# My dog eats mice, is it dangerous?



## pr3dat0r (Sep 2, 2011)

In the last month, she has eaten about 10. Few months ago she would just bite them and kill them, now she eats them all. Apparently she enjoys it. Is it dangerous or bad?

Thanks in advance


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

It's probably only dangerous if the mice have been poisoned.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

The mice could carry parasites so I'd definitely watch out for that, and there is a good chance that they might have ingested poison somewhere along the line which could be ingested by your dog.


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## CricketLoops (Apr 18, 2011)

It's possibly dangerous, but as long as your dog is up to date on vaccinations (primarily rabies) and you check about what kind of diseases are common in your area (leptospirosis comes to mind) and you're pretty sure you're the only one dealing with the mice (you don't have neighbors that are trying to eradicate the problem with a poison), I would say it probably won't hurt him. 

I'd get his stool checked by a vet at the first sign of diarrhea, though, for worms.

A healthy disease-free mouse won't harm your dog. So you just have to make sure your mice population is fairly robust. Which isn't all that feasible.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

I wouldn't allow it to continue. Mice commonly carry parasites, disease, and may have ingested poisons. Not something you want your dog eating regularly because odds are something bad is going to happen eventually.


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## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

I agree with the sediments that the mice may have poison, parasites, diseases and other nastiness in their system. They also carry diseases communicable to humans so your best bet may be to get rid of them in a dog friendly manner but I would not allow the dog to consume them. Who knows what disgusting stuff is in them.


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

The first thing I worry about as well is poison. Then worms, diseases etc... I'm surprised more cats don't get sick! 

Bella caught her first mouse the other day (the chipmunks are next!). she didn't eat it...don't know if she woulda...didn't wanna find out. Strange thing is the mouse was brownish/black & white(!?) I hope she didn't kill someone's escaped pet! Are there black & white wild mice out there? (poor thing)


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## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

I worry about hantavirus as it's prevalence is growing and it has no known treatment, cure or vaccine. It is spread by rodents.
http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/hps/history.html
http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/hps/diagnosis.html


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

If you are in a rural area, and don't have farmers who poison rats and mice regularly I wouldn't worry too much so long as she is up to date on shots and dewormed regularly. Still keep an eye on her though....10 is quite a few! Maybe try to minimize it the best you can. I've got a similar problem. My cat kills mice and gives them in tribute to the dog, or leaves them in the yard to rot for a day before Caeda gets it. I TRY to pull them out of her mouth, but I'm only successful about 50% of the time because she smells before I see them (or successful with 50% of the mouse ewwww!). We watch Caeda carefully, and have asked the vet a couple of times and have been told not to worry unless we see some real "digestive upset", vomiting or lethargy after one of these snacks. We've asked our landlord if he lays poison out, he claims that he doesn't. You might want to ask some neighbours if they do. If there isn't poison disease would be the biggest worry. 
Of course if you are in the city, where there are more people freaked out by mice and more likely to lay poison, I'd try to stop it. Maybe lay some traps somewhere the dog can't get to....I dunno. Thanks to the doggy sense of smell you probably won't be completely successful stopping her completely, but if you can lower her intake it might help. You could always use it as an excuse to train a REALLY good drop it (You can always try! lol I am and not quite succeeding).


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

BellaPup said:


> Bella caught her first mouse the other day (the chipmunks are next!). she didn't eat it...don't know if she woulda...didn't wanna find out. Strange thing is the mouse was brownish/black & white(!?) I hope she didn't kill someone's escaped pet! Are there black & white wild mice out there? (poor thing)


Was it dark brown on top with a white belly? If so, probably a field mouse. If it was more piebald, it was probably a domestic, or at least descended from a domestic. People lose and dump domestic mice all the time.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

I'd worry about tapeworm. Dogs contract it when they eat infected fleas, which could certainly be carried by mice. Look for squirmy white things in the poop, or they look like grains of uncooked rice when they dry up.


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## pr3dat0r (Sep 2, 2011)

I live in a rural area, and they're all field mice. I'll take her to the vet this week because she needs to be vaccinated, and I'll give her the anti-worms pill. I do it every three months (vet me advised to do so), and it's almost been three.

Cheers for your answers and suggestions, greatly appreciated


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