# Do dogs ever catch squirrels and the like? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 10, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754 "2009-12-10T19:32:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/81 "2011-10-24T19:28:45Z")
Be not fooled - [this](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v677/ural/dogs/Picture25501.jpg)is the face of a killer. He and his brother are the scourge of the yard. Chipmunks and squirrels are no match for the terrible twosome, and I have several halves of each to prove it. Our cat takes care of the birds and bunnies. She brought us a wimpering, full-sized rabbit last week; back legs broken, chunk taken out of the side - it was awful.:mad: I took it from her, took it back to the woods and dispatched it with a suppressed .22 so my daughter wouldn’t find out. I know it’s their job, but I wish they’d let the wild animals alone. ---
**Author:** ![SeaCanary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SeaCanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaCanary)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/82 "2011-10-24T22:53:40Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > Be not fooled - [this](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v677/ural/dogs/Picture25501.jpg)is the face of a killer. He and his brother are the scourge of the yard. Chipmunks and squirrels are no match for the terrible twosome, and I have several halves of each to prove it. Awwww. Weiner dogs are terminally cute! But yes, they can be vicious little killers though I’m a little surprised they can catch a squirrel going full-tilt-boogy. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/83 "2011-10-25T00:56:31Z")
> [@SeaCanary](#): > > Awwww. Weiner dogs are terminally cute! But yes, they can be vicious little killers though I’m a little surprised they can catch a squirrel going full-tilt-boogy. Penny tries like hell, but she hasn’t caught a squirrel. She is death on stuffed animals, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SeaCanary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SeaCanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaCanary)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/84 "2011-10-25T02:04:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Penny tries like hell, but she hasn’t caught a squirrel. She is death on stuffed animals, though. 🙂 My friend’s full sized weiner dog, Foster (the other one is named Guinness), and I got into a tug-of-war with her toy; rolled up rags and socks. I never realized that Foster’s body was solid muscle and when he grabbed that toy and gave a full body shake…:eek: Then I got a look at his teeth. It looked like something I’d expect in a [gar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gar#Anatomy_and_morphology)! Nevertheless both Foster and Guinness like their tummy’s rubbed. 🙂 They are a handful but they are cute. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/85 "2011-10-25T02:29:02Z")
[Watch this dog climb a tree after a squirrel](http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/Cammiespike/?action=view¤t=iphone1112.mp4). StG ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/86 "2011-10-25T02:36:01Z")
Our dog Daisy once chased a squirrel up a tree. Basically she took a run at it and scrambled her way up into the crook of the tree…and then froze because she couldn’t figure out how to go up OR down. The squirrel was about five feet above her, completely freaked out and making those chittering sounds. We really thought that was cute until a few weeks later, emboldened, Daisy made a running charge at our 6-foot privacy fence and scrambled her way right over it. ---
**Author:** ![SeaCanary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SeaCanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaCanary)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/87 "2011-10-25T02:48:30Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > [Watch this dog climb a tree after a squirrel](http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/Cammiespike/?action=view¤t=iphone1112.mp4). > > StG How did it get down? ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/88 "2011-10-25T03:04:29Z")
Apparently climbed down as easily as he went up. Not my dog, the video was posted on the Chronicle of the Horse website. StG ---
**Author:** ![MissesA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@MissesA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissesA)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/89 "2011-10-25T04:41:29Z")
It depends on what kind of dog you have. Cats hunt better than dogs, especially female cats. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/90 "2011-10-25T06:47:25Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Then again, this is the same dog that got skunked, not once, not twice but THREE times in the same summer. You’d think he’d learn what a skunk is and what it’s capable of, not that dummy. Perhaps he liked the skunk odor? Dogs like weird smells. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/91 "2011-10-25T12:18:59Z")
My female Jack Russell terrier has driven all other mammals from the area covered by our invisible fence. I have seen the corpses of six fox squirrels and countless moles. Once, after we had boarded her for a week, we brought her home and she discovered that a rabbit had dug a hole and had babies in our yard. The results looked liked a rabbit bomb had exploded. My favorite episode: one morning around dawn I was working in my home office and a full grown coyote ran through my side yard, with my 12 pound JRT in full pursuit. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/92 "2011-10-26T03:34:18Z")
> [@Emilys\_Mom](#): > > My English Springer Spaniel female, Emily, has now caught two grey squirrels within the course of the last week. She proudly kills them and then brings the prey on the deck to show me. She will leave the animals there all day until I come home from work. She is so proud of herself. She’s fast, but I’m not sure how she’s getting the squirrels. My black lab female, Jane, just looks on…but then again she’s a lab. Glad to see there’s another springer spaniel named Emily out there! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TulipsMoran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TulipsMoran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TulipsMoran)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/93 "2012-11-03T13:45:01Z")
