Squirrels/Rabbits

[Laurena]

Heidi has suddenly taken a strong interest in small mammals . She was never one to chase squirrels or rabbits , she had always been slightly curious but never chased them . A few days ago we were walking on the trail , Heidi was off leash and spotted a squirrel and took off (it's astonishing how fast that little dog can move) . It happened so fast all I could manage to get out was this high pitch HEIDI !!! and she came running back to me but she had nearly caught the darn thing . So this morning we were at the dog park and again Heidi was off leash and spotted this wee little dwarf bunny in the field , I saw it too and told her to come but she didn't (she usually always comes) and took off after this rabbit . She chased it out of the park , across the street and around someones house then finally can back to me . I was very upset but praised her for returning and quickly put her back on the lead . She generally listens to me all the time but not today .

 

So why the sudden interest in squirrels and rabbits now ? She is 18 months old if that matters any .

 

I will be keeping her on leash on the trails from now on I guess but when we are at the dog park we are usually playing fetch (with is how she burns off a lot of her energy). At the time though we were not playing , when ever there is ball around she is so completely focused on it I don't think she would notice a hundred squirrels .

 

I honestly wouldn't care if she killed a squirrel/rabbit . We have such a large population of rabbits here (thank you very much bad pet owners that let your bunnies go) I am more concerned about her being injured by the animal and/or putting herself in danger of being bit by a car if she runs out on the street like she did today , which thankfully is not a busy road . So I guess she is on leash all the time unless we are playing ball/frisbee .

 

How can I teach her not to chase after them ?

 

[MrSnappy]

As the owner of two squirrel chasers and one squirrel killer, I empathize.

 

My border collies are very well trained. They will leave off a squirrel chase mid run if I tell them to, and that's what you need on your dog. The most useful command my dogs have is a lie down, wherever they are and whatever they are doing. If I holler "lie down" three furry bodies drop like sacks of potatoes, no matter what.

 

And then there is Woo.

 

Woo cannot be trusted to obey any command, much less a command issued in the middle of a good squirrel chase. But Woo is not a border collie. He's an Evil X Bad Dog. Woo has an E-Collar to prevent him from getting killed during squirrel season. There is no cookie, bribe, reward or lure more powerful than Potential Squirrel Death for Woo and my neighbor, who used to take my dogs out with his border collie a couple of times a week, will no longer do so because he doesn't want to have to come home and tell me Woo got smooshed by a car on their outing. And he still doesn't take them out, because NO ONE is operating an E-Collar on my dog except me. Woo has caught and killed many a squirrel. He can catch them on the ground, in the air and he can run straight up trees to get them there as well. If he put that speed to good use, he'd be a killer flyball dog. Alas, live squirrels are not allowed in flyball.

 

Anyway, Woo is that exception to the rule that dogs cannot be trained not to chase a squirrel. Although Red Dog has never chased a squirrel in his life. Piper and Tweed are both enthusiastic about it. However, along with the "lie down" command, we also have a "no stepping off the curb" rule. My dogs will throw themselves to the ground at a curb rather than step on a road, even in mid chase of anything. These two things combined mean they never endanger themselves while squirrel chasing.

 

With other squirrel chasing fosters I have put them on a long line and waited until they were in mid chase, and said "leave it" and then stomped on the long line. It brings them up real short, real fast. They soon learn that chasing squirrels is not worth getting whipped off their feet when they hit the end of that line and after a few times of that, a simple "leave it" stops them in their tracks. And there are many cookie rewards for dogs who obey a "leave it" command.

 

I suggest a long line for a while, at least until the squirrels piss off for the winter. You may have to retrain in the Spring.

 

This is Woo's life for all the Squirrel Months:

 

RDM

[Jack & Co.]

Whoooooweeeee! Look at THAT TAIL! Spectacular!

[Laurena]

Thank you very much RDM for the excellent advice .

[sandyleew]

Squirrels in Canada leave in the winter? I wish they did that here in Michigan. They are here year round terrorizing the dogs.

[Root Beer]

If I found myself in the same boat, I would probably keep the dog on leash at all times when out and about and train the heck out of recalls inside until it is beyond rock solid. Then I would move it outside, but work it on leash.

 

If she is ball motivated enough that she will stay focused on you whe you have the ball, that is a huge boon because you can use the ball as a reward for coming immediately when called outside.

 

One thing you can do at the park is to play with her for a while and then snap the leash on, and pretend not to pay attention to her. As soon as she starts to sniff, wander, whatever, you can call her back and when she recalls, immedately start up the game of ball again and then repeat that a few times. I'd keep the leash on at this point in case something too compelling catches her attention before you call her back. I would try to condition a solid recall to the ball game before trying the procedure off-leash.

