Imagine chicken nuggets flying through the air, buzzing about and hitting you in the face. Cow lives in this world, as does your dog if you are in the Midwestern or Eastern United States.
They are large, mostly black, with yellow stripes. The cicada has orange eyes and wings. The birds are easy to capture because they fly low and slow.
Cicadas are not aggressive and do no sting, making them vulnerable to even the most clumsy of dogs.
Are Cicadas Safe To Eat?
After 17 years, cicadas come out of their tunnels underground and shed skin. They are soft and squishy immediately after. Soon, their wings and exoskeleton will become crunchy.
The raccoons and squirrels that live around you will love them as a snack. They are also enjoyed by dogs and they will generally not harm them.
Even humans eat cicadas sometimes. They are considered a treat in many cultures. It’s said that they taste similar to shrimp. All those who have an allergy to shrimp also suffer from cicadas.
The acidic stomach of a dog can break down the exoskeleton.
Dogs with sensitive stomachs may vomit if too many cicadas are eaten, as well as if any other unfamiliar food is consumed.
Cow’s Summer Exciting
Cow has a low fat diet, but she is still unable to consume foods that contain too much fat. Her low-fat diet is working well (she eats Solid Gold, Fit & Fabulous, also good for large dogs and Honest kitchen Whole Grain chicken) but she did have diarrhea yesterday. This could be because of too many treats. She has improved a bit today but I don’t think she should be eating cicadas with her stomach problems.
Cicadas contain low fats and shouldn’t cause an allergic reaction, but I would still like to limit their consumption during the summer. She’s a bit obsessed with them and has been crying over them instead of going to the bathroom when we walk.
The toads made an appearance just a couple of days ago, which only makes things worse. She screams when she sees a toad at night.
She managed to grab one last night and chomped on it with her teeth. Just thinking about this makes me gag. It was probably peeing in her mouth when I watched it. Oh, god.
It actually ran away unharmed when she let go.
They are mildly toxic for dogs. We have only Eastern American Toads in our area. If eaten by your dog, they can cause the mouth to foam up and even cause vomiting. However, these are not dangerous.
Cow’s mouth did not foam at all when I first saw it. Our local toads don’t deserve her anger.
Do Muzzles Stop Dogs From Eating Cicadas?
I’ve just gotten my Baskerville cow’s muzzle.
You can use this muzzle for a walk. The cow can still open her mouth and drink water while wearing the muzzle.
The device has been helpful to get her to stop eating cicadas. However, she soon figured out how to use her hand to turn it so that she could eat the dead or dying ones on the floor. This gives me an extra few seconds to get her out of the way.
Cow’s Muzzle may or may not be effective in preventing toads from being eaten. She’s probably going to turn them into waffles.
Bring treats with me on walks and work on my non-existent skills of “leave” it. This is a skill I have never taught my dogs and it’s time to start.
There are so many opportunities that we have missed because we barely train on our walks.
The leash can be used to hold Cow back, but it has mixed results because at times there are critters that will jump out every few feet.
Although I have been dreading this rest of the summer, I should consider it a learning opportunity rather than an obstacle.