Emmett and Lucas are obsessed with insects of all kinds. They chase down moths and lightening bugs. They watch caterpillars crawl across the patio and sniff the little ladybugs that crawl through our garden. They gobble up spiders – which totally freaks me out because I am irrationally terrified of spiders. But their favorite activity is fly hunting.
The flies have been really bad the past couple weeks. I don’t spray anything to get rid of them, but Lucas has taken it upon himself to rid our home of those pesky flies. Periodically, I hear him launch up, scramble around, sometimes crash into a window or wall, and snap flies out of the air. He doesn’t eat them, though. Once dead, he spits their carcasses out on the floor for me to step on/sweep up.
Do your dogs do things like this??
Anyway, last night, Lucas slammed into the window while in pursuit of a fly. Somehow he knocked the fly down the air vent. Their reaction was so funny – and so prolonged – that I was able to grab my phone and film their reactions to the poor fly who was buzzing his last buzzes in our vent.
(So I don’t know why these aren’t showing a screen shot, but if you click play, they do play.)
Fly-Hunter Lucas Loses His Prey from Maggie Marton on Vimeo.
There’s something down there…. from Maggie Marton on Vimeo.
The camera was shaking because I was totally cracking up. Silly dogs.
Mayzie says
07•01•10 at 1:26 pmBOL! Way to go! Wouldn’t want that fly to get away before he’s properly expired! Oh, Brudder Ranger really, really, REALLY hates flies a lot. I have a thing for grasshoppers. They are SO much fun to chase and they bounce and they make me bounce.
Wiggles & Wags,
mayzie
Scoop says
07•01•10 at 9:32 pmLOL! Darby is excellent at catching flies, but loses interest when they are out of sight for more than 5 seconds, so this is impressive commitment to the cause!
Maggie says
07•02•10 at 9:06 amThat’s so funny! I’m sort of relieved to hear that these guys’ obsession isn’t that uncommon, although unlike Darby, Lucas stays obsessed until he gets it! I hear him clamoring all over the house at various points throughout the day. My fear? A fly will perch on the TV…
Shauna (Fido & Wino) says
07•05•10 at 11:19 amWow the concentration! That’s funny 🙂
Emily says
06•29•11 at 10:46 amHi!
My dog-a 3-year-old Yorkshire terrier does the same thing. However, I’ve got a problem when I try to get rid of the fly with the newspaper or anything: then she pinches me and gets furious. The only thing that helps to make her stop is to close her in the bathroom to calm down 🙁 any ideas how to cope with such behaviour?
E.
Maggie says
06•29•11 at 12:00 pmHi, Emily: When you say she pinches you, is she nipping at you? Could you distract her with a toy or treat while you get rid of the bug?