Help! My Yorkie keeps eating grasshoppers!

shell07 · 07-14-2007, 01:43 PM

Ok, I know it is summer and all, and of course animals will bite anything that hops around, but it is like he is making it his first and foremost priority to chase and eat every single hopper in my yard!! Is this going to hurt him? He is just 19 weeks, and he does drink and eat normally.. I know it is very bad for cats to eat them, but have heard nothing about dogs...help!!

skelaki · 07-14-2007, 04:20 PM

It shouldn't hurt him a bit. Wild canines will sometimes eat insects when they can't catch other food. But I would keep an eye on him and limit his outside time while the hoppers are abundant.

I would start teaching him a strong leave it command though since you don't want him eating a diet consisting entirely of grasshoppers.

shell07 · 07-14-2007, 07:20 PM

Thank you!! I feel a bit more relieved now! I have been limiting his time outside also with the heat,,it is just too hot mid day and he is usually napping around that time also.Thanks again!!

Keenan · 07-16-2007, 06:27 PM

My 5 month old Australian Shepherd has always been an bug hunter. Grasshoppers, crickets, june bugs, flys and even wolf spiders are on her menu. She's been stung by a wasp and bitten by wolf spiders so she's learned the hard way not to mess with them too much, though, she just can't stay away from those wolf spiders no matter what.

I've never really been able to keep her from doing it but I think of her as my little exterminator. I just sweep the house every couple of days for black widows, and scorpions, I'd hate for her to get a hold of one of those. It's natrual behavioiur as far as I'm concerned and a little extra protein will do her just fine.

shell07 · 07-21-2007, 10:17 PM

Thanks

We just returned from vacation where there were next to no hoppers at all, so now we get a chance to start over with his training to leave the hoppers alone. Thank you!!

EXBCMC · 07-21-2007, 10:27 PM

both our labs eat bees out of the pool

makesthesignoftheZ · 07-23-2007, 06:46 AM

Zorro is about 16 weeks old we refer to him as....

The Ant Hunter! (like in The Crocodile Hunter)

He will find an ant in the backyard and track that poor little ant then gobble him up- Grosses my kids out-