History Main / DogsHateSquirrels

As far as real life goes, this is indeed TruthInTelevision, but not to the absurd extent fiction loves to play it up. Many dogs do indeed chase squirrels on sight. But such dogs likely won't pursue a little squirrel anymore than any other small animal. Dogs are indeed predatory carnivores which share a good chunk of their DNA with wolves and foxes. Chasing little animals for them is practically instinct, and humans are more likely to see dogs pursue squirrels than, say, rats or rabbits because squirrels are more visible by day when we're outdoors with our pets.

As far as real life goes, this is indeed TruthInTelevision, but not to the absurd extent fiction loves to play it up. Many dogs do indeed chase squirrels on sight. But such dogs likely won't pursue a little squirrel anymore than any other small animal. Dogs are indeed predatory carnivores which share a good chunk of their DNA with wolves and foxes. Chasing little animals for them is practically instinct.

''As a side note you might notice that this trope is far more common in Western media than Eastern media. That's because urban squirrels are much rarer in the East than they are in Western nations so the people naturally aren't as familiar with the idea.''

** In “The Imaginary Letters,” Bolt’s reaction when he says the word “squirrel” is to laugh at this trope with the observation “Did I say squirrel? Who am I, Dug from the movie ‘WesternAnimation/{{Up}}?’”
** In “The Seven,” the collie puppy’s prominent dead squirrel odor is noted by his friends, all of whom want to know where he found the source.

* A RunningGag in ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. Throughout the movie, practically every dog from TheDitz Dug to Muntz's {{Angry Guard Dog}}s can't suppress their [[MyInstinctsAreShowing natural urge]] to chase squirrels with all the dogs occasionally raising their heads and yelling "SQUIRREL" in mid-conversation. Dug considers a squirrel dying as the pinnacle of comedy and can be seen chasing one during the end credits. Russell actually manages to [[ExploitedTrope exploit]] this during the final struggle in the movie where he causes Muntz's fighter pilot dogs to crash into each other by pointing and yelling, "Hey! Squirrel!"
-->'''Gamma''': ''(parachuting down)'' I HATE squirrels!!!

* A RunningGag in ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. Throughout the movie, practically every dog from TheDitz Dug to Muntz's {{Angry Guard Dog}}s can't suppress their [[MyInstinctsAreShowing natural urge]] to chase squirrels with all the dogs occasionally raising their heads and yelling "SQUIRREL" in mid-conversation. Dug considers a squirrel dying as the pinnacle of comedy and can be seen chasing one during the end credits. Russell actually manages to [[ExploitedTrope exploit]] this during the final struggle in the movie where he causes Muntz's fighter pilot dogs to crash into each other by yelling "squirrel".
-->'''Gamma''': ''(Parachuting down)'' I HATE squirrels!!!

** Speaking of which, some dogs, especially terriers, can viciously maul squirrels (and other small rodents) to death. And even wild dogs such as {{tanuki}} are not immune to this trope, since they also hunt rodents for meals.

* ''WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons'': Screwy Squirrel. His first cartoon being the TropeNamer for ScrewballSquirrel, Screwy was often shown making life hell for dogs. In particular his archenemy was Meathead Dog who would try his darn best to get back at the psychotic squirrel only to be painfully fooled each time. In their debut cartoon, "WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel", Screwy gets Meathead riled up by calling him yellow for choosing to chase birds instead of squirrels.

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-->'''Gamma''': ''(Parachuting down)'' I HATE squrriels!!!

** Speaking of which, some dogs, especially terriers, can viciously maul sqiurrels (and other small rodents) to death. And even wild dogs such as {{tanuki}} are not immune to this trope, since they also hunt rodents for meals.

* Back in TheEighties one of Creator/DaveBarry's dogs was named [[http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article1938265.html Shawna]] was an aversion. She was so stupid that even when a squirrel ran by and Dave's family encouraged her to chase it, Shawna would just turn to them with a confused expression.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScrewySquirrel'': His first cartoon being the TropeNamer for ScrewballSquirrel, Screwy was often shown making life hell for dogs. In particular his archenemy was Meathead Dog who would try his darn best to get back at the psychotic squirrel only to be painfully fooled each time. In their debut cartoon, "WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel", Screwy gets Meathead riled up by calling him yellow for choosing to chase birds instead of squirrels.

