My dog just caught a rat! Help please!?

Question

So I was letting my dog play in the backyard for awhile before my boyfriend and I decided to take her to his house. When I went outside she came up to me for some attention and then ran back to a spot on the grass. Instantly I thought, "Oh no, she must have something because she's not staying around me." Sure enough I went over to see what she had and in her mouth hung a rat's tail!

I was so freaked out, but good thing I got it out of her mouth in time before she could eat it (if she was planning to do so). I called an emergency hospital and they said that she should be fine since she didn't eat it and that the only thing I would have to worry about is if it had rat poison (I don't believe it did because we don't leave rat poison outside or anything like that, but I guess you never know if it could've gotten it from some other place).

My dog/puppy is 4 months old and she just recently got fully vaccinated. Even though I was told not to worry by the vet, I'm still on edge. Has anyone ever experienced this before (the vet said it was actually quite common)?

I just want some feedback on my situation I guess. And could the rat have poison in it? I thought that if a rat ever consumed rat poison it would almost die instantly. Is there any diseases that my dog could get? Thanks.

Answer 1

My dog has caught mice before and never caught anything from them. I would agree with the vets that your dog is okay. Even if the rat did have rat poison on it, it would only have been trace amounts and so not nearly enough to hurt her. Don't fret too much about it. Keep your eye  on her of course if you're worried, but it is quite a common thing. My friend has cats who eat mice all the time and they've never gotten sick.  

Answer 2

Dogs will do that, and you can't really stop it.  In all likelihood, your dog will be fine, just make sure it keeps up with all vaccinations and medications.  My dog died from poisining, we don't know how or anything though, and maybe it happend like that, but when he was a puppy he actually ate a lot of moth balls with no side effects.  But I think in this case, you're dog will be perfectly fine, especially if the vets think that.

Answer 3

My dog catches rats and mice and possums all the time. There's nothing wrong with him, since he never ate it; he just killed it. So I don't think your dog could get any diseases from that.

My other dog on the other hand did eat some rat poison. She started shaking and foaming at the mouth, so we took her to the emergency room and she got her stomach pumped and was given medicine. I think you can tell if your dog ate rat poison, or a rat with rat poison.

If nothing is wrong with you dog now, I'm sure there is nothing wrong with her at all.

Answer 4

Be sure to keep an eye out on her behavior. If she sleeps more, eats less bring her in. I had my first puppy die from rat poisoning (she had killed one but didn't eat it), the next day she was lethargic and soon wouldn't even get up to go to the bathroom or eat. We had to put her down within 3 days (after being at the vet for 2).

Rat poison is actually a slow killer - it paralyzes the rat until it starves (or so I was told by the pest control guy)

Answer 5

Mice are not that bad.....they are not as poisonous as snakes...your dog didn't even eat it,did he? , your dog will be fine !

Answer 6

just keep an eye on her, if she starts vomiting or crying like she is in pain, take her to the vet. Otherwise, don't stress. Rats and mice would be one of a dogs normal food sources in the wild. (yes i know that dogs have been domesticated  for thousands of years)

Answer 7

my dog eats all kinds of stuff other than the poison i wouldn't be too worried. she should be fine

Answer 8

The only thing I would worry about is the possibility of tapeworms. If the rat had fleas and your dog ingested any of them, she could get tapeworms.