Eating mice

ttddinh

Should I be worried? Kaiju and Kilbe (Laika) has both been getting and eating some field mice/rats lately. I know I shouldn't be surprised given that Kaiju is always digging holes. But the other day, I caught Kaiju in the act of eating but by the time I caught him, there was only the hind legs and tail left. Today I caught him and Kilbe each nibbling on a baby mouse. Kilbe even brought hers in her crate! Should I be worried? These are wild mice/rats that they caught in my backyard. Both dogs look fine afterwards--Kaiju even attempted to give me kisses! Are there any special vaccinations I should get (so they don't pick up diseases)? I have also been vigilant about examining their poop to make sure everything is ok.

shishiinu

My dogs have eaten mice, frogs, skunk, and snakes and they seem to be ok. I don't think any thing would happen but just keep an eye on them. I think if they start to vomit or have the runs them I would be a little worried.

ayk

I think lepto?

I forget what kind of mice is the carrier for deer tick/lyme disease. It's not normally the mice that live near humans. I wouldn't suggest the Lyme disease vaccine but just keep an eye on their health.

BradnJess

My previous dog (GSD/Mal) ate mice and gophers to the point where expenditure on kibble was pretty cheap. He was always fine - granted many of the diseases associated with ingesting wild animals in our neck of the woods was negligible or seasonal. I think a close eye on health and/or vaccinations (bearing in mind the problems associated with over vaccination, I guess) as @ayk mentioned would be fine.

It can be a bit disturbing, though. I remember catching my dog chomping a mouse and it made this awful crunch crunch sound, and then afterwards he was obsessed with giving me kissess! Then again, I think if you think too hard about all the things that dogs get their mouths on, you wouldn't want kissess anyway. I like my kissess so I force ignorance on myself.

Saya

Saya has caught a young rabbit and vole before. I caught Saya in time and told her to leave it and I took rabbit into garage washed it then froze it for month to kill off parasites if it had any. she ended up not eating the stomach and intestines which where they are usually are.. lol

I froze the vole for two weeks just in case..

With mice and rats I dunno.. I'd be worried if the mouse or rat had eaten poison, but if they didn't then I think they'd be OK..

Watch their poops..

food grade diatomaceous earth supposed to be an natural way to kill internal parasites. I haven't tried it and Saya doesn't kill mice often.. She's stalking one area where mice or some type rodent is, but so far no dice for her.

I need get me some anyways supposed to be good for keeping bugs out of house..

Food grade kind not normal.

I dunno if it works so..

jellyfish

If they eat, poop, drink, play, and sleep normal, they are okay.

I think that is a good, in general, rule of thumb for health in dogs. Just watch'm and see how they do. If anything seems abnormal, then you want to look more into it. I know "sick as a dog" but if you know your dog, you'll know if something is different.

WrylyBrindle

the white footed mouse is the one the nymph-stage deer ticks require to feed on in order to advance to the feeding-on-deer/dogs/you adult phase.

Reilly has killed and eaten mice, voles, rabbits, etc for years. Except for how unpleasant it is to watch their little legs wiggling as they go down the chute, and the crunching & squeaking, no harm has ever come of it. Its natural.

Once she & Sage got into a nest of teenage rabbits, I saw her pretty much swallow one, so I called the vet to ask if I should be worried. The tech who answered the phone put me on hold, came back and said "as long as she chewed it first" she replied, trying not to laugh. "Oh, she didnt!" I said. It was fine. They digest small mammal bones like nobody's business.

"Then again, I think if you think too hard about all the things that dogs get their mouths on, you wouldn't want kissess anyway. I like my kissess so I force ignorance on myself. "
Agree!

Trzcina

My Lapphund has caught and killed... a few of everything in a suburban yard, it seems (mice, moles, small birds from midair... about the only thing she hasn't managed to actually catch is a squirrel, and only because they don't have to come down to the ground and there aren't any conveniently low branches on the trees in the yard). She's indirectly caused the death of a rabbit, but didn't actually get a hold of it. My parents had a cat when I was little that did catch and eat young rabbits, though. One of my dog's litter brothers caught a skunk once, if I recall correctly.

Anyway, so far nothing has happened negatively. As long as they seem healthy I wouldn't be too worried.

StaticNfuzz

Eating mice in of itself should not be a horrible concern. Although I would keep up with worming/parasite control given rodents harbor a few species of protozoa. Lepto is another issue depending on region and outbreaks.

However, from an urban standpoint I would be careful and find out if any of you neighbors are baiting rodent pests with Warfrin. Warfrin is a blood thinner and mice that ingest the poison do not die right away but slow down a lot. Enough so that catching is much easier. If your dog ingests the poison it will reduce vitamin K and thus cause platelet and reduced clotting. I don't know how secondary ingestion manifests in terms of severity though. I do know if a dog has a health issue already it will make that worse even if the actual poison bait was not swallowed directly.... For example von willebrand's disease.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/digestivee_multi_anticoagulant_poisoning#.T2I5BcxqO2w

Snf

shibamistress

My dogs eat mice, rats, rabbits, birds, etc. They seem to be fine, but I did ask my vet, and they suggested once or twice yearly worming because rabbits in particular are more likely to have them. (Though mostly my dogs catch and eat young rabbits).

We dont worry much about lepto here, so that's not a problem, but if you're in the area the have it, check with your vet. And yes, the warfrin is a concern in urban/suburban areas. I live in a rural area, and so many of the rats my dogs are catching are woodrats (and they dig up the nests of babies, too, this time of year), so I don't worry about that too much. My dogs are my rodent control! (woodrats are bad about getting in cars and chewing on wiring, as well as chewing up everything else)

tjbart17

Mei eats varmant all the time. I just de-worm her quarterly. :-D