How do you react when your dog kills something?

Squirrels are vermine, sorry but I hate squirrels, cute they may look but they are a damn nuisance and carry germs as well as cause problems if they get into your home! It's instinct with animals anyhow they do kill! It's nature, although when our cats used to bring in frogs that upset me, am I prejudiced my friend? I would be heartbroken if a frog got killed by my pet but if it was a squirrel or a pigeon it wouldn't bother me in the slightest and I would praise them!

I think I would feel sorry for the squirrel a little. But hey, what can ya do? I wondered what my rat would do if we squirrel in the cage with him. xP The squirrel would probably kill him though. I also wondered if there was a spider in his cage what he would do. Maybe he would eat it. xP

You have to keep in mind that squirrels are extremely destructive. Plus, dogs are naturally hunters and will seek out prey. Even though we have a lot of different breeds of dogs they all come from dogs that were domesticated thousands of years ago. The instinct to hunt is still in their blood, so the squirrel was doomed from the start. I had two Rottweilers that loved to hunt ground squirrels and gophers. They would dig them out of their dens and in one bite the critter was gone. I didn't discourage it because it was something that they would do naturally. They never ate the prey, they would just kill and drop it. Make sure that if your dog gets another squirrel that he doesn't eat it! Also, the other responders are right, squirrels carry diseases. Make sure that your dog has his rabies shots! Yes, those cute little critters can carry rabies and other diseases. So, if he doesn't have current shots, make sure he gets them.

It depends where you live as to whether having a dog that hunts is good or bad! As much as we like to think our animals are domesticated it's their instincts to hunt and kill that makes them useful to us. For some breeds hunting itself was what they were bred to do. When I was young, a Jack Russell or Yorkeshire Terrier was as much a working dog as the farmers Collies. Seeing them kill a dozen rats in quick succession is quite disturbing! You said it yourself, his life has been given meaning, and he's going to want to repeat the experience. Next time he might find other prey! I hope you don't regret it! I'd never willingly allow my dog to hunt as I know that if she caught and killed a wild animal she'd soon go for easier prey and she shows all the instincts of a born sheepdog. She's a German Shepherd and although we can't be sure of her breeding as she's a 'rescue' she's obviously 'Working' rather than 'Show' type. As most of the dogs I've owned have been Shepherd X's or Border Collie, I've never encouraged them to hunt or allowed them to roam free. I live in the Lake District in the UK and believe me, rogue sheepdogs are not appreciated in sheep farming country! All my dogs quickly learn that cats are not to be messed with. My cats rule the house and the dogs and humans know it! My cats have often brought home 'gifts' especially when there have been kittens at home and I always check them for bites and fleas but I'm lucky I don't have to worry about Rabies! It's not something I like but it's something I have to accept. At least they aren't cannibalistic like fish! If you live where that is a rabies problem I'd make sure his jabs are up to date!

My dog killed some bunnies it made me pretty sick and gave me the hebee geebies. It was really gross. My husband put them in the garbage at the time (this was a long time ago), this was really stupid because by the time the garbage man the garbage was horrible smelling, which was only a reminder of what my dog had done, and it made me sick. I don't know if it had been her intention to kill the young bunnies, I think she just wanted to play with them, but the whole thing made me really sick.

I have a Toy Poodle, and I keep him indoors. He goes out with me if I'm leaving the house sometimes, and of course he has his walks. He hasn't killed anything, and I guess he probably never will. I'm not really sure if squirrels have diseases, but I would think they may have dangerous germs.

I haven't had to go through that yet, for some odd reason my dog seems to feel guilty when it kills a bug it was trying to play with. One time she was running free and she chased around a bunny rabbit. She got close enough she could have killed it but I was surprised when she didn't. I know some day she will kill something other than a fly, it seems to be a basic instinct. She's a coonhound lab mix and I'm told that the way she tends to play with the animal and flush them out has to do with that. I'm no expert so I can't say but I will cring the day she kills something and I see it.

