My dog killed a rat. What diseases can he get, including rabies?

Question

Dog just tore a rat into pieces in my yard. Should I be worried for any diseases the dog can catch or even rabies? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 5 years and 10 months old

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

There are a couple of different diseases that a dog can get from a rat. Intestinal worms and other parasites are the most commonly acquired diseases from eating a rat, but he would have to have eaten some flesh for this to be a possibility. Given this, it would be a good idea to get him dewormed within the next week. They can also acquire Leptospirosis, plague and other bacterial infections from rats, but this is quite rare, so there's nothing we would prescribe to prevent these at this time. Watch for vomiting, swellings near his jaw, diarrhea and blood in urine as possible signs of infection. These would normally be seen in 7-10 days if he did in-fact get infected. Rabies is a possibility with any mammal, but rats are not a common carrier, so the chances of Jax getting rabies from the rat is very small. Signs of rabies can be varied, but include the dog excessively drooling, not able to eat or drink and acting stuporous or aggressive. If you notice any of these signs, then stay away from Jax and call animal control. Rabies is spread through biting, so you don't want to put yourself in any risk of getting bit if Jax is displaying those behaviors. However, please don't worry too much, because this would be very rare. I hope that helps and everything turns out fine with Jax. Keep in mind that dogs do this sort of thing all the time and the vast majority of them do not get sick from the rat.

My dog killed a rat. What diseases can he get, including rabies?

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