Exactly!!!!!
I watched a hawk swoop away with a full grown squirrel, more than once. They have to weigh 5 pounds. Right in my own suburban backyard!
I don’t leave my Pap unattended. Even in the winter, I stand out there with her. We don’t have a fenced in yard so she is on a stringer. I doubt a hawk could pick her up, but in the attempt, she would be mangled. *shudder*
BTW, you have some REALLY cool breeds!
If you *really* want to shudder, you should go read about what eagles are capable of.
I *used* to think my dogs were “safe” because an eagle couldn’t “fly off” with them.
The size of animals they can successfully kill and then stand there and eat is incredible.
I have a hybrid wild/domestic rabbit in a bunny run who was hit by a huge red tail hawk in my goat pasture.
He was too heavy to carry away but the hawk was doing his level best to kill him, regardless.
By the time we got to him, the hawk had flown off and “Booger”, as he was later named [because the first thing I said was “You sure are one lucky little booger!”] had freaked out and run into my smoke house to hide.
There was blood on the snow but none on the rabbit.
I think he gave the hawk what-for.
Unfortunately, his typically fragile bunny back was injured by the impact of the strike to the point where he can no longer run properly or survive in the wild so I’ve tended him lovingly all these years.
I always stay out with my dogs too, weather be damned.
Thanks about the dogs.
They’re pretty cool but they’re labor intensive.
[special fencing, constant vigilance to avoid prey-driven take offs, etc]
I look forward to going back to having Dobermans again.
They actually *listen* to ~you~ and not some internal, ancient primal drum beat of “Run! Hunt! Kill!”....:))