Cute, cuddly, family pet slaughters deer.

Freddie is our much loved, 2 year old, rescue Springador who was a stray from Ireland. He is quite timid and very nervous with people, especially men he doesn't know. He gets about 2 hours of exercise in fields and woods a day, doing his Springer Spaniel thing, ie head down, running flat out from start to finish. He is just like all the other Springers we have had, not much Labrador at all, other than his size.

When he was out with my OH yesterday he cornered and caught a young deer. My OH was shocked as when he caught up with Freddie and realised what he had done, he was covered in blood and the deer was dead. He obediently left it when told, as if his job was done.

I'm trying to rationalise this in my head as the occasional prize dogs get for months/years/lifetimes of charging around doing their "Spaniel thing". After all, exercise is not their motivation. Over the decades, our previous Springers have occasionally caught (and killed) pheasants, partidges, doves, pigeons and rabbits. It is however, a warning that Freddie must be kept well away from lambs in the spring as he can breach even the most secure stock fencing in his quest for trophies.

Should I be concerned about this development? It's on a grander scale than previous dogs have achieved, perhaps he just got lucky? Should I be considering a muzzle?

I would stick my neck out and say that Freddie was incredibly lucky to find a young deer, on its own, that wasn't able to get away from him.

The deer we've seen, when out with the boys (2 Boxers), could have outrun a greyhound if they had wanted to.

I would be concerned about Freddie with sheep/lambs, if he is able to kill a deer. I wouldn't take my 2 anywhere near livestock, even on a lead, as they will bark and jump at them, stressing the livestock out.

I don't think you need a muzzle on him (yet?), but just keep a more watchful eye on him.

What is his recall like? Did he chase the deer (as far as you know) and was he being called back whilst the incident occurred?

It's a horrible thing to think about, isn't it. I was very upset when a 6-month-old Murphy killed 2 of next doors chickens, and took a pigeon out of mid-air in front of me. I know that it's in their blood to do this, but it doesn't make cleaning up the mess any easier (like the blackbird they killed and presented me with on Sunday, in the kitchen )

I would think that there may have been something wrong with the deer . When my whippets were young and very fast they occasionally chased deer but never got anywhere near them .
I wouldn't muzzle him yet but I would never ever have him off lead anywhere near livestock . It just wouldn't be a responsible thing to do

He was very lucky to have cornered it, he would not have caught it in a straight chase. He wasn't being recalled because my OH didn't realise what was going on until it was too late. I doubt if he would have come back in those circumstances anyway. My GSP (bless his cotton socks) is so ball obsessed that his recall is that good, but not Freddie. We have had Freddie for 5 months and this is his first trophy, hopefully it will be his last.

Absolutely!

Keep your dog on a lead and dont allow him out of your sight, killing wildlife because you allow it is NOT acceptable!

But it`s NOT a cute cuddly family pet - it`s an animal! And a predator at that. Dogs weren`t designed to open tins or have an account at Sainsburies, they were made to kill or scavenge their food. The fact that we train or breed in limiting behaviours doesn`t alter their basic nature.
You have a dog that is bred for hunting. If you don`t want him to obey his every instinct to have to train him. Displacement activities are good - using the prey drive to focus the dog on a ball or teaching him to use his wonderful scenting skill in tracking.
Why not join a training club and let your dog develop other skills and activities?

If its a springer/Lab cross it shoud NOT be killing anything with that breeding, its very bad of a gundog, id be horrified if he were mine.

This is why every dog I have ever owned has to have fantastic recall and is taught never to chase any other animal. I will not allow them to get close enough to rabbits etc. without recalling them. They are never allowed far enough away from me that I don't have control. Of course all dogs love to chase and hunt but it has to be in an acceptable form, such as ball chasing, fake furry critter chasing etc.

Are you certain he killed it?

The reason I ask is is my two came out of the tall grass last year carrying a deer between them, now they were in sight the whole time and their was no rucuss or anything, when I examined the deer, it looked like it had died overnight while trying to give birth. It was very fresh but no longer warm. Deer are normally too fast and alert for most pet dogs.

Certainly on lead near livestock is a must, and I would get down to a good gundog training class to teach whistle stops and recall. It could be a lifesaver if you dog takes off after something towards a road etc.