The big dogs are around the farm to protect the little dogs from wild predators, let us know when visitors arrive and also occasionally hunt vermin. Mostly it’s the barn cats that do the hunting (and leaving parts of their hunted meals in the yard for me to find).

The other morning, I let all the dogs out for the morning and was busy in the girl’s yard doing my pooper scooper duty, when I noticed Indy frantically circling and digging at the large dog house in their yard.

There was something obviously interesting to her there and she wanted it badly!

I grabbed the shovel (because the dog house is huge and heavy) and used it to pry under and move the house just a tad. I peeked behind the house first (since I’d need more manpower and some good gloves to look underneath it) and saw two beady black eyes staring back at me.

Just as I suspected, it was a pack rat (also known as a wood rat)!

From Google images

Pack rats can grow to be 15-18 inches long (which includes the 7″ tail)! They are considered dangerous as they can carry disease and they’re very destructive. We’ve had them get into the engine compartment of our vehicles and chew wires, insulation and other things. They also collect strange objects; big pieces of bark, dried veggies from the compost pile, etc and add them to their nests. They’re a nuisance to have around and harmful to peoples, pets and vehicles.

“Right here, mom!”

So I was so thankful for Indy’s hunting skills to kick in and alert us to the rodent so hubby could dispatch it quickly. And we checked under the dog house too. Thankfully, there were no more.

So add that to skills your Cavapoo might instinctually have; hunter. We can thank both the Cavalier and the Poodle parents for passing that on.

Good girl, Indy!