hi
i just wanted to know what happens if 1 year old akita has eaten a rat,what happened was when i let my dog out in the garden,he saw a rat he cought it and killed by the time i got to him he ate it.will i need to take the dog to the vet.
thank you

No rats are part of the normal dogs diet, only trouble is it the rat has eaten rat bait.

Shades of Baldrick! Rat-aur-twee or Rat-aur-van? Marinated in a puddle till it's drowned!

Sorry Guest, put it down to my sick sense of humour! On a serious note I'm not sure if Leptospirosis could be caught this way. If your dog's vaccine is up to date then I would imagine it would be ok but Leptospirosis is the one part of the vaccine which is proven to need renewing every year.

Regards, John

You are right John, tried to say that a little while ago but got slapped down. Hopefully this dogs is up to date and then the rat will do no more harm than up it's protein intake.

Because of the reed stuffs around where I work my dogs rats are always around. I know that there are differing strains of Leptospirosis, but anything I can do to reduce the risk I must do so vaccination at least with the Leptospirosis element is essential for my dogs. Most dogs just out for a stroll would not come into contact with them in quite such regular occasions although I do believe Leptospirosis is a very real risk for all dogs. We are never that far away from rats!

Best wishes, John

Have the same problem John living on the Fens and being surrounded by water. But my vet said that a lot of the cases she see are from dog on dog contact because so many people are no longer vaccinating the dogs for it, thinking that they can leave everything for several years without a problem. That in the case of Leptospirosis is not true and my vet said the problem seems to be that some un-vaccinated dogs will pick up the bacteria and although they will be un-effected by it may become carriers and can pass it on in the urine to other dogs, there is also a big increase of cases in un-vaccinated dogs of the rat carried type. Think they are able to cover most of the normal infections with an injection and i would urge people to take advantage, it is a horrible diseases and can kill people as well as dogs and other animals.

Too true Jackie, The human virsion is of course Weil's disease.

Best wishes, John

We lost a friend in the couse of 6 days with it and my husband is still has a paranoia about rats & mice in fact all rodents.

I must admit It does worry me a bit. We had 4 tons of feed delivered last Saturday which we stacked away in the 'keepers hut. When we come to use it some of the bags at the bottom will have been torn open. I picked a bag up last year and out ran a rat so getting bitten is a very real risk. I normally leave Anna sat outside the pen whilst I go in the hut for a sack and take it into the pen for feeding so I am more at risk than her. Best of it is, she is covered by vaccine and I'm not!!!

Best wishes, John

A couple of years ago one of my labradors 'retrieved' a large rat, alive and unharmed to me from the middle of a bramble bush. I'm still not sure how she managed to achieve this without being bitten. I was so glad I had an effective "leave-it" command! She was so pleased with herself and seemed very bemused that I didnt want to take it from her.

LOL! Don't you just hate 'em! ;)

Best wishes, John

My dogs managed to catch a wild rat todayin our (rural) garden, and were bitten on their ears nose and necks.  The vet said as I was upto date with their vaccinations they were protected from the lepto virus and distemper, but recommended a short course of anti biotics in case the bites became infected.  They happily swopped the rat for some cheese and so far they seem okay. Has anyone else had this problem?

In case the rat was p[oisoned I would go to the Vet for vit K shot in case it has enough Warfarin to cause internal bleeding to the dog.  The size of yours will be a big help if it has.