What Happens if a Dog Eats a Dead Mouse?
There are several things that can happen to a dog when it happens to eat a dead mouse. A dog may or may not develop any health issues from doing so, but it’s still best to err on the side of caution. Usually, when a dog eats a dead animal, it may experience any of the following:
Why are dogs and cats attracted to dead animals?
While humans find the smell of death and decay downright repulsive and nauseating, our pets are attracted to and delighted by this putrid perfume. Pets don’t classify odors as good, bad, or embarrassing—rather, they consider smells simply information about the world. The impressive canine and feline sense of smell can detect odor and decay from a great distance, making anticipating or interrupting the impending funky feast a challenge for owners.
Theories why dogs and cats are drawn to death include an instinctual desire to claim the spoils as their territory, or to camouflage their own scent and improve hunting success—although these are most often performed by rolling on or near the odor source. When pets eat animal remains, their motivation is most likely what you’d expect—a combination of novelty, hunger, and opportunistic scavenging.
Will washing a dog’s mouth out help?
When you see your dog gulping down a dead animal, your first reaction is to clean his mouth thoroughly.
You can use a small cloth dipped in a solution made with water and baking soda, or even simple salt, and rub the inside of your pet’s mouth with it.
That will make you feel better, but won’t help the dog in any way if he just ate a poisoned mouse.
If you catch your dog eating a dead mouse, oral hygiene should be the least of your worries.
The poison might already be in his stomach so don’t waste time cleaning his mouth.
Call the vet already! Or the poison helpline!
Dog Ate Dead Mouse | DogVela
When you discover that your dog just ate a dead mouse, try to get over the gross aspect as quickly as possible and focus on your pet’s safety.
Your biggest worry should be whether or not the mouse had been poisoned to death, as this is a medical emergency.
We’ll have a look at the most common poisoning symptoms, but if you or your neighbors have been using rat poison on your properties, heading to the vet right away might be the wisest choice.
On the other hand, even if the mouse was not poisoned, it might still make your dog sick if it was carrying some parasite or harmful bacteria.
That’s not a medical emergency, but you’ll have to see a vet over the next few days, just to be on the safe side.
If you have rodent problems in your area, try to use other means of getting rid of them than poison.