Hey Guys, here is a question for you all! Has anyone seen or heard of a dog catching, killing & eating a bat? This is his fourth one in as many years, and i just can't work out how he does it! We wake up in the morning and there is Montana & his bat! He normally eats it, wings & all, leaving only the head that he keeps near by like a trophy. This one today we got rid off before he had a chance to eat it! He has also been know to kill the odd bird or two.

Does that make him a bird dog with a taste for the occasional bat?

Weird bloody dog! I don't know whether to pat or shoot him?

Cheers erny.

Bats around here are nowhere near that big! My old mutt/bird dog did snatch a bird out of the air at least once that we saw.

Just watch out for that horse virus they carry around

Is that a fruit bat? They used to fill the skies at night when I was stationed in the Phillipines! Maybe Montana nabs the bat when Its going after low hanging fruit!

slimjim wrote:

Is that a fruit bat? They used to fill the skies at night when I was stationed in the Phillipines! Maybe Montana nabs the bat when Its going after low hanging fruit!

Hi mate, thanks for the reply, they are fruit bats, and yeah good theory, but doesn't apply here as we only have large palm trees, and he would have to jump at least 20ft to get to them!

Cheers erny.

tikkat3 wrote:

Just watch out for that horse virus they carry around

Hi mate, yeah i am aware of the virus, but i don't think that every bat is infected, and like i said, he has been killing them for 4 years now, without any obvious effect.

Cheers erny.

Just curious, have you ever seen him catch one? Could he sniff out one that has died from natural (or other) causes and finds it on the ground?

Azar wrote:

Just curious, have you ever seen him catch one? Could he sniff out one that has died from natural (or other) causes and finds it on the ground?

Hi Azar, That's possible, as we have had sever droughts but the odds are against it, as this has happens every year for the last four years, and we have had a shitload of rain for the last two years. And no, i have never witnessed him that's why i posted this to see if anyone else has had this experience or a reasonable explanation!
PS. That's a real good looking Shepherd mate! My favorite breed of dog!
Cheers erny.

Erny wrote:

PS. That's a real good looking Shepherd mate! My favorite breed of dog! Cheers erny.

Am I right when I think you never had a german Teckel?
In my opinion if there is a dog that one can teach to read and to write, I wouldn't be surprised when that's a german Teckel.

Gidday Erny...never heard of a dog catching fruit bats before. I've lived in Cairns where there are millions of the noisy bloody things, and its not uncommon to find them hanging from the power lines dead...same here in Brisbane...maybe he is picking them up when they drop off.

Another option is, when the bat lets go of his perch in the palm, they generally drop quite a bit before they "get their wings" and are able to fly. I have the buggers here in the palms and golden cane and have almost been hit when they drop out of the tree. Dogs are pretty clever...he may have worked out a way to frighten them out of the tree and then grab them when they try to fly off.

Lyssavirus is a very nasty disease carried by the fruit bats...and deadly. Suggest you have a read of this link mate.

Lyssavirus

Cheers, Vince

Aloysius wrote:

Erny wrote: PS. That's a real good looking Shepherd mate! My favorite breed of dog! Cheers erny. Am I right when I think you never had a german Teckel? In my opinion if there is a dog that one can teach to read and to write, I wouldn't be surprised when that's a german Teckel.

Hi Aloysius, you are right mate i had never heard of them till now, and they seem like an interesting dog!

Cheers erny

Hey Vince, while i discount the dead bat theory, as four bats in four years is against the odds of probability, your explanation of low flying bats is probably the best answer to date. And yes mate i do know about the virus,
but not much i can do about it, and the dog doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects. I did follow the links that you posted, and much appreciated, i just wish he would knock it off!

Cheers erny.

That dog is batty! Prolly has bats in his belfry!

I got 10$ says he's catching them.

If I ever saw a bat the big around here I wouldn't go anywhere without my model 1300, you can bet yer hat on that!

Flying rats that big is just WRONG.

If you look up into the sky at night in the Phillipines, these bats block out the stars. They are huge with their wings spread. I used to think in amazement how we never had a bat-strike will night flying out of Cubi.

Maybe the dog came from planet Krypton and disguising himself amongs the normal dogs on earth..

Um.. try see if he wears his underwear outside..
tadaaa... SuperDog..