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My dog ate a dead mouse or rat. Is he at risk of poisoning or injury?
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | neutered | 3 years and 4 months old | 65 lbs
Hi this morning Chester and I were on a walk and he sniffed out a dead mouse/rat in the grass and before I could stop him he ate the whole thing. It was very small and there is no way for me to have determined his death. Chester is a 65lb dog so if this mouse/rat was poisoned from outdoor chemicals will this effect Chester since he ate it? Should I be concerned that the bones will rip up his stomach ?
1 Answer
Most Helpful Answer
Answered By Chad Brown, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on July 9th, 2018
Hello and thank you for your question regarding Chester. It is so difficult to keep our dogs away from dead animals, isn’t it? It’s like candy to them.
I realize that there are so many things that can run through your head as to what can go wrong after ingesting a dead mouse that died of an unknown death. We begin to think of all of the worst case scenarios.
Because Chester 65 pounds, the likelihood that it will cause any gastrointestinal ripping or damage is unlikely. The mouse could, however, cause gastrointestinal upset like diarrhea and vomiting if there was putrefaction in the rodent. your concern about whether a mouse that died of pesticides or rat bait poisoning could be an issue is a valid one. If the mouse did in deed die of poisoning then Chester can be affected by this within 24 to 72 hours.
I do think it would be best to take him to a veterinarian as soon as you can to at least have some blood work performed to check if there has been any evidence of toxicity. The veterinarian may also want to take an abdominal x-ray just to make sure that nothing else is happening in the intestines. Nine times out of 10 these tests will show nothing abnormal and your dog will be fine. But it is always better to error on the side of caution.
I hope this is helped.
I realize that there are so many things that can run through your head as to what can go wrong after ingesting a dead mouse that died of an unknown death. We begin to think of all of the worst case scenarios.
Because Chester 65 pounds, the likelihood that it will cause any gastrointestinal ripping or damage is unlikely. The mouse could, however, cause gastrointestinal upset like diarrhea and vomiting if there was putrefaction in the rodent. your concern about whether a mouse that died of pesticides or rat bait poisoning could be an issue is a valid one. If the mouse did in deed die of poisoning then Chester can be affected by this within 24 to 72 hours.
I do think it would be best to take him to a veterinarian as soon as you can to at least have some blood work performed to check if there has been any evidence of toxicity. The veterinarian may also want to take an abdominal x-ray just to make sure that nothing else is happening in the intestines. Nine times out of 10 these tests will show nothing abnormal and your dog will be fine. But it is always better to error on the side of caution.
I hope this is helped.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful