Opossum Playing Dead

[Tortoise]

What kind of dogs?

Sorce

Chinese Shar-Pei. It was years ago.

 

[Tortoise]

Im gonna play dead on this one

Yep I'm going to join you on this now too.

 

[JadeFarms]

Opossums play dead as a defense mechanism, because most predators only go after live pray. I've seen them play dead more times than I can count.
And yes, I'm sure playing dead can occasionally backfire on them.

That is true, most predators don’t go after “dead” prey. But, when they check if their dead, they can roughly grab them. Also, my dog goes after opossums and other animals, and tampers with them or kills them, dead or alive.

 

[JadeFarms]

What did I say dog did in response to opossum playing dead?

Not all animals do that, especially domestic dogs. But, my dog was raised by dogs that hunted for food, and so on. That makes him have more of a killing instinct. We found a dead raccoon once, and he checked to see if it was dead by shaking its head. Your dog was most likely not raised by dogs like his parents. Also, every day as a puppy, he would get in fights with the chihuahua at the house of the person who accidentally bred them, before he came to us.

 

[The Moonshiner]

my dog was raised by dogs that hunted for food, and so on.

So your dog was raised by a pack of feral dogs?

 

[JadeFarms]

[QUOTE="Fairyloop5, post: 21907973, member:] my dog was raised by dogs that hunted for food, and so on.

So your dog was raised by a pack of feral dogs?[/QUOTE]
Not exactly, they had interaction with humans most of the time, just weren’t fed a lot because the people got older. Now, though, that has been addressed and her children are living with her. Also, the dogs fought with coyotes, and predators, and other dogs.

 

[centrarchid]

Not all animals do that, especially domestic dogs. But, my dog was raised by dogs that hunted for food, and so on. That makes him have more of a killing instinct. We found a dead raccoon once, and he checked to see if it was dead by shaking its head. Your dog was most likely not raised by dogs like his parents. Also, every day as a puppy, he would get in fights with the chihuahua at the house of the person who accidentally bred them, before he came to us.

My dogs kill raccoons, and they have killed opossums on numerous occasions. They will then eat the resulting carcasses if I do nothing to prevent it. My dogs have killed other dogs that came onto our property with attitude. I doubting your logic as you are uncoupled from reality.

 

[JadeFarms]

My dogs kill raccoons, and they have killed opossums on numerous occasions. They will then eat the resulting carcasses if I do nothing to prevent it. My dogs have killed other dogs that came onto our property with attitude. I doubting your logic as you are uncoupled from reality.

I am not going to sit here just to argue. I do hours of research each day on these animals, and I know they play dead, and it can or cannot affect them. My dog is raised that way, and we are the other dogs neighbors, that results in more of his aggression. I don’t want to upset anyone at all, and I did not intend to say anything to start an argument in the first place. So, please have a good day.

 

[The Moonshiner]

For some real entertainment throw a possum in the middle of a herd of fainting goats.
Its like "ring around the rosie."
Everyone falls down.

 

[Skippersnh]

Thats awesome