Dogs chasing squirrels

[Livpool]

Walking in the park today with DH and DS , saw 2 lots of dog owners cheering on their dogs chasing squirrels, obviously off lead. Like whooping and cheering - did they think anyone else wanted to see a wild animal potentially be ripped about by someone’s pet?!

I don’t have dogs as I am allergic but is this normal behaviour? Seems unnecessary cruel to the poor squirrel.

Only normal amongst idiots. Fortunately, dog owners that bad are in the minority. Usually it's the ones that are trying to call off a dog that hasn't been trained which is only marginally better.

very odd behaviour! I've never seen a dog even come close to catching one though. They are very fast and don't tend to stray far from a tree - in our area anyway.

Similar to parents looking on whilst their kids chase birds. Not normal or fun.

Why do you need to ask if it's normal behaviour though?

Or do you see it every time you go to the park?

It's awful, dreadful, nasty behaviour but you don't really have to ask if it's normal, surely?

Awful! My dog would chase every squirrel she claps eyes on if she could but I tell her no and put her back on her lead when we see one. It’s natural for dogs to want to chase them but definitely not ok for owners to cheer them on!!!

Literally never seen a dog catch a squirrel. Our elderly Schnauzer attempts to chase them but they are a million times faster and are practically laughing at her! To be honest she wouldn’t touch them anyway, she came across an injured rabbit one day, she didn’t lay a paw on it, just barked to let me know there was a problem.

Horribly cruel to encourage it. Nasty people.

The dogs are just running around having fun - they are extremely unlikely to catch one.

Also grey squirrels are a non-native invasive species. They shouldn’t be in the park either.

Well, I hunt with mine so of course he’s encouraged.

Grey squirrels are an invasive species. They are are killing off red squirrels who are native, smaller and gentler. Red squirrels are now endangered.
Added to which they cause extensive damage in woodland areas.

Theres not a lot that worriesgrey squirrels in urban areas but theres a whole lot of food and parkland for them. Hence their numbers that are huge and rising.
So a dog doing perfectly normal dog behaviour and chasing a squirrel isn’t an issue for me.

Are foxes allowed to chase other animals?

I'm a bit torn on this. Whilst I wouldn't want to see a dog catch and kill a squirrel, it is highly unlikely they would if they chase. Furthermore, dogs are literally the only animals that we restrict. Nobody bats an eyelid when a fox or a bird of prey kills. Cats murder millions of living things every year, (a far, far bigger issue than dogs/squirrels if we are focusing solely on domesticated animals). I wouldn't cheer but I also can't get worked up about it. It's nature.

Some of these replies are insane. Dogs chase smaller animals sometimes, many of them were literally bred to do this.
DDog occasionally runs after one, he has no hope of catching it and wouldn’t know what to do if he did. The squirrels in our local parks are totally tame and as bold as brass. They also have the advantage of being able to climb trees. I think they’re ok 🙄

I hate that and have never let my son do that

I have seen it quite a lot yes, maybe not cheering them off but laughing about it. While the poor squirrel is probably terrified.

There's your answer then.

Sadly in your area, it's normal behaviour.

Squirrels are incredible fast and will nip up a tree within milliseconds. Even our extremely fast lurcher has never caught one. Although he does always give a warning bark before leaping forward, so they get a head start. Then he stands at the bottom of the tree, barking as the squirrels run along branches, taunting him.

It's very rare for a squirrel to come to grief because a wild animal will usually have the measure of a pet but there are exceptions.

I was once in Hyde Park. The squirrels there are much larger than your average grey squirrel - twice the size of the scrawny, rat like specimens I see locally and their coats are glossy and luxuriant thanks to the tourists.

One of these pampered rodents was trying to break the first law of squirrelry by using a flock of pigeons to forage further away from its tree. If you are a grey squirrel, you have to stay within range of a tree. It's the law.

This one thought it was being smart, and that if the pigeons suddenly took flight, it knew it would need to return to the safety zone.

Unfortunately for this squirrel, a Jack Russell saw through the ruse and floored it, charging towards the pigeons and the blindsided squirrel.

When the pigeons took flight, the squirrel was caught offside - the dog blocking the path to safety and the Jack Russell made short work of it.

I didn't feel too sorry for it - they are rats with good PR.

To put a bit of context behind this...

Taken from the Guardian in 2022, 'It is estimated that UK cats kill 160 to 270 million animals annually, a quarter of them birds. The real figure is likely to be even higher, as the study used the 2011 pet cat population of 9.5 million; it is now closer to 12 million'.

Squirrels rarely get caught by dogs whereas cats are murdering hundreds of thousands every day. Perhaps you need to direct your anger at cat owners rather than dog people OP? @Livpool

I don’t have cats either - DH is allergic to them 😂😂

I haven’t ‘gone after’ cat owners because I have never seen a cat owner cheering and whooping while their cat chased another animal. If they do they are equally as odd. However, dogs can be on a lead on a park and I assume cats are usually out on their own. My mum used to have cats but they were indoor cats.

I have in fact seen a dog catch and kill a squirrel in a local park. It was a long time ago. Don't remember accurately if there were kids around but I think it's likely there were. There usually are in the park.

Some dogs have a high prey drive. This was a whippet or greyhound. They're both fast and with a high prey drive. I remember the man seemed to be encouraging it. I thought it totally horrible for the squirrel but also the other park users.

It's not on.

Accident is one thing. Encouraging it isn't right really. Most dogs won't manage to catch them though.

Literally never seen a dog catch a squirrel
Because they never do.

While the poor squirrel is probably terrified
You are associating human emotions to a non domesticated animal. It's actually a natural and needed instinct for squirrels to run from potential predators. They don't have the notion of being terrified.

My dog actually lost the instinct to chase them very early on because I feed them in the park and my dog got used to them as being of affection but ultimately, I don't think Squirrels are traumatised by being chased. They are much quicker and agile. Otherwise, they wouldn't come down when there are dogs around!

My ds when walking home from work through our local country park last week saw a greyhound with a squirrel in it's mouth. Sadly my friends dog ( cavachon ) has also caught one, so it does happen. I know my dog is too old and slow to catch one .

Not even my greyhound can catch a squirrel, they are nippy and always find a tree. They drive dogs nuts but the chances of catching one are low.

I would imagine any animal being chased by a predator would be scared. I didn’t even mind the dogs as much as the horrible owners. They were fucking horrible.