 

In this case, I would probably train an emergency recall word from scratch, too.

 

Just some ideas. Hope it helps.

[PSmitty]

Alex would like to come take squirrel catching lessons from Woo, please. He caught a squirrel once, but it was already dead.

[Bo Peep]

Squirrels..........Hate them. Usher loves them. He only chases them in the back yard. When we go anyplace else, he's too preoccupied with other things more important than squirrels. Thank doG.

[MrSnappy]

Alex would like to come take squirrel catching lessons from Woo, please. He caught a squirrel once, but it was already dead.

 

Woo says he has also caught dead squirrels, but those are the ones The Food Lady hid under a pile of leaves after he killed them the day before. The Food Lady does not like to touch disgusting, disease-ridden, newly expired squirrels to put them in the garbage can.

 

Woo has several proven squirrel-killing methods. The best squirrels to kill are the ones in the local park, as they are stupider than the average squirrel, since there are always people and dogs around. The best way to catch these ones is to sneak up on them when they are foraging, which involves tip-toeing and then bursting into Mach mode. Or chasing them to a tree and giving a little ineffectual 'hop' at the bottom, as though you are not much of a jumper. The squirrel will then come part way down the trunk to taunt you, whereupon you shoot 6 feet in the air and snatch them off the tree. And of course, if you get a good running start, you can run at least 10 feet up a tree before gravity gets the better of you.

 

Honestly, ALL squirrels are very dumb. I know a woman who raises abandoned baby squirrels (possibly the orphaned offspring of the ones Woo has killed?) for wildlife rehab and she says they are very cute but dumb as a sack of hammers. Someone else was just talking about how she has a squirrel-feeder set up on a table outside her picture window so her (large) dogs have something to watch, and today a stupid squirrel tried to come in the dog door. Suicide Squirrel??

 

Sometimes a squirrel in the distance is really an abandoned Starbucks cup though. This is always very disappointing to Woo.

 

RDM

[Laurena]

Prior to today's little incident she had a rock solid recall , would stop on command (lie down) , knew never to go on the road and a multitude of other commands . She is so incredibly ball focused it's astonishing but I can throw a ball for her and yell STOP and she will lay down mid run and stay until I tell her to come or to go retrieve the ball . I was extremely confident in my dog I trusted her 100% but then she did this . I am not mad at her by any means just concerned about her well being .

 

We will be working on all those commands again and until I can trust her 100% she will be on leash from now on .

 

Thank you all for the great advice .

[BustopherJones]

Missy hates squirrels, and will try to kill them; it is astonishing how fast a 14-year-old dog with cancer and Cushings Disease can move when a squirrel is involved. Annie, on the other hand, tries to herd them; but then again, Annie also tries to herd cats and Blue Jays...

[MrSnappy]

Piper caught a squirrel once, but she is all prey drive, no follow through. She pinned it against a tree with her mouth wide open and her lips smooshed against the bark. Then she rolled her eyes back at me and whined for help. She wouldn't put any real pressure on the squirrel with her teeth. I just laughed at her and said "deal with it or let it go." She let it go.

 

This was pre-Woo. Woo would have lifted it off her for sure.

 

RDM

[DixiesDad]

Dixie has a medical problem, when Squirrel appears ears disconnect. Once at a State Park she caught my wife in midstride and the gentleman in the next campsite said Cheryl flew 15ft thru the air. I did teach her not to chase deer. I figure squirrel to the nearest tree, rabbit to the nearest hole, deer would be next county. Besides it can be very hazardous for a dog in my area.

[JohnLloydJones]

it's astonishing how fast that little dog can move

Yes, I know what you mean. Senneca's weakness is rabbits (there are no squirrels around our way). I have learned to be prepared when we are in rabbit territory; one moment she is quietly trotting along side me, the next she is in chase mode with after-burners ignited. Awesome sight if you are still on your feet to see it. As this is along side a railway line, she is always on a leash, but the first couple of times, she pulled the leash right ourt of my hand. Lesson learned -- fortunately without any harm done.

[donna frankland (uk)]

molly was a squirrel chaser, and would spend the entire time i was in the field doing chores with the sheep at the foot of a tree in a pose not unlike mr woo. except she would lie down and stare up!

none of mine at the moment even know what a squirrel is (saving for idiot dog's real name).

brighid is a true big game hunter, and is constantly hunting mice and voles you have seen the documentaries with the arctic fox pouncing on snow? thats brighid in the grass.

oooh oooh oooh her claim to fame? my girlie caught a partridge!!!!

i keep telling all the big burly lurcher and retriever men round here that there is no point owning anything but a bc cos they can do anything, now i have proof.

their dogs have to have a bird shot before they can catch it, but not my girlie

[Root Beer]

Sammie and Maddie are my hunters. We have a garden that has been overgrown with weeds for two summers now. One of these days I'm going to turn it back into lawn.

