Should I be concerned if Nalah caught, killed, and ate a squirrel? My partner and I sometimes take our dogs to his parent's house for the weekend, where they can be free of our apartment living space for a bit. And in their area roams a lot of critters like the squirrel. Nalah's hunt drive is immense so something small, she will go after it. I'm sure raw meat will do her good, but should I be concerned about bacteria, worms?
Hammond found a dead mouse at my parents' house (that their dog had killed and they just tossed outside) and ate it. He was fine but he did get roundworms from it.
He wasn't behaving any differently; still eating, drinking, playing, pooping, and peeing regularly and without any issues. But I had an appointment scheduled for his last set of shots anyways and brought a poop sample along with me. The vet agreed it would be best to check him and it turned out he did have the roundworm.
Despite it having only been a week or so between him eating the mouse and the vet visit, that thing grew FAST! Or multiplied FAST. The day after the meds it was clear it had worked and was seriously disgusting. I want to barf just thinking about it. D:
But he was fine after that. The medicine didn't bother him, expelling the worm(s) didn't bother him. Having the worms didn't bother him.
So, I'd say there's not really cause for CONCERN, as long as she keeps behaving normally, but it's better to get her checked.
Squirrel must been a yummy meal. :) Saya has a squirrel pelt I use as a flirt pole toy.
Maybe you'll get lucky and the squirrel didn't have any..
I don't think the bone would bose any issue being raw and from a small animal..
Saya has eaten pork ribs, lamb neck, pork shoulder roast bone with no issue coarse it's covered with meat and raw..
She gets whole raw quail I gotten from hare today she loves them eats the head with beak still on no issue same with chicken feet she eat those with nails still on fine.
The bones most likely won't be a problem. Many of us feed our dogs raw, bones and all, and it is actually a pretty healthy diet, so I wouldn't worry about that. She may have an upset stomach if she is not used to eating raw things, so watch for that.
Do watch for parasites. I don't know about squirrels, but rabbits are pretty bad for passing on intestinal parasites, so she may need a de-wormer down the road (or not!). My dogs eat a lot of things they kill--rats, mice, rabbits, birds, etc, and they have been pretty much ok except for the rabbits. I had to give them a de-wormer this past fall. They're available without a prescription, but kind of pricey, but make sure you get the ones that cover everything if you need one.
(My dogs never let me take things away from them like that unless it is something they don't plan to eat, like bats/snakes/lizards! )