Often this trope is used a gag PlayedForLaughs. I mean when you have a canine character or pet dog in the cast, what better filler joke than having them turn savage and run through everything in sight just to catch a squirrel? This trope also serves as a common FurryReminder for dogs. Afraid that your [[InformedAttribute supposedly, mostly normal dog]] is getting a bit too human-like? Have a squirrel run across his path and watch him be humbled as he goes after it. At other times though, the trope isn't be used as just a quick gag. Sometimes, this is employed as a way to separate a dog from his companions or get a pooch into trouble. Sometimes the very dog-squirrel conflict becomes the center point of the story, in which the squirrels tend to be on the side of the good and dogs are portrayed as villains. Sometimes the squirrel will be just going about their own errands, searching for acorns and what not, only for a big, mean old dog to turn into a SuperPersistentPredator to get in their way. On the other hand, the dog's hate for the squirrel may be justified by having it be tormented by a ScrewballSquirrel, in which case ''[[BerserkButton it better watch out]]''.

[[CatDogDichotomy Forget cats.]] If there's one animal dogs seem to despise more than anything, it's ''squirrels.'' Often a dog will be minding its own business. But the moment it sees or even hears a squirrel, it'll go '''''[[{{HurricaneOfPuns}} NUTS]]''''' and chase after it. It's like they are instinctively ''driven'' to go after them. It's one of many common AnimalStereotypes.

[[folder: Film]]

* A RunningGag in ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. Throughout the movie, practically every dog from TheDitz Dug to Muntz's {{Angry Guard Dog}}s can't suppress their [[MyInstinctsAreShowing natural urge]] to chase squirrels with all the dogs occasionally raising their heads and yelling "SQUIRREL" in mid-conversation. Russell actually [[ExploitedTrope exploits]] this during the final struggle in the movie where he causes Muntz's fighter pilot dogs to crash into each other by yelling "squirrel". Dug considers a squirrel dying as the pinnacle of comedy. And during the credits, Dug can be seen chasing one.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Brian is shown several times to have bitter hatred of squirrels.
** A CutawayGag from "Tom Tucker: The Man and His Dream" shows Brian yelling at a squirrel from inside the house; the squirrel calmly walks by while [[FlippingTheBird flipping him off]].
** In the final segment of "Family Guy Viewer Mail #2", Brian chases a squirrel while driving his Prius until he runs over it.
** In "Brian's Play", Brian is jealous that Stewie is a better playwright than him and takes it out on a squirrel in the front yard.
--->'''Squirrel:''' This ain't about me, is it?\\
'''Brian:''' ''(breaks down sobbing)'' No, and I'm sorry. But nobody can ever know that! ''[[NeckSnap (snaps the squirrel's neck)]]''
** In "Life of Brian", after Brian is [[spoiler: fatally]] hit by a car, a squirrel [[SpitefulSpit spits on him]] and tells the Griffins "That guy sucked!".
** In "Boys & Squirrels", Chris and Stewie decide to raise an orphaned squirrel together. However, just when the squirrel is taking its first steps, Brian mauls it to death.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' episode “[[Recap/ReadyJetGoS2E15MyThreeSunsMagnetPI Magnet, PI]]", Mitchell's dog Cody chases Floyd the Squirrel at the end of the episode.
* On ''WesternAnimation/MyFriendsTiggerAndPooh'', Darby's pet dog Buster often chases after squirrels and is sometimes taunted by them in return.

Often this trope is used a gag PlayedForLaughs. I mean when you have a canine character or pet dog in the cast, what better filler joke than having them turn savage and run through everything in sight just to catch a squirrel? This trope also serves as a common FurryReminder for dogs. Afraid that your [[InformedAttribute supposedly, mostly normal dog]] is getting a bit too human-like? Have a squirrel run across his path and watch him be humbled as he goes after it. At other times though, the trope isn't be used as just a quick gag. Sometimes, this is employed as a way to separate a dog from his companions or get a pooch into trouble. Sometimes the very dog-squirrel conflict becomes the center point of the story. Sometimes the squirrel will be just going about their own errands, searching for acorns and what not, only for a big, mean old dog to turn into a SuperPersistentPredator to get in their way. On the other hand, the dog's hate for the squirrel may be justified by having it be tormented by a ScrewballSquirrel, in which case ''[[BerserkButton it better watch out]]''.