UPDATE: Emily caught another squirrel this morning. That’s now brings the total to five this year. She watches vigilantly, spots her prey, and springs into action (sorry for the pun). She’s fast and agile easily catching the squirrel. She “soft mouths” the squirrel and shakes violently until neck is broke and then proudly presents her triumph on the deck for all to see. The behavior is not encouraged, but hundreds of years of genetics are clearly at play. Folks tend to forget dogs are animals and they do what animals do. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/94 "2012-11-03T21:56:19Z")
> [@Taenia\_spp](#): > > Maybe GQ, but perhaps personal experiences would be more enlightening. Though dogs love to chase small woodland creatures, have you ever seen a domesticated dog actually catch a squirrel? Our female terrier has taken down birds, squirrels, and even a couple of possums. Here’s the little serial killer: > **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1053483469262&set=a.1107642743210.2016684.1591052365&type=3&theater)** ---
**Author:** ![BarbInDallas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@BarbInDallas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarbInDallas)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/95 "2017-06-06T17:45:27Z")
> [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](#): > > Snip \<\ > I finally get her attention, she drops the squirrel and comes back inside. I put on some clothes and go out, seeing a grey blob at the back of the yard, so I figure I’m cleaning up dead squirrel. As I get closer I see it’s just a squirrel tail so Mr Squirrel must have gotten away to tease another dog another day.\>\> I know this is an old thread, but my dog just did this! I have made her drop a squirrel before, but today Missy (GSD/Golden/Husky mix) bit clear through the tail. She came in after I saw the squirrel run up and over the fence, so I didn’t realize he was minus his tail until I saw it in the yard later. Hope the little guy lives! ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/96 "2017-06-06T18:36:59Z")
Oh, yes, and slow birds! My two young pitties have murdered several squirrels in the backyard and gotten hold of birds (thus far the birds have all lived – they seem to be more interested in playing with them than murder). A past lab committed rabbiticide a few times and attempted to win a fight with a big, fat rattlesnake; he got a dry bite on the snout and I got a one-fang dry bite on the hand trying to rip it out of his mouth. The snake won and slithered away to bite another day. Some doggies have a really high prey drive, others could care less – in my experience this happens across all types of breeds. The pups (pits and yeller lab) bark at the deer that regularly pass through; the pits would probably like to tame the deer and ride 'em hard, yeller would probably like to pet them. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/97 "2017-06-06T18:54:09Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > My aunt/uncle/cousins had a springer spaniel who would leap up in the air to catch birds. Sometimes he did. I knew a dog who would leap up in the air to catch helicopters. But I don’t recall that he ever actually caught one. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/98 "2017-06-06T19:16:45Z")
my moms scotty dog proved him self a champ mouse catcher after I accidently infested the house with mice I had a snake and bought a mouse for one of his twice a week feedings he didn’t approve of said mouse so I took the mouse back out put him back in the cardboard box for exchange of course said rodent escaped but what I didn’t know was when the pet store owner had too many mice shed sell the pregnant ones for food apparently that’s a very common practice by the time we noticed it we had a nice sized hole in the kitchen wall and was wondering what to do …scotty showed us when he caught 2 or 3 a night until they were pretty much gone … the exterminator said just let him have at because the dog was better at it … ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/99 "2017-06-07T17:21:07Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > . . . > > - Just wanted to note that watching an actual jackrabbit chase is one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen. Seeing a lanky and seemingly awkward dog transform into a svelte, graceful, and powerful creature that just appears to float over the countryside at an unbelievable speed is a wonder to behold. Better than any documentary on Nature. I once was looking for something else entirely on youtube, and came across “greyhounds chasing rabbits” videos. I agree entirely with your statement. It’s pretty thrilling to see a greyhound do what it is bred to do. [Here’s one of the videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqgZj-OPvQ). I had my mute on, so if it has obnoxious music, I apologize. Don’t worry, they never catch the rabbit. The dogs are just a bit faster than the rabbit, but the rabbit can corner more tightly. I’ve seen videos where the rabbit zigzagged quickly, and the greyhound did a tremendous tumbling cartwheel as he overshot. A lesson to those filming greyhound chases: bring a telephoto lens. The dogs can be halfway to the horizon in about 2.5 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754/100 "2017-06-07T19:28:19Z")
Our next door neighbor’s golden retriever killed a bunny. We didn’t see it but heard our neighbor shrieking and my husband went to check on her. My husband stopped our little Havanese at the door the other day, she was carrying a baby bunny by the scruff of the neck. She dropped it when he reached for it, and he released it back in the yard, unharmed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-ever-catch-squirrels-and-the-like/520754.md?page=6)