Boop-to-kill -- is this a rat terrier trait?

My dog Lela, who we loved so incredibly much, just passed recently at 15 after a brief battle with lymphoma. I believe she was a corgi rat terrier mix, although I never got her genes tested. She was however a really good hunter of rodents specifically, and also looked like a rat terrier and a tri-color corgi mixed together.

Here's my question. She did this funny thing the few times she was able to hunt mice, and I'm wondering if it might a rat terrier breed trait that other rat terriers and mixes do. Instead of trying to catch mice with her mouth she would actually boop them so hard with her nose that she would either stun or kill them. She didn't get the chance to do this very often because we kept her away from rodents out of concern that she might eat them and get sick.

The first time she did this was on a walk. She was on a short leash but an unlucky mouse was in the grass near the sidewalk and she moved lightening fast and killed the poor thing in a blink. Fortunately she didn't try to eat it! She was originally a stray before we got her, and I wonder if this how she survived.

Does this boop-to-kill behavior seem familiar to any of you? Or was this just a clever strategy that Lela figured out when she was fending for herself before she found a home with us? Very curious if anyone has seen their dog or another dog do this hunting trick. Thanks for sharing!