To tell couple off in park?

[TLOAS]

Walking through the park this morning. It’s a lovely park with lots of woodland but big open grass area in the centre and home to lots of wildlife. The squirrels were running round this morning when I see one couple stopped with their dog who was pulling on the lead while looking at a squirrel. The couple, fully aware of this, lean down and upclip the lead and dog pelts at the squirrel.

I shout over, I say shout but it was a little windy and about 20ft away, and say why would you do that? They asked do what so I said “why would you purposely take the dog off the lead knowing it was going to chase the squirrel?” They shouted back some nonsense about it only being a squirrel and that their dog is only small and to mind my own business.

WIBU to tell them that the size of their dog doesn’t entitle them to purposely release it on a squirrel and terrorise wildlife?

Allowing a dog to go free so it can chase a squirrel is really shitty and unnecessary though.

It’s one thing being chased by a natural predator which is just the food chain doing its thing. Quite another to be chased by some animal that humans have brought to their habitat, especially in OP’s description of events.

You think it’s acceptable to chase and terrorise wildlife then? Tiny little defenceless animals?

@TLOAS

I agree with you. It’s the mindset of the owner - “this is fun for my dog, let him torment a smaller animal” and fuck the squirrel.

And it’s the mindset of so many dog owners. Me and my dog come first and fuck everything and everyone else.
Whether they are shitting and the dog owner doesn’t pick it up, licking my son’s water bottle or running up to my son (when I want them to stay the fuck away), licking the fruit outside the local deli, pissing up the wall with oblivious owners who think their germ riddled mutt is ‘cute’.

Well indeed. But they're fucking idiotic humans. Who (should) know right from wrong.

Animals are acting on instinct and their natural prey drive.

Whilst I wouldn’t let my dog off to chase a squirrel I wouldn’t be bothered about it. They are difficult to catch, ditto rabbits, birds that are hanging around the back garden. Dog runs after things , they leg it / fly off. The only thing dog ever managed to catch is the odd shrew. There’s nothing wrong with her recall and would never chase sheep or the pet chickens or cats. It’s a normal instinct for dogs go chase after stuff.

Whilst I’m sure squirrel didn’t like it much they will have to leg it back up a tree multiple times a day. Dogs, foxes, people, cats then at night from owls. It’s what they do surely? If it never had to run off it’d get fat and lazy and eaten by something.

That’s fine. Just make sure they’re not off a lead in public places or where wild life is because otherwise you’d be committing an offence under the dangerous dog act. Find a field or designated area to let them run loose.

Parks are full of dogs and squirrels. Predators chase prey. It’s nature. Don’t worry though, most domestic dogs won’t ever catch a squirrel.

This.

OP, are you a highly sensitive city person?

It's a squirrel, it's good for it to train running away from something, to keep fit. Otherwise they end up lethargic and fat from acorns and rubbish human fast food left in the park bins and won't stand a chance when chased a roaming fox. See it as a free fitness session🐿

I hate it to break it to you but wildlife is.... wild.

So absolutely nowhere outdoors is exempt or "safe" from wildlife. We have a couple of private dog fields in our area - one which is on the edge of woodland - and there are lots of squirrels and birds there too.

My dog has caught and killed a rat while on a lead. Plus another in our own back garden. No one is sad about the rats. Squirrels are just rats with better PR.

Lol. It’s not an offence under any act for a dog to chase a squirrel.

Just out of genuine curiosity, do you think outdoor cats should be banned and people forced to keep them indoors? Because I'd wager cats are responsible for far, far more small fluffy animals being dead or terrified than dogs and yet you never see the same amount of vitriol towards cats being loose as you do dogs being off lead.

Yes totally acceptable.

Same with cats and mice. Our NDNs cat brings dead mice home weekly. But that's fine apparently.

Lol. Let us know how that's going.

Not even close to what OP said is it? I don’t understand how you can read the OP and think that’s even close to what she said.

I have a dog myself, does she sometimes spot something in the bushes try and chase? Yes. She gets recalled and comes back. I don’t just stand and watch her terrorise and distress other animals.

Do I have her on the lead, see her pulling to chase an animal and deliberately choose to let her off to chase and torment that other animal? No.

YANBU but fairly predictable that they told you to mind your own business. Many would have been much ruder so you got away quite lightly. Probably not worth bothering with in the future unless of course you don't mind getting a rude response.

If you want to do something beneficial go around telling people to pick up their litter. That harms squirrels more than a dog driven work out.

Sounds like every dog owner before they get prosecuted for having a dog out of control.

What on earth are you on about?!

We live in a rural village where probably 40-50% of houses have a dog. Most of these dogs are off lead daily and absolutely nobody has ever been prosecuted?! They don't prosecute dogs for chasing squirrels 😆

There's some difference though between having a dog off lead and it going for a squirrel and taking your dog deliberately off lead so it can chase a squirrel.

The second is arguably no better than a lot of hunting, where you are making a conscious decision to hunt one animal with another. It might even in a technical sense be classed as illegal, although I am not sure on this.

My dogs have eaten a couple of squirrels in their younger days and so have my cats. I eat meat. Should we all be prosecuted?

Grey squirrels are legally classified as vermin in the UK and if you catch one it is illegal to release it and it must be humanely killed.

Would you have intervened if it had been a rat?

Assholes!!!

All these idiots saying this dog was dangerously out of control and dogs shouldn't be in parks off lead. 🙄 Most dogs love chasing squirrels. Mine sure does but he has great recall and gets called back immediately and comes without fail. I would never ever let him off lead JUST to chase another animal. It's cruel and youre a good person for saying something.