I adopted Pepper, a mix of American Staffordshire Terrier, Golden Retriever, and a couple other breeds, about a year ago. I have a rather large backyard, completely fenced in with a privacy fence.
The squirrels were slow on the uptake last year, because Pepper has a very strong prey drive. She managed to dispatch no less than 9 squirrels last year, along with a baby bunny (a family apparently lived underneath my shed, another area of intense focus for Pepper).
Pepper simply did what instinct told her to do -- she didn't eat these animals, she just apparently shook them under they were dead.
So far, there's been an absolute dearth of squirrels this year -- haven't seen a single one since last fall. Ditto for the bunny family. Looks to me like they got the memo.
However, on three separate occasions over the past couple weeks -- two at night and one during the daytime -- an opossum has encroached on Pepper's territory. The first time, as it was dark and I couldn't quite make out what it was, this opossum was making its way across the top of the 6' privacy fence. Pepper went after it, leaping up toward the animal but couldn't reach it. I finally got her away from that opossum and that was that.
Uh...nope. During the daytime about a week later, Pepper was staring at something in an upward direction. The opossum, presumably the same one, was once again on top of the privacy fence, standing stock still. Once again, I got Pepper away from that animal and approached within maybe 15 feet of it to get a closer look. To no one's surprise, the opossum remained stock still and motionless, playing "possum". I approached from a different angle around my shed to see if the opossum perhaps had replaced the bunny family under my shed. The opossum retreated along the fence and turned right along a different fence and thus off my property.
Last night, another encounter with the opossum. Once again, I call Pepper back.
Squirrels are one thing, but opossums are another thing altogether. They can carry rabies (very rarely as they have a lower body temperature that the rabies virus doesn't survive very well), and while I don't think this particular animal is sick, they do have some serious teeth.
The victim, in this case, could definitely be Pepper. So I limit her time outdoors, especially at night and I will generally accompany her armed with a flashlight.
According to what I've read, opossums are generally harmless creatures and won't attack of their own accord -- but if they're cornered, that could be another thing entirely. Again, those teeth.
Sorry, no photos.
The squirrels were slow on the uptake last year, because Pepper has a very strong prey drive. She managed to dispatch no less than 9 squirrels last year, along with a baby bunny (a family apparently lived underneath my shed, another area of intense focus for Pepper).
Pepper simply did what instinct told her to do -- she didn't eat these animals, she just apparently shook them under they were dead.
So far, there's been an absolute dearth of squirrels this year -- haven't seen a single one since last fall. Ditto for the bunny family. Looks to me like they got the memo.
However, on three separate occasions over the past couple weeks -- two at night and one during the daytime -- an opossum has encroached on Pepper's territory. The first time, as it was dark and I couldn't quite make out what it was, this opossum was making its way across the top of the 6' privacy fence. Pepper went after it, leaping up toward the animal but couldn't reach it. I finally got her away from that opossum and that was that.
Uh...nope. During the daytime about a week later, Pepper was staring at something in an upward direction. The opossum, presumably the same one, was once again on top of the privacy fence, standing stock still. Once again, I got Pepper away from that animal and approached within maybe 15 feet of it to get a closer look. To no one's surprise, the opossum remained stock still and motionless, playing "possum". I approached from a different angle around my shed to see if the opossum perhaps had replaced the bunny family under my shed. The opossum retreated along the fence and turned right along a different fence and thus off my property.
Last night, another encounter with the opossum. Once again, I call Pepper back.
Squirrels are one thing, but opossums are another thing altogether. They can carry rabies (very rarely as they have a lower body temperature that the rabies virus doesn't survive very well), and while I don't think this particular animal is sick, they do have some serious teeth.
The victim, in this case, could definitely be Pepper. So I limit her time outdoors, especially at night and I will generally accompany her armed with a flashlight.
According to what I've read, opossums are generally harmless creatures and won't attack of their own accord -- but if they're cornered, that could be another thing entirely. Again, those teeth.
Sorry, no photos.
