# Are Shrews Poisonous to Dogs?



## DogGoneGood (Jun 22, 2008)

Ever since I was little I always heard shrews were posionous to dogs if the dog eats them. I've seen dead shrews on our porch that the cats have caught but they never eat it or else they don't eat the whole thing. When I asked my mom about it she said it's a paticular organ that's poisonous and cats don't eat it...

Well, we have a shrew problem right now in our house. Last night Linkin woke me up at 3am crying and when I went to see what it was all about opened the computer room (that's where the dogs sleep) to an awful smell. Turned on the light and he'd had diarrhea EVERYWHERE. Poor guy. Since then I've spent the whole morning sleeping when I can and then taking him outside. He's still got quite a bit of energy, though he LOOKS sick, he's got very sad eyes 

I did a google search about this shrews being poisonous to dogs myth and haven't been able to find anything really... so how much truth is to this wivestale and if there is truth to it, could it be possible he ate a shrew and that's what's making him sick?

ETA - Well, I think I found what made him sick. He just threw up a huge chunk of his bedding *rolls eyes*, he seems to feel a LOT better now! I'll still keep an eye on him though, just in case. I've heard horror storries of fabrics and such becoming intestinal blockings. I am still curious though, as to what truth this shrew thing holds...


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

wish i could be of some help, but ive never even seen a shrew! lol


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

shrews, themselves, are not poisonous, however, if you have been using any bait to get rid of the problem, there a chance that Linkin got into it or got a shrew that ate some....could this be the problem?


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

Google search found this: 
The Blarina species includes the Northern Short-Tailed Shrew, the Southern Short-Tailed Shrew and Elliot's Short-Tailed Shrew. All three of these have salivary glands that produce a toxic material that is used to subdue prey like salamanders, frogs, snakes, mice, birds and other shrews. The poison damages the nerves and destroys the blood cells of the prey once caught. Once bitten, the prey stays alive for three to five days to be used as fresh food. The poison can last up to several days and causes a great deal of pain. Human bites are rare and are usually received only when handling a shrew. The shrew's poison is not lethal to humans.


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## DogGoneGood (Jun 22, 2008)

TooneyDogs said:


> Google search found this:
> The Blarina species includes the Northern Short-Tailed Shrew, the Southern Short-Tailed Shrew and Elliot's Short-Tailed Shrew. All three of these have salivary glands that produce a toxic material that is used to subdue prey like salamanders, frogs, snakes, mice, birds and other shrews. The poison damages the nerves and destroys the blood cells of the prey once caught. Once bitten, the prey stays alive for three to five days to be used as fresh food. The poison can last up to several days and causes a great deal of pain. Human bites are rare and are usually received only when handling a shrew. The shrew's poison is not lethal to humans.


Thank you for that! I'm assuming, based on the names of these shrews, if I see a short tailed shrew I should be worried  From what I can tell, the shrews we have, have normal, long tails (like a mouse). 


We actually just got some traps the other day (couldn't find any live traps, as I would prefer, but I can probably gaurantee the traps we got would be a heck of a lot more humane than our cats would be ) and we used peanut butter as a bait... dad went and checked the traps last night and the peanut butter was gone on the one in the garage but no shrew caught! Damn thing just licked the peanut butter off but didn't set the trap off!


I'm pretty sure Linkin didn't get a shrew anyway. As I said, yesterday he puked up a large portion of his bed and I'm sure that's what made him so sick. He's back to normal today. I gave him some pumpkin and lean ground beef yesterday and it helped a lot I think because by last night he wasn't needing to go out every half hour and today his stool is solid and back to normal.

On that subject - does anyone have any suggestions for his bed chewing? He's been eating any blanket I give him since I got him. For a while he was sleeping on the couch and now I owe my parents a new couch  Now he has his crate (just the bottom of it, more like as a bed) and him and Coal are both locked in the computer room at night to keep them off the couch at night. It only took a few days to get him off the couch, and he uses his bed on his own with no problem. However, he chews the heck out of any blanket I give him. If I catch him in the act I tell him "no chew" and give him a toy to chew on instead, and now he doesn't chew it when I'm around but when I'm not around (like at night) I come in to find pieces of it strewn across the room! I got a new comforter and sheets for Christmas so I gave him my old blanket (which is actually a sleeping bag) because that was about the time I started teaching him to use his bed and I thought maybe because it smelled like me he'd find it more comforting... well because the blanket isn't just a sheet of fabric and rather has stuffing in it he's pulled the stuffing out and ate it, and that's what made him sick.

Should I just not give him any blanket at all? That seems kind of mean, but I really don't want there to be a "next time" and that next time rather than being sick for a day and puking it back up, it become an obstruction in his intestines.


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## Lolas_Dad (Apr 28, 2008)

DogGoneGood;478765
Should I just not give him any blanket at all? That seems kind of mean said:


> Why would you give a blanket to the dog in the first place?. They have a fur coat so there is no need for a blanket to sleep with.
> 
> I think that you basically answered your own question about giving the dog a blanket again.


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## Moker (Feb 5, 2009)

yeah, it's very rare that you see a dog or wolf in the wild toting along a comforter for their next nap.


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## DogGoneGood (Jun 22, 2008)

I don't think anyone can argue dogs (even in the wild) seek out soft spots to lay, rather than hard.


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## BullieCrazy (Feb 11, 2008)

My cat kills the shrews, leaves the body when they "don't play anymore" and my dogs love to go looking for the bodys and crunch, crunch swallow and it is gone, (Blech!) But then we have the regular ones. Dogs are fine, and yep we don't use poison because of the problem of dog consumption of the bodies. We do try traps, little buggers are on to us and avoid them now. 

The dog bed thing......... try putting nothing in the crate for a few weeks, then a blanket with no stuffing properties in it, a polar fleece reminant from the fabric store is usely what I stock up on, so the dogs had a little something for cush if they wish, sometimes they push it to the back of their crate when they are too warm, or work to spread it out if it's a cooler evening. I sometime use old flannel sheets or old larger towells. The few shredder dogs that I had quit when they got the idea that they would have to do without for awhile when they did that. Now all six of my kids don't shredd anymore.


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## DogGoneGood (Jun 22, 2008)

BullieCrazy said:


> My cat kills the shrews, leaves the body when they "don't play anymore" and my dogs love to go looking for the bodys and crunch, crunch swallow and it is gone, (Blech!) But then we have the regular ones. Dogs are fine, and yep we don't use poison because of the problem of dog consumption of the bodies. We do try traps, little buggers are on to us and avoid them now.
> 
> The dog bed thing......... try putting nothing in the crate for a few weeks, then a blanket with no stuffing properties in it, a polar fleece reminant from the fabric store is usely what I stock up on, so the dogs had a little something for cush if they wish, sometimes they push it to the back of their crate when they are too warm, or work to spread it out if it's a cooler evening. I sometime use old flannel sheets or old larger towells. The few shredder dogs that I had quit when they got the idea that they would have to do without for awhile when they did that. Now all six of my kids don't shredd anymore.


Thanks for the suggestion, I was actually thinking of trying that! I did notice he tends to pull STUFFING out of things more than anything (out of his blanket and the couch). I have a flannel blanket I think I may try, but for a while he'll go without 

You have Bull Terriers Right? I think they're gorgous! If you have any pictures could you share them with me? I love Bull Terriers


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