My dogs have always enjoyed chasing squirrels. They rarely catch them, but when they have, I’m not too concerned about it. We don’t have a shortage of squirrels/rabbits/etc, and if one of them is gonna mess around in a yard with a dog, I figure it takes its chances.
This morning, my wife was in the yard with the dog, and I heard her calling the dog off. She said it had a squirrel cornered and she didn’t want to see the squirrel killed. I can get that. I have no great desire to see an animal killed and have to clean it up. Not to mention the small chance that the squirrel might bite my dog in the process.
But another part of me thinks, heck, the darn dog spends so much time/effort trying to catch the damn things. Shouldn’t he get to CATCH one once in a while.
I find myself having mixed feelings on this. What do you think?
There is one particular rodent, a.k.a. Psycho Squirrel, that I wouldn’t mind Pluto catching and despatching. PS has for many months been sneaking onto the porch to chew paint off the floorboards.
Pluto is as outraged as we are and has dragged me (on leash) up to PS’s tree, putting his paws up on the bark in an effort to locate the nasty little beast.
Alas, I believe his capacity in open-field squirrel chasing would be inadequate to the task. But I can dream…
We are a release location for a wildlife center and have a huge squirrel population that we support. We also feed deer and turkeys that visit our yard throughout the day. We have a pond where mallards hang out. Frogs, toads, and snakes are all over our property.
Our dogs are trained specifically to leave wildlife alone. It’s good for the wildlife as well as our dogs.
Years ago I had a dog that was incredibly adept at catching squirrels. She would pin them to the ground, then release them, over and over until they managed to get up a tree. She never harmed one (physically).
Yes. He usually pins them to the ground and just waits for me to call him off. The critter then makes a beeline for the nearest tree. In only one case I know of has he ripped it to pieces before I could get to him. It doesn’t bother me that he chases down and sometimes kills a squirrel. I’m not going to keep him from doing what he was bred to do. That would be cruel.
Predation is a integral part of nature and should not be interfered with. If you watch Discovery or National Geographic, you know that they never interfere with the creatures they are filming.
Squirrels are just rats with bushy tails. They damage roofs and make a mess. They need more natural enemies, not less.
My dog is almost always on a leash when outside, so the leash determines the amount of chase.
Squirrels are too fast. He gets to the end of the leash before getting close.
Cats get some flexibility so he can get close, but the leash does protect the cat.
Skunks and Foxes are not allowed to be chased.
I facilitate and encourage it. The Crew and I go out every day in the Jeep for drinkin’ and huntin’. Despite all the digging and barking, they only rarely get a mouse or pack-rat or ground squirrel. But when they do, it is swift and brutal. If I’m lucky, I get wind of it and can wrestle it from their clenched jaws before they can wolf it down. I try to avoid the possible barf of hair and bones.
My late dog killed four or five squirrels during his life, and a few rabbits and one dove. Fine by me.
Squirrels get to make one mistake – “I’ll go to that tree, no, wait, that tree…” Crunch.
My current dog chases them but can’t corner fast enough to catch them. And, if he did, he wouldn’t kill them – he ended up with a baby rabbit in his mouth, which he just put down. The rabbit sat there terrified until we called him off and he ran away.
No problem for me. My wife doesn’t like the idea despite her belief that squirrels are out to get her for some reason. Trouble is that Duke who hates squirrels can’t stop himself from barking and yelping when he sees a squirrel and they will be up a tree before he gets close to one. Rabbits don’t climb trees though and even his slowpoke brother Sami can corner one and break its neck.
I’m surprised to hear from @Jackmannii that Psycho Squirrel is still alive since I last encountered him over 40 years ago. Must be one of his descendants carrying on the tradition.
Where I live, I see ourselves as the intruders. This is their natural habitat, not mine or my dogs.
My dogs though (border collie mixes) love to chase chipmunks (that’s the type of squirrels we have). They mostly tree them, or I just call them back. I know it’s in their nature to do this.
What I really don’t want them to chase are bears and especially moose. Would be a very hard lesson for them that they would learn once.
Our cats frequently chase the local wildlife. They have little chance of catching most of it. If they get the moths or toads or whatever, they’re welcome to eat them (and do).
