[w8ing4rain]

There is a squirrel that has been coming up to the glass sliding door, putting his little nose against the glass and chattering at Dixie. Dixie really wants the pesky thing. I have avoided letting her out to go after it but the squirrel is relentless. I think I am afraid she will actually catch it. Then what? What are the odds that a determined, prey driven 11lb terrier could actually catch a squirrel? Should I let her chase it?

 

[Rescued]

Our dog (50 lb black and white mutt in my signature) actually did manage to catch one once. we yelled at him to drop it, he did, and the squirrel played dead for a few seconds and then ran off unharmed. No lasting damage to either, but it happened on accident and i'm not sure I would ever give him a better chance of catching one again mainly because I don't know what kinds of diseases a squirrel could give him.

He was extra proud of himself though..."wow. thanks toby, a whole limp squirrel for ME?!"

 

[3doglady]

Odds are pretty good actually. Terriers are bred to go after small critters, but squirrels are pretty fast. We have squirrels all over our year. Mine killed one every once in a while, maybe 1 a year, or two. IMO, I'd let her have some fun, but that's just me.

 

[JohnnyBandit]

There is a squirrel that has been coming up to the glass sliding door, putting his little nose against the glass and chattering at Dixie. Dixie really wants the pesky thing. I have avoided letting her out to go after it but the squirrel is relentless. I think I am afraid she will actually catch it. Then what? What are the odds that a determined, prey driven 11lb terrier could actually catch a squirrel? Should I let her chase it?

Odds are good...

My dogs catch squirrels often.

 

[Fuzzy Pants]

My sister's dachshund mix would rip moles right out of the ground when they were running around in their tunnels near the surface in our yard.

 

[luv mi pets]

In the 15 years of living here only have seen one squirrel in my yard. The blackbirds chased it out of my yard. So I don't think my dogs have ever seen a squirrel.

A couple of times of letting your dog chase the squirrel will keep that critter away from your doors.

 

[melundie]

We had a squirrel in our yard a couple years ago that we oh-so-fondly named Wally. I think he must have fallen out of the nest a few too many times. On his head. He was WACKO. He'd jump on the sliding screen door and run up and down it. He'd also do somersaults in the yard. In retrospect, I really wish I would have gotten video of his insanity. My parents' dog used to chase him, but I think he just liked the chase because I'm sure if he wanted to he could have (he would have caught a fox once on a walk if my dad hadn't called him off). We also had chipmunks that would run up to the sliding door and peek in at the cat. Drove him nuts.

 

[hamandeggs]

My parents' bird dog catches a mouse or squirrel every so often. Their neighborhood is full of chipmunks, rabbits, mice, and squirrels. Not enough natural predators! Someone needs to get an outdoor cat or two around there. Anyway, he's 9 now and never been the worse for wear because of it.

 

[w8ing4rain]

I gave the squirrel a head start and let her go after it. She chased it up a tree. Silly dog had me up at 2:30 this morning. I thought she was sick or something but no, she just wanted to go outside and stare at the tree.