To think you should not allow your dog to chase squirrels?

[lillypond75]

Because it causes distress to a wild animal! I said to my friend to put their dog on a lead and she looked at me like I was mad. Apparently it's fine as their dog is unlikely to catch it, but that's hardly the point imo.

I don’t like my dog to do it, so I would put him on a lead yes, but sometimes one appears and he will chase it. My friends dog nearly caught one and I’d hate that to happen

I detest it when I see kids chasing pigeons, so I get it.

I also detest pigeons, but I don't think it is nice to see something 300 times your size coming towards you full force.

But I can control my child, I can't control an off lead dogs peripheral vision.

Dogs will be dogs. My dog like most has zero chance of catching one. I’m not keeping her on the lead all the time just in case she sees a squirrel.

@Darbs76

I don’t like my dog to do it, so I would put him on a lead yes, but sometimes one appears and he will chase it. My friends dog nearly caught one and I’d hate that to happen

My friends dog cornered one. Those things are not cute and fluffy. It stood up and hissed and terrified both the dog and us!:

Having just had to get dozens of young oak trees felled due to very severe squirrel damage - let them have at it I reckon (barring reds obviously and bearing in mind that a squirrel can give quite a bad bite, like a rat.

Having seen the remains of the eye of dog who had a fight with one, I wouldn’t let a dog chase because it’s both cruel and has a likelihood of an expensive vet trip.

@powershowerforanhour

Having just had to get dozens of young oak trees felled due to very severe squirrel damage - let them have at it I reckon (barring reds obviously and bearing in mind that a squirrel can give quite a bad bite, like a rat.

Do red ones not damage trees then?

My dog has a high prey drive and to be honest, he loves chasing squirrels, so it’s a few moments in their lives and he gets a great deal of pleasure from it, so meh!

He caught one once - it squeaked and wriggled and he let it go in surprise! It ran straight up the nearest tree.

Children chasing pigeons is different as children can understand, empathise etc. Dogs can’t.

They’re vermin and an alien destructive species so I can’t get too worked up about it. Our cats used to catch them sometimes and bring them back alive, an angry and frightened squirrel is terrifying. Good luck to the dog.

how do you know squirrels dont expect to be chased? isn't that how they are wired? animals.....foxes etc chase them....oh,and dogs

whats your problem with it? because you think it causes distress to a squirrel or because you dont want your kids to see it?

I once saw a dog catch one and tear it to shreds. I appreciate it's instinct (I have a spaniel so I do get it) but it was honestly horrific and the owner had literally zero control over their dog.

I avoid my dogs chasing them as they are inclined to injure themselves in the process (typically on branches and brambles, if they get a squirrel they don't piss about)..

I think if a squirrel can't outwit a dog, it isn't very good at squirrelling, they don't have many natural predators as adults because they are vicious wee sods (baby squirrels do have many natural predators) and so not a lot bothers taking them on, there being easier, less spicy prey to be had... so I am not that fussed.

Remember that a prey species like a squirrel lives its life assessing danger and taking risks, how THEY feel about the proximity of a potential predator is nowhere NEAR how you would feel - they are adapted for that, whereas the fear and shock you would experience would be debilitating!

As my username suggests, I’m on the side of let the dog at it.

if a squirrel can't outwit a dog, it isn't very good at squirrelling

My dog watches the reds in my garden, same way he watches the birds but goes into stealth hunt mode when he sees a stoat or pheasant. Circle of life I guess.

My dog "chases" squirrels in the sense that a squirrel runs past her up a tree and smells it and runs to the bottom of the tree. Every so often she manages to actually see the squirrel in the tree. So I don't stop her. Because I don't think the squirrel even cares about her existence. If she was actually chasing them and they were running away from her I wouldn't allow it. Wild animals aren't toys.

Squirrels are prey. They can be chased by any predator including, but not limited to, dogs. Dogs are predators and will chase prey. Foxes are also predators and will seek out prey - chickens, squirrels, rabbits. When a dog, especially if it has a high prey drive, sees prey even with the most well trained dog their instinct could still take over and chase the prey. If you think prey animals being chased is mean, then we should probably also look at culling all foxes, all birds of prey.

By the way, I have my dogs on lead more than the average person. I don’t believe dogs should have free roam, especially if there’s livestock or ground nesting birds. I will ask walk them on lead if I’m unfamiliar with the area and what other animals might be present. If I saw a prey animal and my dogs were off lead, I would call them back and put them on their lead. However, dogs have better hearing and a better sense of smell so it’s likely they’ll spot the prey before I do. My dogs are trained to a high standard and I might even manage to get them stop chasing prey. But predators are going to chase prey.

My cats stalk birds up trees should I stop them too? In fairness the birds take the piss out of them especially the magpies and cats are more in danger of falling out of the tree than the birds are of being caught. My dog also chases my cats and the cats chase each other.

Mine sees a squirrel up a tree, gets very excited and runs off in the other direction

That's nature. A domesticated dog still has quite a few instincts in common with wild animals.

I wouldn't want my dog doing that, for a variety of reasons, but if a dog is an a place where it's allowed to be off-lead, you can't really stop it from chasing squirrels (assuming it has a high prey drive).

A dog chasing a squirrel is no worse than a cat chasing (and catching) a mouse or a bird.

Every day squirrels eat some of the bird food in our garden. I let the dog out of the back door to chase them but only after making lots of noise so that they have time to get to safety. He enjoys the excitement and they are usually back within an hour. Once he got very close but stopped so that it could get away. It means that the birds get to eat the food.

My dog chases squirrels and I have no issue with it, she's never going to catch one unless it's a stupid squirrel. Would you have the same issues about chasing rats?

Squirrels are rarely caught by dogs. Do you have issues with cats regularly catching wild birds and mice? Usually injuring them to play with?

There is a fat grumpy git of a squirrel (the swearing he does from the tree behind my yard is atrocious!) that lives here who has twice been just cm from death at the jaws of one of our dogs, and many times has sat a few feet away up our bird feeder, hurling abuse and bits of seed husk...

If being chased scared him to death, he'd stop coming here (and yes I know its the same squirrel, he has half an ear missing from I assume, an argument with another squirrel) - I have seen him flick his tail and growl at the sparrowhawk that regularly visits!

If dogs can't be kept under control they should be on short leads.

However, if I see a dog or cat longingly looking at a squirrel I just think "dream on". They've no chance of catching one, squirrels are far too fast and agile. And they might even take a small dog on.

But it's not a nice thing to let your dog do. Ditto to let your child chase pigeons (my ds used to do it and I used to get really cross with him).

yanbu
it's nesting season anyway and dogs need to be on lead right now unless in specifically allowed areas to protect nesting birds and other animals.