# Introducing Dog to Rats?



## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Has anyone successfully introduced a dog to rats? Not that I would ever leave them together or put the rats in any danger, but my dog (Australian Shepherd) is fascinated with the rats, and not in a predatory way as far as I can see. She tries to play with them when they are in the cage by touching noses and then spinning in circles and doing play bows- basically she acts the same as when she is trying to entice another dog to play with her. She never growls or bites at the bars to get to them. When I had a few of the boys on my lap, she wandered over and they did pretty well. The rats were super interested in getting to her, but I just allowed her to sniff them. They touched noses a few times, and all she did was sniff and nudge them softly in the side with her nose (to get their attention?) I was very obvious about praising the rats like I praise her, and I fed them pieces of dog food together to hopefully show her that the rats were just another "puppy" in the house. For those who have introduced other pets to the rats, does she sound like a good candidate to have controlled, very supervised time together, or is an accident waiting to happen? The only other species I know she has been introduced to is cats. She is super playful so I would always be worried she would try and wrestle with them, but I would love to be able to have them out on the couch and have her introduced to them, so we can all hang out together rather than locking her up. Any thoughts or experience with this?


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## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

I do not allow interactions between my big animals and my rats. It's not worth it. A playful poke or smack by the dog to entice play could be fatal or harmful to a tiny animal like them.

And keep in mind, the rats have sharp teeth too, and many times will react badly if bothered by another animal.

It took all of 1 second for my Shepherd to fatally wound a large wild rat yesterday. One nip, that was it. And he's one who gently sniffs and tries to engage the rats though the cage, and behaves as long as I'm holding them. Dogs know rats are not just another dog, they smell, act, and look completely different. 

For the same reasons I would be leery of letting a large dog play with ducklings, or small rabbits, kittens, canaries.. One clumsy move, or wrong move could be disaster.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

A dog being fascinated is very good reason to never introduce them. Ever. Even if the dog wouldn't intentionally inflict harm, it could very easily happen just as much in a playful manner. In the blink of an eye, before a human has time to react, someone could be badly injured. It's not worth it.


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## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

toke said:


> Has anyone successfully introduced a dog to rats? Not that I would ever leave them together or put the rats in any danger, but my dog (Australian Shepherd) is fascinated with the rats, and not in a predatory way as far as I can see. She tries to play with them when they are in the cage by touching noses and then spinning in circles and doing play bows- basically she acts the same as when she is trying to entice another dog to play with her. She never growls or bites at the bars to get to them. When I had a few of the boys on my lap, she wandered over and they did pretty well. The rats were super interested in getting to her, but I just allowed her to sniff them. They touched noses a few times, and all she did was sniff and nudge them softly in the side with her nose (to get their attention?) I was very obvious about praising the rats like I praise her, and I fed them pieces of dog food together to hopefully show her that the rats were just another "puppy" in the house. For those who have introduced other pets to the rats, does she sound like a good candidate to have controlled, very supervised time together, or is an accident waiting to happen? The only other species I know she has been introduced to is cats. She is super playful so I would always be worried she would try and wrestle with them, but I would love to be able to have them out on the couch and have her introduced to them, so we can all hang out together rather than locking her up. Any thoughts or experience with this?


I don't have a dog, but I do have a cat. My cat and rat get along very well. I even allow them together unsupervised, while I do other things around the house. The worse thing that's happened is they fell asleep on the couch together. They take naps together quite often. For me, it's very important for all my pets to get along with each other. I don't like having either of them locked up. I was glad they became such good friends. 

If you want to try to see if your dog will get along with your rat/s, then go for it. Just make sure you supervise them very closely.


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## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

I make sure my animals respond and leave them alone when I tell them to, because accidents happen, and you don't want the animals to immediately go after a rat on the floor. 

But, the only reason for me to want my animals to be cuddly and play together is a selfish one, not in a BAD way, but it's just something I would WANT, not something beneficial to the animals, or even safe. I have everything from Pinkies, Pythons, Geckos, Cats, Dogs, Tarantulas, Koi, and the adult rats. The only ones who mix are the cats are dogs, and only when I supervise. Because my WANT for them to love each other isn't a good enough reason for me to put any of them at risk. Cats are carnivores - predators. In fact rats/rodents are very much in their natural diet, and even given to them when their owners do a prey-model diet (like I do, though I prefer squirrels, rabbits, GPigs, etc.). All it takes is one second of their natural instincts and the rat will have punctured lungs, a broken back, ripped muscles - it's not worth it to me to set my animals up to fail with each other to make me content. If I had my way, they'd all be loose together and happy, but they're animals. And it's our job to know what is best for them and their safety.


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