacteria in the tripes which his gut flora were not tuned up to deal with.