Do Owls Eat Dogs? How Much Can An Owl Carry? 7 Cool Facts

If you own a dog, and you happen to see an owl hovering around, you may find yourself wondering whether it is a danger to your dog. There are also those who may want to know whether owls eat dogs just out of pure curiosity. This article has the answers.

Do owls eat dogs? Yes, owls are capable of eating very small dogs and puppies. But there are very few actual reports of owls eating dogs. It is extremely rare.

In most cases, owls kill and eat rodents, insects and other smaller birds. But killing and eating a dog tends to be too big an undertaking for the typical owl.

In all this, you have to remember that an owl is a relatively small bird, in comparison to the average dog.

Just ask yourself, how big is a typical owl? Then ask yourself, how big is the average dog? And how much can an owl carry? That should give you hints on whether an owl is really capable of killing most dogs…

If incidences of owls taking small dogs are reported, they tend to be exceptional.

And if an owl eats dog, or an owl picks up dog, that will tend to be one of those exceptionally small dogs.

Sure, the people who pose the do owls eat dogs question tend to be folks who have genuine concerns. It is just that the probability of an owl actually eating a dog is so low.

Can An Owl Kill A Dog?

Before proceeding to answer the do owls eat dogs question, we first need to find out whether an owl can kill a dog.

That is because if an owl is to eat a dog, it surely needs to kill it first.

So, can an owl kill a dog? Theoretically, the answer is ‘yes’. An owl can kill a small dog. But a bigger dog will normally be too big a task for an owl.

Even then, very rarely will an owl attack a small dog.

Generally, only in very exceptional circumstances will owls attack dogs.

True, the literature says that owls kill and eat small mammals. But by ‘small mammals’, they mean things like rats and other kinds of rodents. Not dogs.

So we are not saying that an owl is completely incapable of killing a dog. It can kill a dog. Only that the probability of an owl killing a dog is very low.

How Can An Owl Kill A Dog?

Before proceeding to the do owls eat dogs question, we need to tackle this one: on how exactly an owl can kill a dog.

So, how can an owl kill a dog?

In the rare incidences where an owl kills a dog, it does so using its talons and beak.

It is a gory tale.

Using the talons, the owl will get hold of a small dog, then crush its head forcefully.

Further, using the talons, the owl will knead the dog’s body, snuffing out any life remaining in it.

Then using the beak it can proceed to devour the dog…

But as noted earlier, this can usually only happen to a small dog.

If you research on how much can an owl carry, you see that its carrying capacity is very modest.

In fact, if you research on how much can an owl carry, you find that it can barely go beyond 10 pounds. Yet very few dogs, except the youngest puppies, are in that weight range.

That is why, in practical terms, the answer to the do owls eat dogs question tends to be negative.

Yes, theoretically an owl can kill a dog. But practically, this is usually too much of a challenge for it.

So far, we have dealt with the can an owl kill a dog and the how can an owl kill a dog questions. Now let’s dive into the main (do owls eat dogs) question.

Do Owls Eat Dogs?

An owl is capable of eating a small dog. There have been reports of owls eating small dogs.

Therefore strictly speaking, the answer to the do owls eat dogs question is ‘yes’. But there are two caveats. Firstly, it is worth noting that such reports of owls eating dogs are quite few and rare.

And secondly, if owls ever eat dogs, those are usually the exceptionally small dogs or puppies.

In general terms, very rarely do owls eat small dogs, let alone the bigger ones.

Thus if someone asks, can an owl kill a small dog, the answer is ‘yes’. Can owls eat dogs? Strictly speaking, the answer is ‘yes’. But only once in a very long while will you hear a true story about an owl eating a dog.

In fact, we can extend the whole thing to cats as well. Will an owl attack a large housecat? The answer is ‘no’. In most cases, it dare not.

What about a small cat? For instance, can an owl pick up a 12 pound cat? Even this would tend to be too big a task for a typical owl.

