MovieChat Forums > MythBusters (2003) Discussion > Can dogs really catch mice?

Can dogs really catch mice?

posted 9 years ago by dddavis-69573
17 replies | jump to latest

I have heard some people say that dogs can catch mice, I suppose that would be possible if they were in an open room with no objects for the mouse to run and duck behind, but most homes have furniture and in the time it would take for a dog to run around an obstacle, the mouse would be long gone into a wall crack or underneath the refrigerator, they are also just too clumsy to catch a mouse and would surely destroy everything in it's path while attempting to chase it down. A cat could accomplish this feat much more gracefully

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] dddavis-69573 9 years ago

Poor dog. I hope that if it had an owner, it was taken for a rabies shot..

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] dddavis-69573 9 years ago

Well as long as the rat died, all is well. LOL

[–] or_bill68 9 years ago

Our black lab regularly kills rats and mice in our back yard.

[–] elsol-3 8 years ago

So does my black Lab. I was quite surprised, since he is the biggest softie with everyone, human, dog, cat, you name it... but a mouse? He's on it like black on an iron frying pan.

[–] cliff-hartle 9 years ago

http://www.animal-pestcontrol.com/dogs-that-keep-mice-away/

[–] rp69 8 years ago

We had a full sized German Shepard as a shop dog(farm equipment store). Our building was full of rats. That dog used to kill rats all the time. We'd open for business in the mourning, there would be a dead rat laying in the middle of the showroom. He never ate or mutilated them, just kill and present them.

There are many breeds of dogs that were originally bred just to kill mice and rats. Rat Terriers, Jack Russels, Southern Feists.

[–] ant-mac 8 years ago

I would have thought it would depend upon the size of the dog.

A Pomeranian might accomplish what a Great Dane cannot.

ant-mac

[–] oniforo 8 years ago

Is this a joke? I grew up in rural Idaho and little field mice would find their way into the house in winter. My Scottish Terrier would annihilate them. That is the entire purpose for most breeds of small dogs, they were made to catch mice that could easily evade big dogs. Ever heard of a rat terrier? They were bred to catch rats. Hell, people used to dump buckets of rats into cages and let loose terriers and bet on which dog would kill the most.

[–] rgronovius 8 years ago

my dog is half rat terrier, about the size of a large house cat, likes to play tug of war and shake his chew rope. We had a mouse in the house once and he got it. He's a speedy little mutt. That pulling and shaking is probably what his ancestors did to rats.

[–] rmontro 8 years ago

I've heard of large dogs killing rats also. Not sure about mice, but I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. Maybe not as efficiently as a cat, as the OP noted.