Can dogs eat a mouse?

They probably would oblige you, but then you would probably need to deworm the dog that ate it, and be sure it was up to date on all its vaccinations.

It is not the best idea. Mice carry diseases and worms. You don’t really want your domestic dogs eating stuff like that.

Also, you don’t really want them to develop a taste for self-hunting and start to go after squirrels, racoons and other creatures. This is not behavior you want to encourage especially when three dogs makes a pack. They could go after cats or other non-vermin animals.

Finally, there is the basic Ewww factor of having a rip ‘em to pieces free-for-all in your garage. Buy a trap.

my dog that was so timid that she looked away if animals came in the yard so she wouldnt be responsible, killed a rabbit.

they have all their shots and they kill squirrels, turtles, rabbits and all sorts of vermin outside all the time. they normally dont eat it, but leave it for me to find somewhere nice like my couch

We had a Shar-Pei who loved to catch mice (it is one of the jobs they were originally bred for). She never seemed to have a problem related to killing and eating mice, and in fact had a lovely time tossing them in the air for a bit before delivering the coup de grace.

We also have what we describe as a “dachs-weiler” (looks like a rottwieler but only has about 5 inches of ground clearance) who routinely catches mice (and the odd rat) in our laundry room. He doesn’t eat them but leaves them for me to step on in the morning.

It sounds as if your dogs would eventually catch the mouse in your garage, but be aware that dogs don’t care about blood smears or shifting things in order to get to their target. Because they are up-to-date on shots there may not be a health problem depending on where you live, but in the interests of time, efficiency and neatness, you should consider a baited trap of some sort. There are several kinds these days, none are expensive, and many can be found on the shelves of the typical grocery store.

If you really want the dogs to do the work for you, I suggest you ask your vet what the potential risks would be in your area, and then be prepared to clean the garage.

Borrow a cat?
Cats are good.

We had a mouse…my dogs ignored it. The cats will play with it till it’s dead, but not eat it. Our babies are too well fed!

I wouldn’t let them eat it…I’d worry about where that mouse had BEEN!

Well, I can tell you where my mice have been…under the hood of my car.

Insurance companies in our area declare mice under the hood of the car a “natural disaster.” They do their best to get out of paying for replacing the wiring, hoses and belts that the mice eat.

It is true that I had to foot the bill for the last time that the mice set up housekeeping, invited all their homeless relatives and chewed thru an amazing number of wires, parts and ducts. I am about to both set up a Havahart and let the cat run around the garage with the doors shut. (Of course, beware of cats bearing gifts, I guess.)

I once had mice store food in my tail pipe…car wouldn’t start, towed it to station and they had to call me over so I would believe them. Tail pipe and entire muffler was stuffed full of food, mixed with mice droppings. Very $$ and nasty. I hate mice.

Love them little mousies,
Mousies what I love to eat,
Bite they little heads off,
Eat they tiny feet.
—the singing Kliban cat

Airedale terriers have been used to catch and kill rats for many years, as well as Welsh terriers. (see breed history in my link) The first kennel I worked in bred both breeds and took them to the field trials where they had to catch and kill their weight in rats within 3 minutes to qualify. (You should know that they did not eat the rats when they killed them)

This was a very long time ago, and I don’t know if it is still practiced, but dogs have been used as rodent killers. (Where do you think the term “rat terrier” came from?)

But I’m not sure how a lab or other breed would do at such a task. it might go a little something like this.

@scamp: Your link doesn’t work!

@MarshallO which one? I just checked them both and they worked for me.

Airdale works. “This” brings up error message at my house.

^ Same as Marshall and Gail,above, for me.

“this” brings up a Google screen with an error message!

just get a mousetrap.

We have three dogs and none of them will eat a dead rat or mouse. They will, however, kill and eat squirrels – from head to end of tail. I guess they know something about rats that we don’t. I suggest getting a cat.