The stories, poems and photographs on this blog are the original creative work of Xenia Tran. Inspired by life in the Scottish Highlands and in awe of nature she gives voice to the wisdom of her two rescue whippets Eivor and Pearl.
View all posts by whippetwisdom
12 thoughts on “Silent Sunday: Squirrel Patrol”
Are they red or grey squirrels? My cat has an ongoing feud with a grey squirrel that comes in our garden to shriek insults at her…
We have a lot of red squirrels here. They are beautiful and always keep a distance. Our dogs are curious about them and know they’re not to chase them. Eivor turned around immediately when I clicked my tongue, followed within seconds by Pearl shooting past him. She was too quick for the camera. Grey squirrels tend to be much braver. We saw many of them when we lived in Cumbria, including one who tried to open a hiker’s backpack. Hope your cat stands her ground in your garden :o)
I wish I could get Tippy not to chase the squirrels, but, if she sees one, it’s game on. She becomes deaf to my calls. At least, they usually climb a tree right away, so she doesn’t go too far before coming back.
It may be worth spending more time on her recall training and get her to focus her prey drive energy towards you. You will be able to tell by her face and ears when she has spotted potential prey and that’s when you can create an intervention (either by clipping her on the leash or distracting her with a toy or treat). It takes time to develop a good recall under different circumstances and it is well worth the effort. When you engage with her wholeheartedly and invest the time and energy she needs, she will repay you tenfold.
So fun! I left a bag of birdseed in my screened-in porch once. Big mistake. The squirrels (I am surrounded my trees so have an abundance of squirrels in my yard), chewed through the screen and were sitting on the table munching away on the bird seed, much to the chagrin of my dog, Daisy, who was inside, watching them out the window. I could not figure out what all the ruckus was… !
Thank you Lois! I can just picture Daisy watching the squirrels on the table and they would know she was safely behind glass … We send you so much love and wish you a wonderful day :o)
Thank you so much. They have become so close in such a short time it often feels like two minds working as one :o) We wish you and Lily a wonderful rest of the day!
Are they red or grey squirrels? My cat has an ongoing feud with a grey squirrel that comes in our garden to shriek insults at her…
LikeLiked by 1 person
We have a lot of red squirrels here. They are beautiful and always keep a distance. Our dogs are curious about them and know they’re not to chase them. Eivor turned around immediately when I clicked my tongue, followed within seconds by Pearl shooting past him. She was too quick for the camera. Grey squirrels tend to be much braver. We saw many of them when we lived in Cumbria, including one who tried to open a hiker’s backpack. Hope your cat stands her ground in your garden :o)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wish I could get Tippy not to chase the squirrels, but, if she sees one, it’s game on. She becomes deaf to my calls. At least, they usually climb a tree right away, so she doesn’t go too far before coming back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It may be worth spending more time on her recall training and get her to focus her prey drive energy towards you. You will be able to tell by her face and ears when she has spotted potential prey and that’s when you can create an intervention (either by clipping her on the leash or distracting her with a toy or treat). It takes time to develop a good recall under different circumstances and it is well worth the effort. When you engage with her wholeheartedly and invest the time and energy she needs, she will repay you tenfold.
LikeLike
Thanks. Recall is the one thing I didn’t do a great job on when she was younger. I do need to invest more time in that and these are great tips.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are very welcome. Small steps will go very far. Good luck and love and wags to you both :o)
LikeLiked by 1 person
So fun! I left a bag of birdseed in my screened-in porch once. Big mistake. The squirrels (I am surrounded my trees so have an abundance of squirrels in my yard), chewed through the screen and were sitting on the table munching away on the bird seed, much to the chagrin of my dog, Daisy, who was inside, watching them out the window. I could not figure out what all the ruckus was… !
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Lois! I can just picture Daisy watching the squirrels on the table and they would know she was safely behind glass … We send you so much love and wish you a wonderful day :o)
LikeLiked by 1 person
The photos are lovely! They really look like a (uniformed, well-trained, focused on the job) squirrel patrol 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much. They have become so close in such a short time it often feels like two minds working as one :o) We wish you and Lily a wonderful rest of the day!
LikeLike
I am sure your sunday was not that silent after all 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was as silent as can be and thankfully no squirrels were hurt following the taking of this photograph :o)
LikeLiked by 1 person