I have a 9 months Chihuahua and lately he has the tendency to kill rats. However, he does NOT eat them. He had all his vaccines but I worry that killing rats can get him seriously sick.
Should I tell the veterinarian about my dog killing rats?
Should I worry about this?
—Thank you!
Should I tell the veterinarian about my dog killing rats?
Should I worry about this?
—Thank you!
11 Answers
The danger is if his shots are not UTD and if the rat has eaten poison. If the rat has eaten poison it can very well get your Chi sick and die. It is called “indirect poisoning”. Which is usually worse because it takes longer for the symptoms to show and usually by then the dog, especially a Chi is beyond help.
Check with neighbors to see if they are using poison. You can use the large glue traps or old fashion mouse traps. But I would suggest you break this habit and rid your home of the rats.
Talk to your vet in case I left out anything.*;*
All mammals can contract rabies but it is extremely rare in rodents and your dog is vaccinated, so that’s not a concern. Warfarin, the typical rodent poison, kills by causing internal bleeding. If a small dog eats a dead or still-living poisoned rodent, it can ingest enough poison to kill the dog. The dog may also be injured by rat bites, and rats do carry diseases and both internal and external parasites.
However, if no other efforts are made to eliminate the rats, I suppose you are better off with the dog killing SOME of them to reduce their rate of reproduction.
I’d be cautious – rats have parasites, so he should be on a preventative. Also, a rat could bite him. If you notice a rat bite, get him to a vet right away. There is a serious risk for infection.
If you don’t control the rat population, the dog apparently will. Set out a few snap traps (NOT POISON) and let the rats take care of themselves.
It can take up to two weeks for a small bit of rat poison to kill a rat. In the meantime, they can travel far and wide with it in them. The big concern is for that poison to go into your dog.
Rats don’t carry rabies so no worries there.
The origin of the Chihuahua is not known. Many think it came from the Fennec Fox.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mamm…
Superior *prey drive* is not often seen in these dogs but I have no doubt they are capable of *ratting*.
My oldest Dachshund has superior prey drive (which is the genetic temperament of the breed) & has taken out many rats, squirrels, wild rabbits, ducks & tried to take on a raccoon. (I stopped that)
In 8 years I have never had a problem with health issues resulting from his prey drive.
I don’t consider this a problem BUT it is up to you & you should talk to your vet.
so long as its had all its inoculations it shouldn’t catch anything (like rabies). small terriers are often used for killing rats anyway so in theory a dog killing rats isn’t a problem.
I think the major danger of allowing a dog as small as a chi to kill rats is the danger of them biting back. a big male rat can weigh between 1 1/2 and 2lbs and a small chi could weigh 4 lbs.
I would try to keep him from killing rats. Since they are outdoor animals, you don’t know what kind of diseases they could carry, if they just crawled through something toxic, or if they have parasites.
A dog can contract all these things from another animal just from contact or biting them.
It’d be safer if the rat was killing the Chihuahua. Rat could bite back
No worries- my terrier kills mice and moles all the time. just make sure hes up to date on all his vaccines, especially rabies.
rats carry rabies and he can catch it. so i would say no it is not safe