Have you seen your dog following a squirrel that jumps up a tree – and the squirrel begins to yell or throws sticks at your dog?
The squirrel is clearly doing more than scurrying for its life, but do squirrels mess with dogs?
Yes, squirrels do mess with dogs. Once they flee to a place the dog can’t reach, they make noise, throw things, or even mess with your dog by going back down the tree just out of reach of the dog!
Why Do Squirrels Tease Dogs
What would lead a creature this small to tease a much larger predator? Well, there are many reasons. The majority of them are ultimately similar to the children’s game of teasing one another.
Fun
The main reason squirrels harass dogs is for amusement.
Because squirrels are naturally inquisitive animals, they like to investigate anything new in their territory. When the squirrel detects the presence of a dog, it perceives a new addition to its environment.
As the squirrel observes the dog chasing it, the squirrel becomes excited as it now has a new “toy” to play with.
As the dog gets closer to catching it or cornering it, the squirrel’s amusement increases.
The “game” ends when the dog quits chasing it.
The squirrel won’t allow a dog to attach itself to it, so it goes up a tree or into a tree hole. Once it has safely situated itself, it will tease the dog again by making noises or throwing sticks or pine cones at it.
Protecting Their Territory
One more reason squirrels will tease dogs is to protect their territory.
If a dog is chasing after a squirrel in your yard, the squirrel will likely consider your dog an intruder into its area, even though it is also “intruding” by being outside.
Your dog might also appear to threaten other squirrels, or other small creatures that might be within its range.
On occasions when a squirrel senses its territory is about to be violated, it might tease the dog to encourage it to leave.
To Protect Themselves
The third reason that squirrels taunt dogs is because they are just trying to get away.
If a squirrel is being chased by a dog, it will try to reach the closest tree to climb up as quickly as possible before any real danger can befall it.
Once safely perched on the limb of the tree, the last thing a squirrel would want to deal with is being caught by its new “enemy.” So, it may start “throwing” sticks and nuts at your dog in an effort to drive it off so that it can get away safely.
Once a squirrel has climbed up one of the trees, there is no way for dogs to catch up with their prey.
Before too long, the dog usually gives up and goes back home.
Is It Safe To Let Dogs Chase Squirrels
While letting your dog chase a squirrel in your backyard might seem risky, is it? The answer depends on whose safety you are questioning.
Squirrel’s Safety
Squirrels are small prey animals. They are fast animals, but they do not have much in the way of bodily defenses, such as quills like a porcupine or spray like a skunk to deter predators.
If you are going to let your dog chase a squirrel, the chances are that the squirrel will get away and make it to a tree, or a fence your dog cannot jump over to get to.
If the squirrel can’t make it to safety, it is possible your dog will catch the squirrel. Even a very passive dog has very strong hunting instincts and may kill the squirrel.
Even by accident, your dog has a very strong jaw that could harm a squirrel.
Dog’s Safety
While a dog chasing squirrels is usually a pretty low-risk endeavor – squirrels aren’t the ones being chased and running for safety is not life or death for the squirrel – there can be some injuries for the chasing dog:
- sprains
- lacerations from running through thorny shrubbery
- head bumps from running into a tree without stopping
Squirrels do not have the strength to throw a stick, acorn, or pinecone with enough velocity to really hurt a chasing dog.
How To Stop Dogs From Being Teased By Squirrels
If you want to stop your dog from chasing squirrels, there are a few things you can do to either divert your dog’s attention or keep them away from squirrels.
Consider Giving an Alternate Toy: If your dog enjoys running after smaller animals (including squirrels), you can give your dog a toy they can instead chase after. Tennis balls are a popular toy that dogs enjoy.
Keep The Dog Inside: Keeping your dog inside will for sure limit their desire to chase after small animals, and squirrels.
Keeping A Dog On-Leash: When it comes to not letting your dog chase squirrels in your yard, you can always keep your dog on a leash to stop them from being able to chase the squirrels. When it comes to a leash, you have some options; traditional leashes that you hold onto, or stakeable leashes, and there are even leashes that have tracks to give dogs a little more mobility within the yard.
Build A Fence: If you have a big backyard, take the time to build a fence to keep your dog on one side of the backyard, away from the smaller animals, including squirrels.
If you follow through with these suggestions, you will be able to stop your dog from chasing squirrels and allow them to play safely, effectively.
Final Thoughts
You have read everything there is to know about what makes squirrels tease dogs, the dangers it can pose, and how to stop it.
We hope this helps your furry friend from going mad the next time a pesky squirrel comes traipsing around.
If all else fails, let your dog bark up the wrong tree and enjoy the rat-a-tat-tat that squirrel is going to make as it tries to warn the dog, and enjoy getting a flooded shower of acorns.