Many dog owners would panic at the sight of a wild fox sneaking behind their dog, but this fox turned out to be friendly rather than cunning. In the video, which looks like it was filmed in the UK, a fox follows behind a little white dog out for a walk with his owner. The fox is curious but when the dog is stand-offish, he slows down but continues to follow them. Finally, the white dog relents and gives the fox what he wants – a chase! The pair end up playing a game of “tag” and the fox doesn’t seem to mind running out in the open field with people watching.
What is going on here? A number of people in the UK have said they have seen the same behavior with foxes wanting dogs to play with them. A dog owner recently posed the question to reddit, “Is it normal for foxes to follow your dog?”
“They won’t hurt you, they’ve probably just been fed by some idiot with dog treats training their dog,” wrote one redditor. Another noted that “Foxes are just getting confident around us and following you is fun.” Another added, “Keep your dog on the lead, don’t encourage the foxes and you’ll be fine.”
“They know your dog isn’t a fox. Doesn’t look like a fox (really, it doesn’t), doesn’t smell like a fox, doesn’t act like a fox,” said another person. But the foxes do seem to recognize a canine cousin.
One other redditor related that a young fox in his neighborhood really would like his dog to play with him: “Recently on our early morning poop walks this young-looking fox occasionally follows me and my German Spitz from our flat to the area where the dog runs off-lead and does his business. It’s gotten increasingly confident with the following and barely backs off when I step to it. When the dog is mooching about off-lead, minding his own business, the fox gets as close as possible before Arturo turns and chases it away. The fox runs around as if its being chased in dog-play until Arturo stops and it goes directly behind in what looks like a stalking stance… At least what a dog would do to stalk. We live in London so the foxes are most definitely not predators and only scavengers/opportunists, this fox even went to a bush and pulled out a full garlic baguette and took some bites from it, then carried on stalking/playing. Me and the dog have gotten kind of used to it but there is still an alarm-bell in my mind when it is following us…” However, the redditor added, nothing ever happens.
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