 

Anyway, sometimes Maddie jumps into it (the fence is only 2 feet high) and she flushes out rabbits. Sammie, at the ready as she does that, chases them across the lawn. Our yard is fenced, so once the rabbit goes under, that's the end of it.

 

Nobody taught them to do this. It's truly amazing to watch them work as a team like that.

 

Outside the yard, though, I can call Maddie off a chase. Sammie has to be leashed, though, 'cause I never have worked his recall like I should have.

[sweet_ceana]

Ceana loves squirrels!!!! Luckily there are not very many in Phoenix, but to this day if you even say the S word she will sprint to the window looking for a good chase. Once we moved out here and she did not have any fury targets her interest shifted to birds. She learned what the word bird means so now I have to yell "NO BIRD" to hault the chase. This is the only time that "leave it" is questionable. Maybe something about chasing is so much fun it needs its own command?

[Sasha's Mom]

Sasha and Nikolai (GSD) are my hunters. They often chase in a coordinated fashion, flanking each other to drive their prey where they want it, but I don't know where they learned that. Instinct? They've gotten a couple of squirrels and rabbits - and we have no more moles. I don't usually realize she's gotten a mole until I catch Sassy rolling on it. Yay. Ick. This is all in the backyard, and they are continually reminded that they can chase all the squirrels they want in the yard, but not while we are running for exercise.

 

Sometimes the other dogs bumble through Sasha's stalking - she usually sees things first, which is pretty funny. All 3 have great "leave it's" but I don't trust them off leash. When we run, I keep a sharp eye out... and if I miss it, their body language that they've seen something (Starbucks cups included) gives them away. Our squirrels are especially dumb, waiting until we are practically on top of them before bothering to scurry off.

[Beach BCs]

I've got a bunny killer. Georgia was a feral dog so I imagine they were frequently on the menu, along with big yucky bugs, frogs & lizards. I've gotten better at spotting the bunnies and she's gotten better at simply enjoying stalking them.

[Patty Abel]

Guess what Red Dog caught....

 

 

 

[ShoresDog]

Eeeeyuuu! How long before he was allowed to come into the house again? (took 5 days when my cat did this)

[MagicGirl]

Magic liked to chase anyting that moved. To break her of this ( and it is still a work in progress) I left her on the leash and started with the cat. When she saw the cat and started to pull away I would say " leave it" and make her sit and watch the cat till she calmed down, repeating leave it several times. Same at the park with the squirrels. I will ask her to sit and watch them play around, running from tree to tree, again says leave it till she looses interest. She is not 100% yet but I would say that 90% of the time (even off leash) she will stop if I say leave it. She may stare intensley for several minutes but she does leave them alone.

[Patty Abel]

Eeeeyuuu! How long before he was allowed to come into the house again? (took 5 days when my cat did this)

Red Dog was skunked five times last summer. Yah kinda get used to it. I did use the peroxide/baking soda/ dawn dish soap mix by the gallon. He'd usually be back in by the next day. It was sad that Bert got it too...he probably tried to kiss the skunk. The skunks have retreated to the outer regions of the farm, and they don't come out till the dogs go in.

[clara]

A good "drop it" command is very helpful for squirrel chaser/catcher/killers too. Both of mine love to chase the squirrels in my yard, but Bingo is the only one who is determined enough about it to catch anything. Once he caught one fair and square, and once one fell right out of a tree in front of him! PLOP! Both times Trevor was right there and popped out a sharp "drop it" and he spit them right out. I was amazed!

[MrSnappy]

Sasha and Nikolai (GSD) are my hunters. They often chase in a coordinated fashion, flanking each other to drive their prey where they want it, but I don't know where they learned that. Instinct? They've gotten a couple of squirrels and rabbits - and we have no more moles.

 

Ah moles. Are they very small? I had a foster dog named Shane, many years ago, and Shane used to be trotting along serenely with me in the woods and then dash off. He would come back with his mouth firmly shut and I would say "Shane, what do you have?" Shane would look at me with mouth still firmly clamped shut. 'Nothing Food Lady.' After a few moments of me asking him to please drop it, he would eventually pop a small furry dead thing out of his mouth. He never liked to show me what he had and if I didn't ask, he would carry it for miles without ever opening his mouth. Greedy little guy.

 

Patty, I am impressed with the skunk kill! Mine have all been taught that skunks are no-no to so much as acknowledge. My neighbor taught his border collie that skunks are BAD and now Merlin goes and hides when he sees a skunk

 

RDM