# Would your dog eat your pet rat?



## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

I was reading Pugsmomwantsgolden's post about Romeo and Rattie and just had to ask how many of us have goldens that would eat the resident pet rat !!

Mine would :doh:


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## Faith's mommy (Feb 26, 2007)

Faith would, but not before flipping the rat around like a toy for a while first.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

We don't have a rat, but we have a bunny, Tucker doesn't seem too interested in eating her, but he has ate rabbits outside...so who knows... lol I'm not gonna risk it


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

If allowed? Yes. But 1) I wouldn't have a rat but 2) If I did, he/she would be very well secured away from my animals!


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## Penny'smom (Mar 3, 2007)

I don't think she'd ever eat it but I'm pretty sure she would "play it to death".

I saw her in the snow with a mouse once. She batted it, she pawed at it, she picked it up with her mouth and threw it in the air. It didn't last long. When it didn't move anymore, she walked away. A couple time she went back and pawed gently to get it to move and then lost interest totally.

Counter that with the fact that she brought me 5 baby bunnies over a 3 day period, all unharmed, unplayed with and although wet with doggie spit, totally not eaten. Plus 3 live sparrows, unharmed in her mouth (1 at a time of course).

The sparrow thing I've never figured out: did she sneak up on them and grab POOF, GOTCHA? or lay there, very still with her mouth open waiting like a hippo until they landed on her tongue. Gotta be one or the other!


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

LOL, your sparrow story reminded me of the children's book, Are You My Mother  Maybe they had just come out of their nest .... yikes !! LOL


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## PeanutsMom (Oct 14, 2007)

Peanut has a pet hamster that he loves to follow around while it is in it's ball.She has gotten out a few times and all peanut does is lick her and alert me she's out.


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## Penny'smom (Mar 3, 2007)

Jo Ellen, that's cute.

I'm sure Penny answered "yes, I'll be your mother but first I have to ask MY mother". When she brought the first one to me, she voluntarily put it on the grass, sat and looked at me with those eyes. 'Can I keep it, mom?'


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I don't think so. I could borrow a students pet rat and find out, but she might not like it if I couldn't bring her rats home...Neither has eaten the squirrels they've carried in to show me, nor the chipmonks.


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## JensDreamboy (May 25, 2007)

HAHAHA very funny post. Romeo can't even hurt a bug. We had a lady bug crawling across the kitchen floor and he just sniffed it. He was all excited about finding it, but just sniffed and I told him to leave it alone. He's funny. The only thing he does that hurts is to jump up and dig his LONG nails into you. That's my fault, I let them get too long. Pugs don't really run outside enough to wear them down naturally.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

If Lucky just met the rat it would be dead...soon. But if he saw us playing with it and heard us tell him to be careful and talk baby talk to it, he wouldn't hurt it.

I base that on how he acts with little kittens....


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Daisy wouldn't eat a kitten, but I'm pretty sure she would eat a rat, or a mouse, or the fish in the fish tank LOL


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Libby says mice taste yummy...
Granted a rat is a bit bigger, but having seen her reaction to my son's rat...I wouldnt trust her for a second!


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Do goldens with high prey drive have stronger field lines in them maybe?


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

Tilly no...Harry YES! I remember when I had a hamster as a child my dog at the time was amazing with it, she would watch it for me and come and 'tell' me if the hamster had jumped off the sofa when I would let him out of his cage, it didn't even cross my mind that she could of hurt it,I just knew she wouldnt have. Its funny how you just know some dogs so well and what they would or wouldnt be capable of. Tilly would probably a bit like that too, although she would possibly try and play with it where it could meet an untimely death. Harry I am certain would eat it, probably after pouncing on it a few hundred times!


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## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

I had to put not sure. I would think if they saw a pet rat runnig around here they would play with it until they killed it but not sure about eating it.


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## Wilson's REAL Mom (Nov 10, 2006)

I don't think Wilson would mean to hurt it, but, if it squeaked, he would be certain that it needed to be...unstuffed.


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## goldenluver (Feb 26, 2007)

I'm not sure if Shianna would or not. We have this rat that runs through our fence and when she smells it she'll run back and forth by the fence sniffing for it until she can't smell it anymore. It's so funny to watch.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I dont know if they would eat a pet rat but they like to chase the squirrels and I dont know what they would do if they caught them. Now Shelby (eskie) used to catch the moles in our yard in SC. She would kill them and then play with them. Throwing them around the yard. And then leave them on the deck for me to find. :yuck:


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I used to have a rat and the one I had was a very friendly, in your face type of animal. Not the fear driven mice you see scurrying across the floor. With that type of personality it would be much safer around Lucky...who is in fact rather a bully. He chases what runs and befriends what stands ground.


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Lucky's mom said:


> If Lucky just met the rat it would be dead...soon. But if he saw us playing with it and heard us tell him to be careful and talk baby talk to it, he wouldn't hurt it.
> 
> I base that on how he acts with little kittens....


I think this is exactly how my two would react, too.

