# Would you let your dog catch a squirrel?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-dog-catch-a-squirrel/972451>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 29, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-dog-catch-a-squirrel/972451 "2022-09-29T13:26:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-dog-catch-a-squirrel/972451/41 "2022-10-02T18:18:45Z")

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> [@Gatopescado](#):
>
> Sometimes I gotta physically drag a dog out of a hole to get them to give it up and go home.

That’s why Basset Hound tails are so thick – so you can drag them back out of the rabbit hole they’ve chased their prey into.

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**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-dog-catch-a-squirrel/972451/42 "2022-10-03T14:45:17Z")

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Two of my past/passed dogs each killed a chipmunk. Both times the dog stared down at the dead, unmoving chipmunk like it was very disappointed. I think they wanted to play not kill. They enjoyed the thrill of the chase more than anything.

One of our boxers leaped into the air and killed a sparrow!

I do not encourage the killing of any little critters.

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**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-dog-catch-a-squirrel/972451/43 "2022-10-03T15:05:59Z")

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We often let the dog off leash at the end of the morning walk, and he runs around like an idiot. This morning, he beelined up to the bushes next to the house, ran in one end, and a fox popped out of the other. We called him off immediately. I’m sure he woulda gotten his but kicked!

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**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-dog-catch-a-squirrel/972451/44 "2022-10-03T15:12:02Z")

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I had to laugh at this post. I have two dogs: a 100-pound male black mouth cur and an older female 60-pound Vizsla mix. The big dog likes to bark at squirrels. But the smaller dog is like a rat terrier on steroids.

So far this year, she has brought us eight opossums (three dead and five feigning it), six squirrels (all dead), more than ten birds, and a couple snakes. She got all of them in our quarter-acre backyard. The worst part is that we have a dog door that we keep open most of the day. Finding a bloodied dead opossum in your den is quite an experience. Thankfully, we have managed to stop her from bringing more than just a couple of live things through the dog door. The live snake was probably the worst experience.

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