One time, our aged, arthritic cat with the paralyzed tail actually managed to catch a live chipmunk. I’m still not sure how she managed it – I think she cornered it. She wanted, more than anything else, to bring it into the house. You may think I’m anthropomorphizing when I say that she wanted to show off and brag to the other cats – “I have a chipmunk AND YOU DON’T” – but it’s hard not to think so. She definitely did that the time she caught the giant Cecropia moth and paraded it back and forth in front of the other cats before eating it (with very loud crunching sounds).
Of course, we wouldn’t let her. The only thing worse than having a chipmunk loose in a house full of cats is having a live chipmunk loose in a house full of cats who don’t catch it.
It was fury over taunting squirrels (and turning one unlucky youngun into a pull toy) that inspired Kosh to hate rodents in general. Now, if I were to discourage him from trying to get the squirrels (which is a fair fight since they have an enormous tree canopy to escape in) it might also discourage him from dispatching the rats and mice I’m always battling for supremacy of the crapshack. I approve of his rat dispatching tendencies and hope he continues apace. Fuck rats, they’re nasty and poop everything they don’t chew to pieces.
It’s been years since I’ve had a dog but I’m not confident any of the one’s I’ve had were smart enough to tell the difference between a squirrel and a small cat, dog, or other small pet. I’d definitely discourage it.
Not to mention- the OP and others seem to think the issue is what the dog will do to the squirrel. How about the dog?
Squirrels can deliver some nasty bites, there are accounts of a dog losing an eye. And, altho squirrel rabies is not a huge concern- those rodents carry lots of other nasty things- like the bubonic plague- plus fleas, ticks and other parasites.
True , out there in the wilderness, predators take those chances, and most survive.
Over the years, my dogs have rarely caught adult rabbits or squirrels. Usually just babies. Some of my dogs have played with them, others have inhaled them. We’ve always had fenced yards, and there are countless avenues of escape. Usually we let the dog out a back door, and he’s destined to lose as soon as he hits the back steps.
This morning, my wife and the dog came into the yard thru a side gate, and surprised a squirrel near a bird feeder. The squirrel took a wrong turn, and was cornered on the patio, in a corner of the house where 2 brick walls join. Now, my dog is a moron, and I’m sure the damned squirrel coulda just run at him and gotten away. And heck, I’ve seen squirrels climb directly up our brick walls, which woulda driven Lincoln NUTS. But I probably woulda let things play out, and seen what happened. Seemed kinda rough to call the dog off on the ONE occasion that things seemed to be working in his favor.
If nothing else, I’d be curious about what the dog did in such occasions. I really doubt he has a killer instinct, but who knows?
Yes, thank you. But you did not seem that concerned over it, and did not mention diseases or parasites.
My dog ate a squirrel - Should I be worried?. Can Dogs Get Worms from Eating a Live or Dead Squirrel? Unfortunately, yes. Roundworms and coccidiosis are the most common parasitic infections dogs can get from eating squirrels. More specifically, it’s the roundworm larvae using squirrels as hosts that a dog can consume.
But even if the dog just catches it, but doesn’t eat it= https://www.msah.com/services/blog/national-squirrel-day-why-you-don’t-want-your-pet-catch-squirrel However, sometimes the now deceased squirrel might be carrying diseases or parasites your pet can catch. In most cases, squirrel parasites (fleas and ticks) and squirrel droppings are potentially more harmful to your pet than the actual squirrel. This is true for the majority of small animals your pet might catch (like mice, rats and others).
Yes I would, but only for the entertainment value. He’s a Chihuahua and roughly the same size as the squirrels. He snarls as if he going to tear them apart, and chases them to the fence. But I really wonder what would happen if he caught up to one. I suspect he’d adjust his speed to ensure they “got away”.
It would be entertaining, and I doubt the squirrel would be harmed.
I had a little corgi who was adept at mousing, she hunted them just like a fox does: listen, locate, spring in the air and come down with your jaws open. She would swallow them like grapes. Squirrels are hard to catch unless two or more dogs work as a team, one to cut them off from their tree and the other to grab them. I had a pair of Aussies who would catch ground squirrels this way. Those suckers are big. Even so, they’d be dead in a second. That’s how canids kill small prey – shake it hard so the neck snaps, before they can bite. The Aussies never wanted to eat the ground squirrels, although they wished to take them indoors (NO).
I let my dogs catch any kind of vermin they’ve a mind to. They are herding dogs so it is instinctive for them to distinguish between their own animals (like the hens) and fair game. If I had terriers it’d be a different story no doubt.
