I just got a puppy for my kids tonight will the dog and rats get along?
2007-03-02 17:42:27 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
It depends on the breed, since many dogs in the terrier group were designed to be ratters. I have hairless rats and my Pit Bull will lick at them if I let her (but I'm sure the rats find this offensive) and she will watch them play, but I would never trust them to play together. My maltese is afraid of them, since my first rat Beans (god rest your ratty soul), was the alpha dog.
2007-03-02 21:32:18 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Depends on your dog. What kind of dog is he/she and how old?
If this is a young puppy or a dog breed that has a lot of prey drive, I would recommend that you keep puppy and rats separate and never let them out together unless you have the puppy leashed and / or are physically holding the rats.
Dogs are predators and will chase small creatures scurrying about, such as rats, mice, squirrels, etc. Some breeds were specifically designed to chase small game out of holes - terriers, for example. And young puppies will bite and chase in play - but those sharp puppy teeth can hurt or even kill a rat.
2007-03-02 17:49:54 · answer #2 · answered by Abby K9 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Long time rat owner here. I had them growing up one after the other.
Every dog my rats came in contact with was terrified of them. Dogs are used to things running from them. Rats are fearless they will go right up to them.
I would be VERY careful with a puppy. He will probebly try to play and either get bitten or accidently hurt one of the little guys when he tries to play.
I am all for socializing dogs to small animals. My dog has been around rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, small birds, hamsters... She simply lays down and lets them approach her. I know there will never be an accident where a small animal dies because my dog doesn't know how to behave around them.
2007-03-02 19:22:56 · answer #3 · answered by Lynn 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well if your kids had no problem playing with the rats I see no exisiting problems with the mouse or your dog..
But just on the safe side you can call a vet or even ask the dog himself what are his thoughts about playing with a rat..?
Or the rat playing with the dog.. there may be mixed emotions here.. Better be Safe then Sorry..
2007-03-02 19:21:08 · answer #4 · answered by Angus. 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I just answered this same ratty question for someone else just moments ago and I believe this same information would also apply in your situation. Some information has been changed for your unique situation.
I would err on the side of caution and be careful to keep the dog and the rats separate. Rats move quickly and their intense play can excite the prey drive of most dogs. I'm am speaking from the horror stories told by others on the many rat-only forums I belong to. Even if all seems well for months, things can, and still, happen.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Predatory+instincts+of+dogs&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAqFmYLsucJ9Ju1A_wytuo5cazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAjrR1DDgyctRMOV346dKZz4azKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=Predatory+instincts+of+dogs
I gave a couple of rats to a friend and her dog killed one of them. Not a mark on the rat's body, so we feel that the rat was scared to death, or mauled in the dog's soft mouth. This dog was a Great Pyrenees/Border Collie Cross
I am a dog obedience instructor, having met many different breeds of dogs in my classes over the last 30 years, even the most well trained dog has the instinct to hunt, some more then others, and more often then not this instinct over-rides the best of training. Dogs will be dogs and Rats are just fuzzy little moving toys for dogs. There's even a dog toy called a "rat" that I bought at a dog show.
I have a Border Collie, a breed whose instinct is to herd, and with 6 years of training he excels in obedience work. In that case you would think that this well-trained dog would behave around the rats. Not so, I still would not trust him, unsupervized. My rats live in their own room, and Stoan literally guards the rat room door from this side. Letting me know if he feels that the rats are "fighting". They're just playing but he doesn't know that. He gets upset when they squeak, or chew on the baseboard. I know his innate instinct is kicking in.
If Stoan is in the rat room he wants to herd the rats that are free-ranging. I know there is a possibility that he will unintentionately hurt one of the rats. Even if all looks well as he lays there letting a rat sniff his face, the dog and rats are never together unless I am in full control of the situation.
Since you already have the puppy I hope you find some of this info useful. I know that the first one no longer applies.
The dog should be an older, docile dog, that has lived with and gotten along with other small animals.
Avoid dogs from the terrier group
Avoid dogs from the hunting group
Avoid dogs from the herding group
I would be very happy to talk to you further about how you can get your dog and rats to live together. It's called "barrier training".
Sandra Beasley and the Spaz Rats
(Rattery, Rescue, and Rat-care Expert)
http://spazrats.tripod.com
"my life has gone to the rats"
2007-03-06 07:34:45 · answer #5 · answered by spazrats 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i used to have a pet rat and she was exposed to many different dogs. the yorkshire terrior chased her and barked at her (i did not let them come into contact) the lab however was very gentle, just sniffed her then walked away
it really depends on the the dog
2007-03-02 17:57:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
depends what dog you have if its say a mini foxi or a small dog like that they like to chase things and all puppies like to chew things, Id be verry carefull if I were you. We have a mini foxiy who if she as so much as smells a rat in my dads shed she goes ballistic, and one day she found a litter of babies and chomped every one of them before i could stop her, she didnt eat them just chomped them to kill them I think she thinks its her born purpose or something, to kill rats
2007-03-02 20:34:02 · answer #7 · answered by Nicky 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you dog is not a terrier or hunting breed, they should do fine. However, if it is a hunter, you need to be very careful about leaving them together..
I have had many kids, dogs and rodents..
2007-03-02 20:59:01 · answer #8 · answered by Chetco 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
you may read below the line
ok serious.the dog may bite the rats but if you get them to be used to be each other then they probably will get along.
try to let the dog be gentle with the mice.
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well according to tom and jerry.....yes..lol
best of luck!
2007-03-02 17:50:18 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could never trust them alone together
2007-03-02 17:48:54 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