Sounds like you're doing everything you can, but the last episode doesn't make sense. Squirrels are not nocturnal, so how did your dogs kill one at night? Do you have trees in the yard that the squirrel came in on, or did he get into the yard and then couldn't get out?

If you have no trees I'd plant a few large ones for the wildlife to escape to. The rabbits............covering every entrance is the best you can do.

I know- we thought the same thing about the squirrel! We have several trees in the backyard as well as some shrubbery, so there are plenty of places for wildlife to scamper up to. We watch squirrels climb the chainlink and our trees all the time... they always do fine on both.

All I can figure is that he got in and got confused or was maybe already sick? My husband didn't see the chase... he had already checked everywhere and didn't see any critters, so he went back in to get a drink of water while the dogs went potty for the last time before bedtime. When he called them in, they didn't come, so he went out and found the squirrel. The other suspicious thing is that the dogs weren't injured in any way (thank goodness)... with the claws and teeth that squirrels have, we were under the impression that while dogs might win the fight, they would still have some scratches, etc..?

Thanks for the reassurance... we really want to minimize the risk for all involved.

Do your dogs know the command "Leave it" and "drop it"? I would work on those... eventually you should be able to call them off prey with a command...

Let me guess....no leash walking. The dogs are let out in the backyard to do what they please, run around, play, use the toilet etc. if you do leash walk your dogs, more walks, longer walks and going different routes. What has happened is that you have just created a pack. You added a pack member so now your first dog has someone it can teach and now they are a pack, these means they need some basic training or a good dose of retraining. Your dogs need some other stimulus. A dog park or leash walking at a regular park, up a fire road, around the neighborhood. Leash walk at LEAST 3 times a day 30 minutes a walk - at least....

Other than bringing them out on a leash for there last trip out there may be no other answer. They are doing what they were originally bred to do. MS are terrier like and I believe originally bred to be ratters.

Why not build or buy a kennel with a roof for times no one is there or at night to place the dogs in to do their stuff. Problem solved.

It does sould like you are doing everything you can to clear the wildlife from the yard. Your dogs have a very strong prey drive, and I think each may reinforce the other. It is very difficult if impossible to change or control that. Especially a breed (terrier) like a scnhauzer that was bred specifically to hunt and kill rats. Mazer, when a ratter does what a ratter is bred to do, it is impossible to stop with a "leave it." In fact, their tails are like handles, used to pull them out of holes!

I do agree that waling the dogs is always a good idea, way better than free, undirected exercise in a back yard. That is good for all dogs.

From the dogs point of view, I'm sure they like their nightly romps in the yard. Leash walking is not the same as running as fast as they can and while it is sad to you, catching something is exciting to them. They are dogs and that's what is fun to them.
One of my two terrier dogs occasionally catch a rabbit...but we have plenty of them too. The other dog will amuse herself for hours trying to get lizards, and sometimes gets one to my distress. She has caught moles before...a good thing, but it still saddens me.

I love wildlife as much as anybody and have quite a bit around us as we live in the country. But I would never deny
my dogs the joy of running and chasing (in a secure area)
as that's what makes dogs happy.

I keep my dogs inside at night.

taupe79, keeping doing what you are doing AND make sure your pups have all of their shot. Your furry kids have a hunting instinct and no training can change that.

For that squirrel to be on the ground at night, and ignoring the lights and noise. It was already sick OR it fell out of the tree and was too injured to run.

You are doing good fencing for the rabbits and not feeding the birds. You can't protect the birds that land, or the squirrels who are on the ground..

Sylvia-She said the dogs were let out to do their final "job" before bed time,not that they are left out all night.
I think the dogs are just doing what they naturally do and there's not much you can do to prevent it other than what you are already doing.
Mazer-Why is a long walk always your answer to any problems with a dog? Don't you think dogs like to just hang out in the yard,stretch out in the sun and run and play like,well like dogs do?

Thanks for all of your reassurance... it helps me to feel better, if nothing else. :)

Days without incident: 3

I kept my previous post brief. But I have a similar situation.

We have a fenced rear yard. And I go out with my dogs in the back yard each night before we go to bed. And their instinct is to chase anything thing they smell, see or hear - squirrels, possums, raccoons, etc. I let them chase and catch rabbits,moles and voles. They bring them to me, drop them and put them in the compost pile. My dogs are very well trained and I CAN and DO call them off raccoons and possums, with a "leave it" command. They immediately stop chase and return to me...

You could drop a piece of cheese/liver/etc in front of my dog and if I told him to "leave it", he wouldn't eat it.

Its one of the best commands you can teach your dog and it will solve your wildlife eating problems.

sorry, I misunderstood.

Our dog has a tie-out that we use just for going to the bathroom. He gets plenty of excercise both on and off-leash during the day but would love to hunt/chase given the opportunity. And sorry, but the leave-it command does not work, nor does even some tasty roast beef distraction, if a fresh chipmunk is available! Anyway, it's always different at night when you just want them to eliminate quickly and come back in the house. At night, we turn on the outdoor light, then hook the tie-out clip to his collar, open the door, and he has a 30 foot radius from the door to take care of his business. This works great, and even if there is a critter there he can't reach it and the critter has time to get away. A bonus is that by placing the tie-out where we did, it reaches inside the house so we don't even need to go outside with him. They come in different lengths, and consist of a metal screw-in hook that goes into the ground. The cable is plastic-coated and attaches to the ground hook on one end and has a clip for the ring on the dog's collar (like a leash clip) at the other end. I highly recommend it for your situation. Good luck!

I am at a loss here. Dogs doing what their natural instinct makes them do----and what Nature intended----and owners who want to know how to tell Mother Nature to stop.

My youngest son loved cats---and our cats were indood/outdoor cats. The first time his cat brought him a baby rabbit, our son had a fit. Not only did we make him let the cat have her prey---it was not dead----we used the incident to illustrate how Nature intends for animals to live. That lesson---along with others helped the boys cope with the loss of pets---ponies with broken legs that had to be euthanized, dogs who got too old/sick/infirm to allow to be in pain---and even the two cats who disappeared and we have no idea what happened.

As for all the warnings---do that every day and the wildlife get used to it---and pay it no attention. Actually, by ringing the bell/turning on the light, you might be attracting wildlife instead of scaring them.

The animals the dogs catch are slow/hurt/inferior and would meet the same fate elsewhere---as Nature intended.