Hank loves walks so much he's willing to compromise on some basic dog instincts. I do not care to have my shoulder pulled out of its socket just because he sees a squirrel a block away. So I issue the command: "Leave 'em." Sometimes for extra emphasis I remind him: "They're punks!"
It works fairly well unless one of them is extra insolent and/or appears suddenly and at close range.
You can't just have him chasing any old fur bearing critter. Some of them would likely take a piece out of him.
The other day we were walking when this critter was prowling around in the tall grass. It's a wood chuck, aka ground hog. He did not give Hank any respect at all....
But this was at least a teenage punk 'chuck, not a full sized one. On another section of our route Hank was very curious about this. Hmmm, smells like a really big Squirrel!
Really big is right. Beavers can be bigger than Hank, and have teeth sufficient to gnaw down trees.
As the silly mutt shows evidence of Dog Bravery towards bears, Amish horse and buggies, UPS guys, etc, its best he does not get close to Rodents with Attitude.
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