Often this trope is used a gag PlayedForLaughs. I mean when you have a canine character or pet dog in the cast, what better filler joke than having them turn savage and run through everything in sight just to catch a squirrel? This trope also serves as a common FurryReminder for dogs. Afraid that your [[InformedAttribute supposedly, mostly normal dog]] is getting a bit too human-like? Have a squirrel run across his path and watch him be humbled as he goes after it. At other times though, the trope isn't be used as just a quick gag. Sometimes, this is employed as a way to separate a dog from his companions or get a pooch into trouble. Sometimes the very dog-squirrel conflict becomes the center point of the story. Sometimes the squirrel will be just going about their own errands, searching for acorns and what not, only for a big, mean old dog to get in their way. On the other hand, the dog's hate for the squirrel may be justified by having it be tormented by a ScrewballSquirrel, in which case ''[[BerserkButton it better watch out]]''.

Often this trope is used a gag PlayedForLaughs. I mean when you have a canine character or pet dog in the cast, what better filler joke than having them lose their mind and run through everything in sight just to catch a squirrel? This trope also serves as a common FurryReminder for dogs. Afraid that your [[InformedAttribute supposedly, mostly normal dog]] is getting a bit too human-like? Have a squirrel run across his path and watch him be humbled as he goes after it. At other times though, the trope isn't be used as just a quick gag. Sometimes, this is employed as a way to separate a dog from his companions or get a pooch into trouble. Sometimes the very dog-squirrel conflict becomes the center point of the story. Sometimes the squirrel will be just going about their own errands, searching for acorns and what not, only for a big, mean old dog to get in their way. On the other hand, the dog's hate for the squirrel may be justified by having it be tormented by a ScrewballSquirrel, in which case ''[[BerserkButton it better watch out]]''.

As far as real life goes, this is indeed TruthInTelevision, but not to the absurd extent fiction loves to play it up. Many dogs do indeed chase squirrels on sight. But such dogs likely won't pursue a little squirrel anymore than any other small animal. Dogs are indeed carnivores which share a good chunk of their DNA with wolves and foxes. Chasing little animals for them is practically instinct.

Often this trope is used a gag PlayedForLaughs. I mean when you have a canine character or pet dog in the cast, what better filler joke than having them lose their mind and run through everything in sight just to catch a squirrel? This trope also serves as a common FurryReminder for dogs. Afraid that your [[InformedAttribute supposedly, mostly normal dog]] is getting a bit too human-like? Have a squirrel run across his path and watch him be humbled as he goes after it. At other times though, the trope isn't be used as just a quick gag. Sometimes, this is employed as a way to separate a dog from his companions or get a pooch into trouble. Sometimes the very dog-squirrel conflict becomes the center point of the story. Sometimes the squirrel will be just going about their own errands, searching for acorns and what not, only for a big, mean old dog to get in their way. On the other hand, the dog's hate for the squirrel may be justified by having it be tormented by a ScrewballSquirrel, in which case ''[[HilarityEnsues it better watch out]]''.

This isn't just done with regular dogs. Across media, it seems to affect dogs all over the SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism. Whether you're dealing with a NearlyNormalAnimal, TalkingAnimal, PartiallyCivilizedAnimal, CivilizedAnimal, or sometimes even FunnyAnimal, dogs just can't seem to stand squirrels in media. Often the more sapient the canine and/or squirrel, or in case they are [[CanisMajor giant dogs]] and [[RodentsOfUnusualSize giant squirrels]], the [[ExaggeratedTrope more exaggerated]] the chase gets.

A BigFriendlyDog or a PreciousPuppy usually doesn't exhibit this trope, unless [[BewareTheNiceOnes when they're pissed]].

* A RunningGag in ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. Throughout the movie, practically every dog from TheDitz Dug to Muntz's {{Angry Guard Dog}}s can't suppress their [[MyInstinctsAreShowing natural urge]] to chase squirrels with all the dogs occasionally raising their heads and yelling "SQUIRREL" in mid-conversation. Russell actually [[ExploitedTrope exploits]] this during the final struggle in the movie where he causes Muntz's fighter pilot dogs to crash into each other by yelling squirrel. Dug considers a squirrel dying as the pinnacle of comedy. And during the credits, Dug can be seen chasing one.