Sometimes, we seem to overestimate these owls. But surely, how much can an owl lift? Just think about it: how much weight can an owl pick up? How big of an animal can an owl carry off?

When you come to consider the issue carefully, you see just how ridiculous the idea of a dog eating the average dog is.

Do owls prey on small dogs? Yes, but very rarely. Can owls take small dogs? Yes, but that is not usual.

Remember, even what looks like a small dog to us will still be a ‘jumbo’ in the owl’s eyes.

How Big A Dog Can An Owl Take?

While answering the do owls eat dogs question, we need to also ask ourselves, how big of prey can an owl carry?

That will then be helpful in answering the do owls eat dogs question accurately.

So, indeed, how much can an owl carry? More specifically, how big of a dog can an owl pick up?

Now the exact amount of weight an owl can take depends on which type of owl it is.

The bigger owls tend to be capable of carrying more weight than the smaller ones.

Thus in answering the how much weight can an owl lift question, you need to know what type of owl is under consideration.

The same applies in answering the how much weight can an owl carry in flight, how many pounds can an owl carry and how much weight can an owl hold questions.

So the type of owl matters.

Generally though, it would be hard if not impossible for an owl to carry any dog that is above 15 pounds.

As we said though, the type of owl in question matters.

How much can a Great Horned Owl weigh? At most, that is 2.5 pounds. Thus even if it can carry a dog ‘4 times its weight’, that would still make a maximum of 10 pounds.

Thus if you were wondering, how much can a Great Horned Owl carry, that is it.

What about a barn owl? How much can a barn owl carry? A barn owl weighs 1 pound, at most. Therefore even if it can carry ‘4 times its weight’, that would still give a maximum of 4 pounds!

Generally, it would be a tall order for any owl to carry any dog that is above 15 pounds.

Can An Owl Pick Up A 10 Pound Dog?

A 10 pound dog is well within the range that a big, determined owl can pick up.

Therefore if you have a 10 pound dog, you need to know that it is at risk of owl attacks. How much can an owl carry? 10 pound is within the range, in certain cases.

At least if you research on how much can an owl carry, that is what you find out.

Of course, not all types of owls can pick a 10 pound dog. At around 5 kg, that is still quite a big dog. But there are few types of owls that may be capable of carrying such a dog nonetheless.

If you research on how many pounds can a large owl carry, you see that 10 pounds is within the range.

One may ask, how can an owl pick up a small dog of 10 pounds? And the answer is by simply grasping it with its talons, then flying away with it!

All in all, if you research on how much weight can a owl carry, you see that 10 pounds is within the range. For some types of owls at least.

Even the common Great Horned Owl may fly away with a 10 pound dog! How can a Great Horned Owl eat a small dog of 10 pounds? You have to remember that a Great Horned Owl can weigh up to 2.5 pounds.

Assuming it can carry up to 4 times its weight, this means that 10 pounds is something it is capable of dealing with.

Can An Owl Pick Up A 15 Pound Dog?

Most of the people who pose the do owls eat dogs question to be the owners of small dogs.

That is we end up with questions like this one: on whether an owl can carry a 15 pound dog.

In general terms, how much can an owl carry? Even the most optimistic sources tell us that, at best, an owl can only carry 4 times its weight.

Now the biggest owl known is the Blakiston’s fish owl. It weighs 9.25 pounds. So in theory, if it were to carry 4 times its weight, that would be 37 pounds.

But thankfully, such Blakiston’s fish owls are very rare. And they mostly prey on fish, not animals like dogs.

Most of the common owls that a dog would normally encounter are only capable of carrying a maximum of 15 pounds.

So yes, a very big and determined owl may be able to carry a 15 pound dog.

Still, that is unlikely to be something like, say, the common Great Horned Owl. How much weight can a Great Horned Owl carry? As we saw, that is around 10 pounds at most.

That is also the answer to the how much weight can a Great Horned Owl lift. Or how much weight can a Great Horned Owl pick up.

