Killed squirrel

[Agutka]

Walking my dog in the park she found herself a toy and was throwing it about:embarasse . Turned out if was a squirrel with a broken back, who couldn't run away. I was sooo upset. Took dog home immediately to get my car a a few bits and pieces. Called hubby to get advice - he called RSPCA. Take squirrel to vets who have a responsibility to look after it. Took me ages to get the poor thing in the box, as I was scared of the sharp teeth and claws. The poor thing had such a cute face and was fully operational from the waist up. And in lots of pain as it squeaked every time it moved. I left it at the vets who said they would put it down.

:cry:

I am angry at my dog. She didn't bite down on it, but must have caused this creature so much pain. She can walk herself in the future.
Through my tears I have explained to her (hey it might get through) that as much fun as chasing things is, there is a danger somebody might get hurt and that is bad. And that the squirrel will now be put down.

What a day.

[Murtle]

But if the animal already had a broken back, maybe your doggie did the nicest thing in bringing it to your attention so it could be helped to sleepy land humanely rather then a gruesome death of starvation or worse if some nasty kids got hold of it (you get the idea). Big hugs as it's a horrible thing, my cats bring me mice and I tell them endless times I don't want them, they now bring them for OH. :(

[Agutka]

I am praying that it was already hurt - she hasn't managed to catch a squirrel yet. But she may have been the cause of it falling out of the tree. And for that I am not talking to her. She's such a happy puppy and was so excited to show me what she found, but if she's a killer then we are bad dog owners and ashamed.

And I cannot imagine the horror of being 'brought' things by a cat. Nice.

Thank you for your kind words Murtle.

[patchwork cat]

It is instinct. Chances are that that squirrel wasn't well when the dog found it as it would have shined up a tree.

As a cat owner this is a fact of life and yes we have had a dead squirrel. It is no consolation, but some people consider squirrels to be vermin.

Your dog is not a killer just behaving as nature intended. I know some owners won't give their dogs squeaky toys as they say that it encourages them - I just think it is nature.

[suffolkb]

Our dog used to love chasing squirrels.He could never figure out where they went and would run round and round the tree.He did bring back a baby rabbit once.I made him drop it and it sprinted off.Hope it found it`s way home.

[bluezone]

I give my parents dogs squeeky toys as its the only hng they can catch and it stops them taking cuddly toys or my shoes into the garden and chewing them ! :rolleyes: Although the eldest one is scared of the squeek so I have to remove it - it sounds daft as she is a dobermann!! :rolleyes:

[*zippy*]

I got home from work Tuesday to find our garden covered in feathers and our dogs eating the few remains of one of our chickens, it was so upsetting, it was my DD's favourite, as horrible as it was, its natural to them. I did the talking thing to them too, they did at least look sorry.

[Mrs pbradley936]

You have just found out that animals do not have human qualities. I expect that you are disappointed with your dog but don’t be she has done nothing “wrong”. It is not wrong for a dog to behave like a dog. People often think that cats are cruel when they play with a mouse or bird instead of killing it quickly. It is instinct, when an adult cat is teaching its young to hunt they maim the prey first so that the youngster can finish the job. If they did not do that the prey would escape, no lessons would be learned and the next generation would starve.

[Mrs pbradley936]

The cat bringing in mice or birds is sharing with you!

[lynseyf]

She would never have causght it if it was ok, trust me my dog has tried oftern enough!

You can't blame your dog for acting like a dog, she is an ANIMAL, not a human, no matter how domesticated they are now. It really isn't fair to give her a row for this, if she starts chasing them in the future then tell her to stop.

[*zippy*]

Explaining is not the same as giving a dog a row, I certainly didn't and I got the impression the op didn't either. To a dog its plain and simple its food.

[Agutka]

Zippy, I'm sorry about your chicken. Can't blame that one on heights or accidents. Bad dogs! They do the looking sorry thing so well though don't they? Already today she was sorry she jumped on the sofa, sorry she took and devoured yoghurt raisins off the table... now she's all flat and not eating her dinner. Must watch she didn't catch any disease off the rat.
I'm still unsure my dog could kill anything, unless accidentally. There was no blood on the squirrel. We learn. Our cute puppies can be anything but.

Anyway, there are plenty of squirrels in the woods and at this time of year she wasn't looking after anything smaller. And I don't mind wildlife dying, as that is part if life, the cycle of things. But neither I or my dog are part of that cycle, so it was upsetting to get involved. I can still see its cute face, chest breathing and hind legs sprawled and unmoving. And the squeaking. Poor poor thing. Nothing should have to suffer.
Just the image of it frolicking, collecting nuts or whatever they do one minute and the next she falls out of a tree, gets thrown about by a giant dog and an even bigger creature puts it in a scary box. Just makes me cry. I hope they did the do quickly at the vets.

