We had a wonderful dog, and she lived to be 15 years old. I went out and got another shortly after. He was sweet but incorrrigible, so we had to find him a new home. I got two pet rats to take his place for my heartbroken son, now mourning the loss of two dogs.
We love the rats, but still miss not having a loving dog. The rats stay in a cage, but we take them out to play with them. If we got a dog, I guess we would have to banish the rats to a back bedroom where the new dog would not be allowed to go; because if a new pet dog got to those rats; that would be terrible; and it would be all my fault. I am really struggling, and praying for discernment about what to do. What would you do if you were me?
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2007-03-05 20:16:45 · 8 answers · asked by Ronald A F 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
I appreciate that you are weighing the pros and cons of this situation before you get the dog :) The reason that I have both cats and a dog is because I know that my rats are safe where I keep them.
Do rats get along with other pets?
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/pet_rats/26278
http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/Tails034.html
We would like to dream that it can be done, but in the real world there are very few exceptions. More often then not either the rat is a casualty of a large pet, or the rat has made a casualty of the smaller pet. More often then not someone on the rat-only forums that I belong to is telling us the sad story that their rats have just been killed by their dog or cat.
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 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'm 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/play rough, some more then others.
I have a Border Collie, a breed whose instinct is to herd, and with 6 years of training he excels in obedience work. You would think that this well-trained dog could be trusted around the rats, but I know he what he is by nature. My rats live safely in their own room, and Stoan is their guardian angel, alerting me to what he perceives as fighting. They're just playing but he doesn't know that.
When Stoan is in the rat room he wants to herd the rats that are free-ranging. I would not trust this dog unsupervised for there is a real 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.
If you want to get a dog you will have to narrow down your prospects.
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. Just e-mail me from my website.
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 05:40:27 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A friend of mine has 2 cats, 2 dogs, and 4 rats in the house oops I meant kids along with 8 pet rats. The cats have been banished to the outside because of behaviour problems, but the dogs don't seem to bother with the rats at all.
It may just be the dogs, but they aren't all that interested in barking at the rats in their cage and they go outside whenever the rats are out.
I don't want you to think its perfectly fine, because in all likelihood having the two without constantly supervising what is going on is probably not a good idea.
2007-03-06 10:34:26 · answer #2 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It really depends on the dogs personality and how he is trained to behave. I definitely wouldn't recommend a "ratting" breed like a jack russell terrier, or any terrier for that matter due to their breed disposition. With that said I had 2 rat babies that one of my Yorkshire Terriers just loved, even though his breed was developed to kill small rodents.
Supervision is the key. The rats shouldn't have to be moved to a bedroom, just be sure their cage is secure and is unable to be knocked over by a curious dog.
Pets (rats or dogs) are not disposable toys, and should not be treated as such. "Banishing them to a back bedroom" and finding a dog another home because he was "incorrigible" just isn't fair to them.
2007-03-06 08:16:13 · answer #3 · answered by Lisa 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You won't believe this but I have a dog, cat, goat, parrots, cockateils, chickens and 2 female rats and they ALL get along fabulously!
Mind you, all my animals are pretty well trained, fed and eager to please.
I had no problems with my rats running around with my dog and cat (mainly), but why don't you buy a 'runabout ball' to place them in individually so that they can have the freedom to move around without having to worry about them being eaten or trodden on (or lost!) I got the hamster size one for my babies. They are only about $15 each.
Good luck fellow animal lover!
2007-03-06 05:33:06 · answer #4 · answered by Sparky5115 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have 2 rabbits and a dog and they are petrified of one another which means I cannot give my love to both, so it generally ends up being the dog who demands all of my attention. I know you have rats but they are of the same group of animals. I would suggest getting rid of the rats if you are considering a 3rd dog.
2007-03-06 04:21:43 · answer #5 · answered by Kate 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Between my roomate and me we have a dog, a cat, three rats, and a skunk. We lets them all run free in the house together and they get along just fine. The trick is training your animals well. If there is any negative behavior between the animals you have to stop it asap.
2007-03-07 02:57:09 · answer #6 · answered by CJ 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
my rats climb all over our three dogs. it's all in how your dog gets trained. we constantly have children around so ours have been trained to lay still and not do anything in response to being climbed on or layed on.
2007-03-06 15:19:06 · answer #7 · answered by MommyCaleb 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No
2007-03-06 04:41:46 · answer #8 · answered by blondi 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