Half Eaten Rat

[Whippetsmum]

Hi,

I just got home to find a headless rat on the pavers outside. Someone obviously had a snack while I as at work. Apart from the gross out factor, should I be worried about any nasties from dogs eating these things? One of them is a pup- 4 months old, and she is probably the most likely to chew things.

Thanks

[Snoopy21]

I would be most worried that the rat had been poisoned. Check your dogs carefully for signs of rat poison ingestion.

[poodlefan]

What Snoopy said.

[labsrule]

My lab pup has has two rat encounters, wit the first one he dragged inside and the other he found on one of our walks a couple of months later. I have owned Labs for many years and he is the only one that has found or killed rats Apart from the fact I hate the b*stards, I freak out as my biggest concern is were they dead when he found them and if so, what killed them as poisoning is the first thing that comes to mind. I kept a close eye on my boy after his rat encounters, but thankfully he was fine with no ill affects. Hopefully your dog(s) will be the same.

[halfthewords]

It's probably a good idea to keep an eye on it as suggested - you never know if the rat was already dead, or in the process of dying when your dogs found it.

My Min Pin is an achieved bird killer.

[Whippetsmum]

So far so good. Both seem fine. I hate rats, but never use posion myself in case some por cat or dog finds the carcass.