Clearly then, a 15 pound dog would be too tall an order for a Great Horned Owl.

What about an Eagle Owl? If you research on how much can an Eagle Owl carry, you find that some are capable of carrying 15 pounds.

And with regard to a Barn Owl, how much weight can an Barn Owl carry? That is 4 pounds: meaning that it wouldn’t be capable of carrying a 15 pound dog.

Can An Owl Pick Up A 20 Pound Dog?

Here, we start by asking ourselves, how much can an owl carry off? Or, in other words, how much can an owl pick up?

Remember, that is the approach we adopted, while answering the do owls eat dogs question.

We started by asking, how much can an owl carry?

Ultimately, the true position is that a 20 pound dog would tend to be too big for a typical owl.

When answering the how much can an owl carry question, we saw that that is at most 15 pounds. True, there are outliers the Blakiston’s owl mentioned earlier, but those are rare, and they mostly focus on fish.

A typical owl can’t pick up a 20 pound dog.

Even when you research on how much weight can a full grown owl carry, 20 pounds comes across as too tall an order.

Are Owls Dangerous To Dogs?

Quite often, alongside the do owls eat dogs question comes this one: on whether owls are dangerous to dogs.

To answer it, we still start by asking ourselves, how much can an owl carry? And for a typical owl, that can be as much as 15 pounds.

That is the figure you get, when you research on how much weight can an owl carry away?

Similarly, if you research on how many pounds can a owl carry, you more or less get that figure of 15 pounds.

Against that background, can an owl pick up a small dog? The answer is ‘yes’. It can.

But it depends on the type of owl. Very small owls may not be capable of harming dogs.

For instance, will a Barred Owl attack a small dog? The answer is ‘no’. That is because at roughly 1 pound, it is too small to attack even the smallest of dogs.

The same applies for a Hoot Owl. How much weight can a Hoot Owl carry? That is typically less than 4 pounds, which is lower than even the smallest of dogs.

Ultimately though, we see that owls – especially the biggest types of them – can indeed be dangerous to dogs.

The same also applies for hawks. But when you research on how much weight can a hawk carry, you see that unlike an owl, a hawk is usually unable to carry anything heavier than itself.

Thus if you ask, can a hawk pick up a 10 lb dog, the answer will tend to be ‘no’. That is because the biggest hawk is only around 3 pounds – meaning that it can’t lift a 10 pound dog.

All in all, owls can be somewhat dangerous to the small dogs and puppies.

How Can You Protect A Dog From Owl Attacks?

We can’t conclude a discussion on the do owls eat dogs subject without touching on how one can protect a dog from owl attacks.

In answering the how much can an owl carry question, we saw that it is indeed capable of carrying a small dog.

More specifically, research on how much can an owl carry question shows that it may pick a dog up to 15 pounds.

At least that is what the data on how much can an owl carry reveals (for the bigger but typical owls).

Clearly then, an owl can be dangerous to a dog. That brings about the question on how to protect a dog from owl attacks.

One approach you can use is that of ensuring small dogs and puppies don’t remain outside by themselves. That is especially so if you are in a place with many large owls flying around.

Another approach you can use is to install a Nite-Guard system, which would scare the owls whenever they come too close.

Actually any strobe-based system capable of giving out small light flashes would be just as effective.

Final Verdict – Do Owls Eat Dogs

Owls do eat small dogs and puppies. Actual real-life stories of owls eating dogs are rare, but it is nonetheless something capable of happening.

An owl can strongly grasp a small dog using its talons, then fly away with it. Dogs that are below 15 pounds in weight may be at risk of attack by the biggest owls.

But dogs that are bigger than 15 pounds tend to be too big for attacks by typical owls.

If you have a very small dog or puppy that is capable of being attacked by owls, it is best to ensure that it doesn’t stay outside by itself. That is especially so if there are truly big owls hovering around.

You can also install a Nite-Guard system. Or use any other strobe light system that uses flashes of light to scare away the owls whenever they come too close.

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Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️