Dogs Terrified of New Mounts

[strousek]

We have a 5 year old purebred lab that is some what of a half ass bird dog and mostly the best friend to my kids. Ever since she was a pup she has been terrified of new mounts when they come back from the taxidermist. Something about the smell makes her crazy as she cowers before she even sees or enters the room with a new mount. We live on 40 acres with deer around the house daily and she could give a crap less about a live deer. She scouts and hikes with me all summer and has no fear or interest in moose or elk. Last year I was even able to call her off a momma black bear and cub very quickly, which was great because that could have ended badly had she stuck around momma and cub much longer.

Not sure what the smell is that gets her but she knows as soon as she comes in the door that a new mount is in the house. She will growl and cower from it for a week and then give up and go about being a dumb lab again. She has the same behavior whether its a mammal or bird too. We also have a corgi that has never once reacted to a new mount coming home. Funny how one dog reacts instantly and the other cant even tell that there is a new 350" bull elk staring at her in the living room.

Anyone else experience dogs weird behavior with taxidermy?

 

[NRA4LIFE]

We had the same thing happen with one of our cats we had. My brother was an aspiring taxidermist and was practicing on all kinds of stuff. He gave me a racoon he did and I brought it home and that cat just freaked out. And I mean BAD. I had to keep the darn thing in my reloading room where she was not allowed.

 

[turbobrick]

We had a cat with really poor eyesight that would react strangely to things that the other cat and dog wouldn’t at all. Maybe a combo of sight and smell?

 

[IdahoElk]

My dogs did the same thing, your dog will get over it eventually.

 

[TaperPin]

Feed the dog a treat from under the elk and in two days they will think of it as an atm for treats. We do that with lightning and fireworks - every loud noise they run over wagging their tails. We did that with a puppy who was afraid of lawn mowers and to this day she likes following me around the yard as I mow. Lol

 

[Decker9]

We never had a problem until a few months ago when a life size wolf got hung above the old dogs “spot”. We had to move her bed by the main entrance lol.

 

[Swamp Fox]

I've seen some frightening taxidermy, myself.

How much do you like this guy? --- LOL


This situation reminds me of the old joke:

Old Boy #1: Dang, my wife's pregnant again! Seems like every time she goes to the doctor, she comes home and tells me she's pregnant!

Old Boy #2: I believe I'd have a talk with that doctor ...

 

[strousek]

I've seen some frightening taxidermy, myself.

How much do you like this guy? --- LOL


This situation reminds me of the old joke:

Old Boy #1: Dang, my wife's pregnant again! Seems like every time she goes to the doctor, she comes home and tells me she's pregnant!

Old Boy #2: I believe I'd have a talk with that doctor ...

All the mounts look damn good so I don't think she is afraid of that.

She does fine on her own after a couple days. Just thought it was funny that the smell and sight of a new mount set her off. This lab isn't scared of anything else in this world that I have found.

 

[MallardSX2]

My lab barks at my deer mounts all the time. We think it's funny.


She doesn't trust them in our yard either ever since that doe chased her a$$ back to the porch last year. I still laugh about that.

"F around and find out!" I said. She doesn't listen. lol

 

[Cady Creek]

Wish I had a 350" Bull mount to find out! Interesting though, as my 9yr old GSP could care less about whitetail/bear mounts, but my sons younger lab loses her shit when she sees a new one.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

99% of my mounts go unnoticed by the dog...but he does hate my Tundra Swan mount...he will sit under it and bark nonstop...I have to keep the door closed to my office..or you will find him in there sitting in the floor barking at it. It's not that's its a bird, I have 14 other ducks mounted, I think it's the size...joker had almost 8' wing span.

 

[KurtR]

The first few days I brought the speck i got mounted home my dog would sit and watch it waiting for it to land or me to shoot. He finally said hell with that goose and pays it no mind

 

[SWOHTR]

This whole post is just a brag about a big elk…

 

[pirogue]

I have a granddaughter that won’t sleep in a certain room, unless I remove the pronghorn shoulder mount.

 

[Blockcaver]

We had an old male Vizsla that was terrified when we brought home the open mouth grizzly rug. Didn’t have a wall big enough for it at the time so put it on the spare room bed facing out to the door.

Duke wouldn’t go near the rug until I baited him into taking cheese out of my hand next to the bears nose. From then on he wasn’t quite as afraid of it.

However if he was acting up I would say: “Let’s go see the bear” and that shut him right up, or down whatever he was up to.

 

[CMP70306]

My golden puppy will be fine with my deer and bison mount for weeks and then suddenly decide they are an issue and bark at them until I pick her up and hold her so she can sniff them.

I’ll have to see how she does with the new stuff when I bring my buck home in a few months.

 

[mi650]

Our Dane does this sometimes, even with mounts that are older than him.

No idea why, other than he's a dumbass!!

 

[Chad717]

I have a bunch of taxidermy and when a new one shows up my dog will bark at it for a day or two then get over it, kind of funny.

 

[Huckleberry Hound]

"My" dog is a full blown candyass. Biggest sissy dog i ever seen. Found him in the mountains. 6mo old pup ran out of the brush and dropped on my feet crying. So i did what any decent person would do..... dumped him off at my parents house. Anyway to this day, hes terrified of even dead deer. And when he comes to my house he curls up on my lapand stares at my taxidermy shaking like michael j fox. Terrified of it all.

 

[AKG]

We don't have any full body mounts but when I hung some tanned and rugged bears our dogs came in growling and bristled up. They quicky got over that and now like to rub up against the ones they can reach.