[Agutka]

I was so horrified of what I saw, the only punishment she got was being taken home after a 5 minute walk. And then I was upset, and she can sense it, which is why she's all flat. Unless she's ill.

How do you row with a dog?

[Dibdab]

First things first...

... Raisins are poisonous to dogs - might be why she's not eating her dinner - how many did she eat? Might be worth giving your vet a quick call to check what the symptoms are and whether you should take her in for a quick once over?

As others have said, your dog just did what came naturally and some dogs have a much higher prey instinct than others. Our dog was handed into rescue because he caught and killed a wild rabbit - he has terrier in him (as well as about 10 other breeds!) Whilst it may have upset the previous owners their loss is our gain, as he is a super dog (who has not killed anything in the 5 years since we've had him).

If this really bothers you, make sure you concentrate training on the "drop" or "leave" command. Lots of praise and rewards when she drops a soft toy or ball on your instruction. It might buy a squirrel a couple of valuable seconds to escape if your dog gets hold of another one in future.

You did what you could for the squirrel and that's a lot more than some people would have bothered to do, so don't feel too bad.

[bulchy]

First things first...

... Raisins are poisonous to dogs - might be why she's not eating her dinner - how many did she eat? Might be worth giving your vet a quick call to check what the symptoms are and whether you should take her in for a quick once over?

As others have said, your dog just did what came naturally and some dogs have a much higher prey instinct than others. Our dog was handed into rescue because he caught and killed a wild rabbit - he has terrier in him (as well as about 10 other breeds!) Whilst it may have upset the previous owners their loss is our gain, as he is a super dog (who has not killed anything in the 5 years since we've had him).

If this really bothers you, make sure you concentrate training on the "drop" or "leave" command. Lots of praise and rewards when she drops a soft toy or ball on your instruction. It might buy a squirrel a couple of valuable seconds to escape if your dog gets hold of another one in future.

You did what you could for the squirrel and that's a lot more than some people would have bothered to do, so don't feel too bad.



What about squirrels? Can a dog catch anything from them? I'm sure I read somewhere that they can, might be worth mentioning this to the vet too.
Your dog has done nothing wrong, like a few others have said its just instinct, all part of the fun of owning dogs. My weimy decided to catch a rabbit once when we were walking him with our friends kids, they were only 5 & 7 at the time, I was horrified that the kids had to witness this, and tried to protect them from it, but the kids thought it was great (they also own a gundog so I suppose they're used to it), and proceded to tell everyone we met that Thunder killed a rabbit, the only thing was we were on a campsite at the time, and I was terrified that we would get thrown off, but we managed to keep the kids quiet.
Sue

[betterbargains4u]

Please don't blame your poor little doggy!!
Mine tries all the time to catch the squirrels in the garden.....they are far too quick.
It must have been hurt to begin with..so don't feel badly. You also did not leave it to die a slow, painful death...so pat yourself on the back.
Lots of people would not have gone to the trouble that you did...and they would have just left it to die.
Dogs do play with hurt animals...it is just in their genetic make up. Give her a kiss and cuddle...and keep an eye on her next time you go walkies.

[Penny Watcher]

Please don't blame your poor little doggy!!
Mine tries all the time to catch the squirrels in the garden.....they are far too quick.
It must have been hurt to begin with..so don't feel badly. You also did not leave it to die a slow, painful death...so pat yourself on the back.
Lots of people would not have gone to the trouble that you did...and they would have just left it to die.
Dogs do play with hurt animals...it is just in their genetic make up. Give her a kiss and cuddle...and keep an eye on her next time you go walkies.


Well said betterbargains4u.



Don't beat yourself up Agutka - you went the extra mile to help. The vast, VAST majority of people would have left the squirrel to die or worse be attacked by crows before it had died. You did a good thing hun (((hugs))) Well done.

[Agutka]

Called the vet - they had put her down. Broken back, no sign of any mauling, so not her fault. I guess. Anyway, she's perked up now that 'daddy is home and ready to play. Whined for her food too, so now she's back to normal.
Thanks everyone.
And she loves raisins! Whoopsie.

[naughty_10382]

I think the poor thing was already injured - as others have said, my dog also tries to catch the squirrel we have in our garden - she's been trying for years (possibly a different squirrel :rotfl:) and has never succeeded.

[susi]

I walk in the woods every day with my two dogs, have done for the past 8 years, lots of squirels there, mine have never managed to catch one yet (not for the want of trying!!!) This squirel definately must have had something wrong to start with or it would have easily got away. I wouldnt keep repremanding your dog as by now she will have forgotten and wont have any idea why she is being told off.