Every dog I've ever known has had a healthy, instinctual wariness of snakes. (And I grew up in snake country.) They'll bark like hell at them, but they know better than to get too close. Most animals, in fact, know to steer clear. Except maybe cats. Because, fuck it, they're cats.

The dead duck, though, is a distinct possibility.

Dogs like to kill snakes. Your dog will bring you one someday. It will be the highest honor you dog can bestow upon you.

Thanks, mudpuppie. My dog is very interested in lizards. I hope she would have some wariness because I would be worried for her safety. My fear is irrational. I visualize her bringing in a snake and losing my mind. We rarely see a snake in our yard. We keep our grass short and try to keep the hiding places to a minimum. It's not that I dislike snakes. I just have this nutty feat that there will be a snake in my house. I once had a rattlesnake in my garage and another time my best friend and I woke up to discover a rattlesnake in her kitchen sink. I'm skittish.

I know my dog would love to torture a duck. A duck flew into our yard last week and walked into the porch for some reason, probably from protection from the dog. The dog had her cornered. It was quite the scene -- trying to catch the dog so we could free the duck.

Doohickie, do not tell me this! :) Like mudpuppie said I thought cats did this. I had a cat growing up that killed a rabbit and left it on our doorstep. I just know that if my dog brings a snake in I will be oblivious until I find it coiled up under my bed. AAAAHHHHH!

This is anecdotal at best, but:

My dog (Border Collie/Lab mix) has a natural instinct to keep an eye on what's in our yard. This is probably 75% 'cos she's a dog, and 25% 'cos she was a stray for the very nascent first 12 or so months of her life.

At the house we recently moved out of, which had a rather large and poorly lit backyard, she found two possums. Both times, she ran up to me with that "Guess what I found, Dad!" look on her face. Fortunately, both times, I got her to drop them and go back inside without much issue. The first was actually dead, though I saw no indication that she had killed it. I think she just happened to find it in the corner of the yard. But, I had to triple bag it and, uh, well, get it out.

The second was, apparently, just playing possum, and by the time I'd gone back out to check on it, had wandered off and gotten on with life.

In this part of Dallas, we don't have anything bigger than small garden snakes, and the only part of them Coya has seen has been shedded skins, which she'll sniff at and then get bored with. However, at our new place, we do have toads, which she won't quite attack, but she's definitely intrigued with fucking with them.

So far, I haven't let her actually get one, but my parents assure me that all three dogs I grew up with got exactly one a piece, threw them up, learned their lesson, and never touched them again. But they were all small dogs (2 Lhasas and a Shi-Tzu). We'll see how it progresses.