Squirrels

[NbyNW]

You gals aren't going to like this but....

Last summer my BF bought a small animal trap. He managed to catch a couple of squirrels with it and... well... took them out to the park next to our house with our dogs and turned them loose. One squirrel got away... but the other ended up as doggie dessert.

Yeah, I don't like this and I'll even go so far as to say I think it's a little sick.

I know that hunting is in their nature, but I also feel that's the difference between a wild animal and a pet.

Our dog has a strong prey instinct but we would NEVER encourage him to kill another animal.

Even hunting breeds are trained to stop at a certain point. Their job is to flush out prey or to locate it, not to make the kill.

[badger]

that's a good (and very important) point you bring up, NbyNW. It's one thing to have a dog that would chase small animals, but it's another to encourage it. Squirrels today, cats tomorrow, who knows what else after that if you don't stop that behaviour?

Very irresponsible.

[GLC1968]

that's a good (and very important) point you bring up, NbyNW. It's one thing to have a dog that would chase small animals, but it's another to encourage it. Squirrels today, cats tomorrow, who knows what else after that if you don't stop that behaviour?

Very irresponsible.

Chickens or livestock tomorrow. I hate this. Soooo many country folk encourage their dogs to kill small game and to a dog, small game also includes the neighbors' livestock. I can't tell you how many times we've had to beat our neighbors' jack russell off our chickens. One of our girls finally died due to complications from her dog fight injuiries, too.

Honestly, even cats that kill small game are better. At least they are somewhat selective and won't go after an animal that is bigger than it. Dogs have no concept of size, so no animal is safe. (I know of people who lost full sized goats to neighborhood dogs, too - it was a horrible blood bath!)

[badger]

god, this whole thing makes me sick.

[Selkie]

Yeah, I don't like this and I'll even go so far as to say I think it's a little sick.

Exactly my first thought when I read it. More than a little sick, too.

[IFjane]

Chickens or livestock tomorrow. I hate this. ... (I know of people who lost full sized goats to neighborhood dogs, too - it was a horrible blood bath!)

Back in my equestrian days, we found one of our mares and her foal out in the pasture, covered with sweat. The foal had scratches on her back legs and we couldn't figure out what had happened. Later that afternoon my father found out; there he was, a neighbor's German Shepherd running that foal around the field, grabbing at it's back legs, trying to pull it down. The mare was running alongside but didn't know what to do to protect her baby except run. Dad intervened, called the neighbor and the dog eventually had to be put down because of its aggressive behavior. Horrid for the foal but thankfully she survived; horrid for the dog because it had been allowed to develop this behavior. Shame on the neighbor and shame on anyone who thinks teaching a dog to kill is a good thing.

[bmccasland]

Photos of my all-time favorite squirrel behavior: taunting hawks. There's nothing the hawk can do about it; they usually make a few threatening gestures, then fly away. Scroll down a couple of frames to see the brave squirrel.

Really cool photos! And the person who posted them had a sense of humor too. Love some of the captions!

[schnitzle]

Squirrels, love to hate them or hate to love them? They're so darned funny, but then also such a pain when they steal your just ripening strawberries, or dig up a tulip bulb take a bite and throw it aside! Someone in my neighborhood feeds them peanuts because I find a lot of rotten peanuts when I'm gardening XD I'd never kill one.

I've actually seen a rat in my bird feeder It must have crawled long the tree branch and down onto the feeder. We have a lot of ivy in our area, so I assume they live there. Not much I can do. Of course that was before I had dogs. Now the small creatures only venture into my yard early in the morning or at night after the noisy patrol are asleep :P I kind of miss the wildlife to be honest!