Quote:
Originally Posted by Janet
Some dogs are strangely obsessed with hedgehogs, while others just
ignore them. We had a collie so gentle he never chased livestock or
game, used to bring me any stray chicks/nestlings he found, perfectly
unharmed; and I often saw him lying in the sun beside our sheep, wild
rabbits and even a hare, who had absolutely no fear of him
and were enjoying his company. The only creature he ever killed was
hedgehogs, he hated them with a passion, went noisily berserk whenever
he scented one and killed them instantly.
Janet
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Unfortunately the same situation exists in relation to dogs and kiwis (the flightless birds, not the slang name for human inhabitants) in NZ. And kiwis are much more defenceless to dogs than hedgehogs. Kiwis are well able to keep out of our way, but they can't hide from dogs who smell them out no trouble. One dog is quite able to eradicate the kiwis from an area in a night, and will do so unless prevented, regardless of how harmless you think Tiddles is. This is the main reason why the kiwi population continues to fall despite all the protections brought in.