My beagle ate a chipmunk

Question
We have a nine year old beagle, four month old twin sons and a 2 1/2 year old son.  We also recently (December '07)moved to rural GA (where we live on a five acre wooded lot) from Baltimore.  Just yesterday I watched my beagle hunt, kill and eat a chipmunk in our backyard. He tried to bring it IN THE HOUSE to his dogbed, but I dragged him out of the garage and back outside. (I can't get that crunching sound out of my head.) During the past three weeks he had also been showing up in the garage with bones and a hoof, which I suspect was from a deer.  I'm worried about whether that is dangerous for the dog to eat wild animals or, more importantly, if it puts my boys at risk of anything (since the two year old plays with the dog). In addition, how can I stop this gross behavior, other than keeping him inside or tied up outside 100% of the time.  (This may be normal for a dog, but it's disgusting!)  The dog is current on his shots and has been banished to the garage since the chipmunk incident.

Answer
Your  9 year old dog is living in the garage??

If you're that concerned about the possibility of your children beocming infected - and yes, it's possible for a dog to shed pathogens through saliva, feces, even the skin - - please rehome your dog. They are incredibly sociable creatures and in his eyes, he'd done nothing wrong. His behaviour is totally normal for a canine whether a human finds it "disgusting" or not. Please look into a suitable placement, with a breed rescue who can find an appropriate home. Contact me privately about this if you like and I will assist you. no dog should EVER be living in a garage.

If you decide you want to keep him, then yes, he stays in the house or when he is outside he should be confined.  I'm not sure why that would be a problem. I live in the country and my Ridgeback is always with me in the house, or outside in a fenced area. On offleash walks he occasionally gets into something I'd rather he wouldn't; that's what dogs do. It's possible ANY dog can shed pathogens into the environmnet, but eating fresh kill is less likely to spread disease than say, eating roadkill.

I would keep ths dog controlled, and if you feel you need to make him live in your garage, rehome him. What's the point of having a dog if you don't interact with him?