I think I will give the same react like you as I also like my dog very much and I think there is no wrong of him!

When my dog was still alive (the dog in my avatar) she kills bees and lizards. Because opposite my apartment has a lot of trees and green so bugs are flying in all the time. Especially during the bee season. I remember observing my dog. She would just sit there an wait for the bee to fly low then she would use her paw to claw the bee and then bite the bee. And as for lizards...she would chase it and also use her paw to claw it then bite it. My husband and I both are very happy when she does that as these bees and lizards are pest inside the house.......but sadly my dear dog passed away due to liver illness this year 14 Feb so now we have no more dog and my husband is the one killing the bees now.heheheheh!!!!

well, I agree -it seems all my dogs yearn for is to get their hands- er paws on one of them squirrels- I had one killed a skunk last year.. not very pleasant. but my cats on the other hand- do catch the squirrels! Maybe they are just rubbing it in the dogs faces. lol My dogs would be in big trouble if they touch a cat! , but basically any other animal is game and if they have the hunting instinct.. then-well, I can't help it- but they are raised with cats and know they are not allowed to mess with them. but they do enjoy chasing them.

Hi Sheepie: Its a natural instinct built into their DNA...however I don't like to witness such things and I never did and never will; I will say however that with all of our Dogs I've never had one get sick from killing a squirrel not to say that it can't happen because it can but if in doubt you can always take it to your vet or ask them; tis always better to be safe than Sorry you know? Be glad your dog didn't bring you a nice skunk I'll never understand that part with my two Current Dogs why in the world would you mess with a skunk? Then drag the dang thing home to me?? its happened to me twice now with the same two stupid dogs I own, that is one smell that is SOOOoooo hard to get rid of...LOL! Trust me you don't want this to happen to you; LoL! Good luck to you!

Ya know what, I have a boxer and his ridge goes up everytime he sees a squirrel and he seriously tries catching one, but so far hasn't. So i'm not totally sure what will happen if he does catch one it'll be pretty funny. I have seen him catch a cat by the throat and he got all scratched up but he was determined to kill it. We got them split up so it was ok but i could only imagine.

My dogs kills every living thing but human beings. I think they are very territorial.

My Dog is a chuaaa He hardly comes out of his small cage the cage open all day but he does'nt really interact so i have never felt or saw him killing something else than his appetite

My daughters yorkie likes to chase crickets and frogs. He has never killed anything yet thank goodness. Also he chased a mouse that was in my house. Never caught it though. It ran under a hole in my staircase. I plugged the hole up with brillo and haven't seen it since.

My dog is also a ruthless killer, and she's good at it! When we lived in Arizona she'd kill a jackrabbit at least twice a week. But watch your dog's poop for awhile to be sure he doesn't have worms. Cookie used to get worms from the rabbits she killed and it it was awful, the poor thing. How could I be angry with her, though, she was just doing what she was created to do! I hope you congratulated your dog, he got to be a REAL dog and I'm sure he feels very macho!

My old dog in the backyard kills birds all the time. I can't say as I blame him, since the birds are constantly trying to steal his dog food out of his dish. I feel bad for the birds, as I like birds, but they should know better! I hope your dog gets over his squirrel desires as they may give him more than he bargained for and that would be awful to get a disease

Hi Sheepie, If it was my dog I would reprimand him and sent him to the dog house, so to speak, I will let him know that he has done a bad thing. If your dog goes round killing little animals he can kill cats as well. The poor little squirrel. Tamara

poor squirrel, there are many dogs in the world that doesn't mean you have to kill them. don't let your dog kill squirrels he will get rabies.

I know some people don't like it when their pets kill other animals but I mean... it's the chain right? It's going to happen at some point or another. Just do your best to keep their shots up to date to avoid rabies and stuff. The worst was when my dog killed a skunk. Second worst was a porcupine.