# Is squirrel chasing OK?



## lancestar2 (Jan 19, 2013)

my local park is pretty big and in an urban city, there is a huge squirrel overpopulation mostly because there are TONS of people feeding them and other wildlife So much so it's not uncommon to see a pile of food like chips, or bread crumbs next to trees throughout the park. 

I personally can't stand it! I it's illegal for people to feed the ducks and other animals but squirrel there is NO law or ordinance against it, however it states the city will ask you to stop feeding them if they happen to see you. As a result the squirrels will walk right up to you thinking you might give food about 3-4 feet away.

My chi LOVES to chase them! I have her on a 8ft. leash which is permitted and she is pretty good at it. There were a few times now that she almost caught one!! I had to slow her down a bit to make sure she didn't catch them. I wouldn't want her to bite them or her get bit herself risking diseases or what.

Recently one of these animal feeders approached me angrily yelling at me and threatening to kill my dog if she caught one. Yet, she never caught them before. She LOVES to chase them and has so much fun doing it so I don't see much of a problem. She always leaves the ducks and geese alone but just the Squirrel she chasses. Plus it's not like they don't seem to enjoy it they will sometimes follow us around the park too. Hoping tree to tree after us for a bit.

I'm a bit shaken up about the ordeal, and I don't think there is to much harm in her chasing squirrels is there? She is not interested in much else and I don't mind her being a dog, because that makes her happy and tires her out which makes me happy to see.

I guess I could try to discourage the behavior a bit but I figured she is doing a service to the local community making squirrels more fearful again so they don't come running up to people as much. Many tourists to the area always say they are kinda surprised about the behavior of the squirrels in the park. They do bite people but that's usually only cause they are feeding them.

What are your thoughts? Was this guy out of line or was I? I will say when I first saw him he was surrounded by a huge flock of ducks as he was clearly feeding them which is against the law to feed ducks (but not against the law for squirrels) I was checking local laws and I don't want to get in trouble and risk my chi being taken away.

I was very careful to try to keep Vida calm around him so as to not scare away his duck flock, as I figured that would be very rude of me and Vida. :laughing5:

I personally hate these people cause they cause the overpopulation and dangerous conditions in the park plus they leave so much crappy food that Vida will sometimes try to eat which is hard to make sure she does not get to it... I do have a bias so I easily dismiss what he says but do you think he has a point?

What is your opinion? Thanks for your time and comment and suggestion!


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## elaina (Jul 1, 2008)

I have a fenced in backyard and we have lots of squirrels in our neighborhood. some live right in the back of my yard in a hollowed out tree. Minnie and Tootsie love to chase them ! they never can catch them though. 

I think you should keep letting your dog chase the squirrels and ignore that person.


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## Dorothy's Mom (Apr 8, 2015)

Meh, dogs are animals, as are squirrels. It is a dog's nature to chase (and kill, if given the chance) a squirrel or a rabbit or a chipmunk. Just like it's many humans' nature to want to molly-coddle the local wildlife and feed them, thus making them dependent.

Just ignore and move on.


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## Skippy (Mar 24, 2015)

I'm pretty sure that a chi couldn't actually catch a squirrel. I wouldn't want my dogs catching or being around them though because I worry about what diseases they are carrying.


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## Zoey's PawPaw (May 14, 2020)

Our Zoey has caught a squirrel, gave it a bit of a shock but I intervened and it got away. Now she's obsessed with going out in the backyard. Chi's loving chasing them.


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## CuddlesMom (Feb 22, 2014)

Cuddles once caught a baby rabbit but had no idea what to do with it. So she just let the poor thing go after she got yelled at (my mother was watching her at the time).


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## Tracygeorge1966 (Apr 13, 2020)

lancestar2 said:


> my local park is pretty big and in an urban city, there is a huge squirrel overpopulation mostly because there are TONS of people feeding them and other wildlife So much so it's not uncommon to see a pile of food like chips, or bread crumbs next to trees throughout the park.
> 
> I personally can't stand it! I it's illegal for people to feed the ducks and other animals but squirrel there is NO law or ordinance against it, however it states the city will ask you to stop feeding them if they happen to see you. As a result the squirrels will walk right up to you thinking you might give food about 3-4 feet away.
> 
> ...


My little Chi Katie loves to chase the squirrels!!! She has never caught one of course, but likes to chase them anyway. I don’t see any harm in it, and I think the guy was out of line threatening you like he did!
I do “speak” to Katie about not chasing them,and sometimes they just look at her knowing she can’t get them! HAHA


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