Ground Hog Day Part 3: The Ground Hog Dies

So this is the actual video of Wynter killing the ground hog. Warning it is her first time killing one and she is a pressure killer. There are three basic ways canines kill with: shake, crush, and tear. Shaking is when the dog grabs whatever it intends to kill, usually by the neck, and shakes it vigorously to snap the neck and spine. This is the most common way a dog will dispatch an animal. The crush method is used by applying hard crushing pressure and then re-biting. The dog will do this over and over until it crushes something vital inside the animal being killed by the dog. Some dogs may turn their heads sideways into the ground in order to apply leverage and gravity onto the animal.

Here is the dog looking into the hole where the ground hog is. I used a shovel to start pulling the trap from under the metal guard because my arm was too short to reach the trap safely without getting bit. As the ground hog came out it was biting the shovel and hissing so I had my wife hold the dog back so I can drag the ground hog out. You can see the foot trap barely coming over the metal guard under our window.

Here is the ground hog caught in the foot trap. I brought it out in the open so that the dog has enough space to move about. An animal cornered has no place to go but towards you with weapons drawn.

Here you can see why the dog needed space to move. You can see Wynter dodging the ground hog and getting ready to grab it by the neck.

After the initial grab she start trying to get a better bite almost immediately. If you look at Wynter's leg you can see that she picks it off the ground in order to apply more pressure. I thought she would be a shaker because of the manner in which she plays with her toys . If you hear me in the video talking about her needing to shake the ground hog that's why. Despite my miscalculation you can see her re-biting and applying pressure over and over. The ground hog is dispatched around the minute and half marker, but I allow Wynter to keep working.

When training a dog you're going to keep egging the dog on with a command like my wife is doing, she was overly excited. It should be one loud command and other words to egg the dog on, otherwise you'll need to do it every time and you not saying anything will be the command to stop.

I don't train with treats, it creates bad habits and behavior. Giving extra love is much better.