Samson has recently discovered a lot of squirrels in the yard....and watching from a window, he sure doesn't like them in our yard.... But I'm sure if he thought they were OUR squirrels, he wouldn't mind so much.

He also don't like strange cats in the yard, but does fine with our own...


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## Linus4ever (Apr 18, 2007)

I'm thinking since Linus is afraid of my sisters little tiny kittens he probably would not even approach a rat. But I guess anything is possible, at this time with what he has shown up till now he would bark at it and run away.

Tracey


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

My golden killed a squirrel in our yard last Sat. I was so upset. I couldn't believe he caught it! My husband thinks it may have fallen out of the tree and already been injured.


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## Lisa (Sep 25, 2007)

My 3 would most likely kill it, by mouthing it / slobbering it... but not eat it.

Sandy & DannyBoy are my resident "mole-catchers." They literally dig them up out of the ground and stomp on them and mouth them to death. They'll willingly give them up and then we have to dispose of them. YUCK!

Methinks they heard me say,"I should get some kitties to solve this mole problem." They decided no kitties and they would take care of it!

Rowan caught a squirrel and carried it around flopping in his mouth, but he gave it up to me. 

I am SO glad they don't swallow them!

Lisa W


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## Goldndust (Jul 30, 2005)

No, I doubt it. Usually every fall I deal with mice trying to get in, and if they do setting traps for them. Kodes not interested in them in the least bit, maybe thats why!

So going off this is why I say I doubt it.


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## hgatesy (Feb 14, 2007)

I have no doubt that Camden would eat a pet rat. He is not trusted AT ALL around my rabbits. He becomes crazy... trying to get at them. I have to be very careful. Parker on the other hand, loves the rabbits and follows them around while they are out. He's my gentle soul. Now I would never trust him alone with the rabbits though. He's not quite that gentle!


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## Lestorm (Feb 25, 2007)

The last thing I would own (apart from a croc, snake and a spider) would be a rat. Yuk! I do think that my dogs would chase and play with a mouse, but definately not eat it.


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## gold'nchocolate (May 31, 2005)

Penny'smom said:


> The sparrow thing I've never figured out: did she sneak up on them and grab POOF, GOTCHA? or lay there, very still with her mouth open waiting like a hippo until they landed on her tongue. Gotta be one or the other!


Hahahaha....this makes me think of the cartoon _Sylvester and Tweety Bird:jester:._ I wonder if the baby sparrows were lighting any matches because it was too dark in there.










I think my dogs would eat the rat because I have a rat that has built a tunnel inside the chicken's outside run and they are always looking at it and barking. My daughter has 2 pet rats that I babysit sometimes but I keep their cage safely in my bedroom.


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## Bailey & Bentley (Feb 25, 2007)

I think they would play with rat for sure and probably torment it a bit, but i don't think they would eat it....gosh, I would hope not, LOL.:doh:


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## nrhareiner (Feb 27, 2007)

I would sure hope so as I would not have one.

Heidi


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## goldensmum (Oct 23, 2007)

Ginny would never have done that, Holly - she would probably walked around with it in her mouth. A couple of years ago i was handrearing some baby cockatiels, and one flopped down onto the floor. Holly picked it up, walked off head held high, tail wagging as if to say "Look what i've got". When she handed it over there was not a mark on the bird.


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## Gwen (Aug 9, 2007)

I honestly have no idea what either one of my boys would do. They have been absolute darlings around their breeders old cat but Nyg is a "killer" around houseflies. I will say that I wouldn't want to be the pet rat as both Oliver & Nygel would push the rat with their noses until it wasn't moving.


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## RoxyNoodle (Nov 9, 2007)

We have a very fluffy guinea pig to whom Roxy has been introduced - very, very carefully. We didn't want to over excite roxy by pushing her away or making any deal about it, so we let her approach gently and she got her nose up to him with me saying gently, nicely (which she knows very well.) I wouldn't let my guard down with her around though. To much of a risk for little Alfie.

Although she chased a cat in the park a while ago where the cat just stopped dead, stood it's ground and hissed at Roxy - who did a scooby do on the spot trying to run away


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## Jazzys Mom (Mar 13, 2007)

Well, I don't know what my girls would do, honestly! The way they love to chase anything that runs from them I know the little animal would be worse for the wear.

Years ago my oldest son had 2 gerbils - both in the same cage. The cage was on the bottom shelf of his fish tank stand with the fish being on the top. Should have been reversed!! We had 2 black minature poodles and they were very spoiled. No one like them except me! Tell you something?? Anyway, my mom and I went out shopping one afternoon and when we came back I went downto the family room and it looked like someone had been murdered! Blood spattered all over by the gerbil cage and 2 dead gerbils! And, 2 Poodles with evidence on them but the looks on their faces was soooooo innocent! My mom & I cleaned up the mess and then went out to try to find 2 gerbils that looked just like the 2 murder victims. We did find 2 gerbils but my son noticed the difference right away and we had to tell him about the crime!

Jazzys Mom


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