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.

All dogs? Every single one

Every single one.

That's my dogs dream... even when one fell out of a tree she just sniffed it and went onwards looking for squirrels 🐿
😂

@JellyBabiesFan

All dogs? Every single one

Every single one.

Wow. You must have been busy meeting all the dogs to have a feeling as strong as hate for them. All the guide dogs and sniffer dogs too?

Have you ever got up close and personal with a squirrel? I’m betting on the squirrel for the win! Have you seen their claws?

Again, chasing squirrels is not equivalent to attacking livestock.

Those saying we should train our dogs out of a natural behaviour, would you ban cat ownership? Cats kill small mammals and birds very frequently and successfully as opposed to dogs. You can't stop a cat killing birds, so should they all be locked inside?

Are people really surprised that a carnivorous animal has carnivorous instincts. Domesticating animals full stop is morally wrong.

A few squirrels getting chased up trees is the very thin edge of that wedge.

Ddog chases mice (caught one of many) and squirrels in local park (caught none). Has tried to chase next door's cat (cat hisses and Ddog cowers).

I don't think she is about to become dangerous to children - or squirrels

Another dog owner has a greyhound that has caught squirrels and now muzzles it. Which I think is right. But chasing? Non event

I love my dog and I would never let him terrorise and attack a squirrel. I have seen them torn apart by dogs while the owner does nothing. I trained my dog, so I don’t believe you can’t stop them.

I have a beagle. How do you propose you train a hunting hound not to hunt?

My brothers dog got one - it killed it.

@SkedaddIe

Are people really surprised that a carnivorous animal has carnivorous instincts. Domesticating animals full stop is morally wrong.

A few squirrels getting chased up trees is the very thin edge of that wedge.

Think about living near a pack of undomesticated, wild dogs. Would it be pleasant? Would the dogs be as happy as pet dogs? Have you much experience of genuinely wild dogs? They would be getting run over on the roads, seen as a menace. Think about never putting a lead on a dog,, never any commands, unless you live miles from a road, it won’t be pretty. The squirrels I have seen killed are not just chased up trees, they are ripped apart. You can hear them scream. Even if just scared, they become disorientated and they abandon their dreys and the baby’s die a slow cruel death.Also, as I said your dog can die from diseases carried by the squirrel and can receive serious injury. . Humans cannot catch these diseases. It’s about protecting the dog. Would you let your dog run wild and be hit by a car? If we left dogs to live in the wild and never used a lead or commands, this would happen non stop. That’s morally wrong in my book. I volunteer for an animal charity and these animals benefit hugely by being domesticated. The sheep we rescue are constantly harassed by the same bad owners dogs. A dog with a strong prey instinct sees absolutely no difference between a lamb and a rodent or a pet cat. It’s the owners responsibility to train their dog. As to the idea that training dogs is morally wrong, have you visited a country where the dogs are left to be wild? Dogs enjoy human companionship, and being domesticated as they have done for thousands of years. They are intelligent and hugely enjoy being trained. They become bored otherwise.

I have a beagle too! I refer you to the two posts where I put links which tell you, in great detail, how to train a dog with a strong prey hunting instinct. This is your responsibility. Educate yourself.

I have a basset and there's no way I would train her to not have a hunting instinct, to me that is quite cruel to force a dog to act against its natural instincts and what it's been bred to do.

That doesn't mean she isn't well trained, and it's completely different to dogs that attack livestock.

She's never killed anything in her life, as opposed to cats that kill and injure wild birds and mammals. Do we harass cat owners the same way dog owners get treated? Should we force all cats to stay indoors so they can't be natural predators?

The squirrels we encounter are not scared in the slightest, they seem to get great enjoyment from mocking and taunting my dog. They regularly sit on a branch just to annoy her.

They are vermin and an invasive species that cause damage.

@Kerravon34 what on earth are you talking about? Your post is a long strawman argument. The wild dogs you described are essentially abandoned and neglected domesticated animals, 'real wild dogs' are still called wolves. And there are plenty of species of other undomesticated Canis which are happy in the wild such as jackals and coyotes. And what's telling is that those animals mostly avoid humans.... Foxes, rats, and pigeons are animals that actually like to share our habitats with us.

And you topped it off with the classic 'other countries' comment. Lol... ofc... why not throw in a bit of hand wringing xenophobia to top off the self righteousness.

I think people keep pets because they're unwilling or incapable of interacting with other humans or the wilderness. Yes we've done it for thousands of years but that doesn't magically make it 'right'

I eat meat so I'm far from perfect, but I'd never do the mental gymnastics of pretending a chicken had a better life to make me feel better about it being on my plate. It tastes good and that is all.

People don't keep pets for the good of the animals and 'nature' we do it for the good of people and that is all.

@Kerravon34

I have a beagle too! I refer you to the two posts where I put links which tell you, in great detail, how to train a dog with a strong prey hunting instinct. This is your responsibility. Educate yourself.

But why would you get a beagle and then train it not to do what it's been bred for thousand of years do so?

It seems utterly ridiculous to me

What is it with MN and people expecting dogs to be like robots? It’s an animal, it can be trained, but you cannot completely eradicate all of its natural instincts or restrict its behaviour (never allowing them off lead presumably even in your back garden) to prevent this ever happening. To try and do so would be cruel.

Lots of beef on this squirrel thread.

I’m mostly amused by the poster who thinks every single mumsnetter lives on the English coastal path. Stopped reading about p.4.

My dog (also a lurcher) caught a squirrel once, to my horror. I don’t like them chasing anything because the prey drive isn’t great to encourage. Anyway, the squirrel squeaked, and my dog seemed to get a sudden flash of empathy and dropped it gently. She still chases them but never seriously. It looks more like mutual banter, tbh.

I saw a dog catch and kill one too - owner wasn't bothered in the slightest

My old dog used to chase squirrels but she wasn't very fast so it didn't worry me. I now have a greyhound and if she saw a squirrel when off lead she would stand a good chance of catching it! This is one reason I don't let her off lead at parks.

I have yet to see any threads that harass cat owners in the same way as dog owners. If people have an issue with animals being killed why isn't the hate being directed there? Or is it ok for cat owners to allow their pets to regularly (and successfully) hunt wildlife?

@Stellaris22

I have yet to see any threads that harass cat owners in the same way as dog owners. If people have an issue with animals being killed why isn't the hate being directed there? Or is it ok for cat owners to allow their pets to regularly (and successfully) hunt wildlife?

You are kidding? Have you never seen a cat shit thread? Most dog bashing threads turn into 'but cats though' as well!

@IDreamOfLogCabins

I saw a dog catch and kill one too - owner wasn't bothered in the slightest

Why would you want the owner to be bothered? Dogs are prey animals - it's normal.

You don't see this level of hysteria emotion around cats who kill birds and mice for fun.

the squirrel runs up a tree!
game over

I’ve owned male cats who were incapable of catching anything. My dog wasn’t bothered about squirrels. However we need a cull of squirrels. Sadly most people don’t understand how to protect our broadleaved woodlands. They are damaged by an over population of squirrels. So there has to be action. Most dogs are fine.