Rat Hunters?

[CesarTheGreat]

I've read that Yorkies were bred to hunt and kill rats during the times of high rat infestations in England.

If this is true, I am wondering if these dogs are less susceptible to disease carried by rats.

I just read on another one of my forums that a member had to put his dog down after he got very sick and had high level of toxins in his kidneys. After a few days the dog pooped out the skin/shell of a rat and that is what caused his death. After 30 days of treatment and flushes he had to put him down because he just got worse and worse.

I am in Michigan and my neighborhood does not have a rat infestation but we do have a deck in the back and who knows what's under there.

I am wondering if there was a rat and Cesar caught and killed it (which he would) would he be susceptible as any other dog, or do Yorkies have a higher tolerance?

[Nancy1999]

Yes, Yorkies were originally bred as ratters. They would take them to the coal mines and put them in tunnels and have them catch rats. Also, there were used in a betting contest, where rats were in a pen and people would bet on how long it would take the terrier to kill the rats. Huddersfield Ben, said to be the foundation sire of the breed was reported to be very good at ratting contests. Huddersfield Ben - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To answer your question, I do not think this means that they are less susceptible to disease, only that small animals excite them and bring out the hunting instinct. I wouldn’t let Joey around a rat, if I had the choice.

[Rachael x]

Yes that is what they were used for but I don't think it makes them any more susceptible to disease. I agree with Nancy, I wouldn't let Poppy any where near one... I don't even like her being near frogs never mind rats!

[Nancy1999]

About 40 some years ago I was living in San Antonio Texas for a short time, and I read a tip in the Sunday paper that said to "Keep Tarantulas, under your bed in a box. Let them out occasionally to catch rats." I don't think they were trying to be funny, but I never could forget that “tip”.

[Rachael x]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

About 40 some years ago I was living in San Antonio Texas for a short time, and I read a tip in the Sunday paper that said to "Keep Tarantulas, under your bed in a box. Let them out occasionally to catch rats." I don't think they were trying to be funny, but I never could forget that “tip”.

URGH! I don't think I will be getting much sleep tonight after reading that LOL!

[concretegurl]

Ask all neighbors and people around to please use SNAP TRAPS.

Not only are they the most humane way to take care of problem rodents but using poisons is very dangerous.

May pest control places tell you they use enclosed dog and cat safe poisons..NO the poison is only neutralized by vitamin K and if you don't feed your dog or cat a food that has added vitamin K they will surely suffer the same fate as the rat- if untreated the first sign of poisoning in "safe" rodent poisons is extreme thirst.

I doubt a dog breed created would have evolved to in such a short time to have such an immunity however if the breeds they originated from did perhaps-but I'd put money they don't have any more immunity than any other breed of dog or cat.

My friend's pointer ate a gopher alive and whole-I'm pretty sure pointer weren't bred for this, but nevertheless she was just fine short of the scratches on her lip from Gopher bite marks.

-my friend was super lucky the gopher wasn't sick or poisoned.

Watch closely never let them catch one these are our pets not our working expendable farm animals...

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Rachael x

URGH! I don't think I will be getting much sleep tonight after reading that LOL!

I mean even the thought of the Tarantula doing it's job and I guess eating the rat is just so sickening.

[Cha Cha]

Back in the day, yes I do believe they would have been less suspectible to disease carried by rats because the more the body is exposed, the more it builds antibodies to protect against it. But I don't think that holds true today since their use for rat hunting has long passed. I don't know what kind of disease or parasites rats carry that our dogs can get, but I do know that opossums and wild rabbits pose a threat to our dogs.

[navillusc]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

About 40 some years ago I was living in San Antonio Texas for a short time, and I read a tip in the Sunday paper that said to "Keep Tarantulas, under your bed in a box. Let them out occasionally to catch rats." I don't think they were trying to be funny, but I never could forget that “tip”.

I also lived in TX a while...my older son had open heart surgery in San Antonio. That's not a tip I would ever forget, either...nor one I would do!

Having grown up in OK and having been "chased" as a child by a huge black hairy tarantula that just wouldn't die by being 'ground' multiple times into the earth by my Dad's cowboy boot heel and continued to hop up out of the hole and chase me again, I am not a huge fan of spiders of any size...oh, and I accidentally discovered that "Raid Wasp and Hornet" will cut the legs off the brown FL tarantulas (and the huge wolf spiders) at close range...

[navillusc]

Originally Posted by Cha Cha

Back in the day, yes I do believe they would have been less suspectible to disease carried by rats because the more the body is exposed, the more it builds antibodies to protect against it. But I don't think that holds true today since their use for rat hunting has long passed. I don't know what kind of disease or parasites rats carry that our dogs can get, but I do know that opossums and wild rabbits pose a threat to our dogs.

Can you elaborate on the threat(s)?

[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by navillusc

Can you elaborate on the threat(s)?

Rabbits can carry Tularemia (rabbit fever) and opossums can carry leptospirosis.

[Yorkiedaze]

Yes they were ratter back then, but Lord only knows how many poor little Yorkies succumbed to rat bites. I'm glad we take better care of our little fur kids these days! They have become more our kids than a tool or other.

[concretegurl]

Originally Posted by navillusc

Can you elaborate on the threat(s)?

Rats carry : rabies, lepto, tularemia, something called rat bite fever, Salmonella, and then there are the parasites too.

[navillusc]

Yorkies being bred as ratters does not automatically give them any immunity to any diseases, whether or not rats carried the diseases. If Yorkies Huddersfield Ben, (particularly) had any natural immunities to the diseases carried by the rats of those days, it is logically possible that today's Yorkies may still retain some immunity. I wouldn't count on it, though.

The big difference, IMHO, is that today's rats have evolved in a wide variety of changes in their environment. Whatever their adaptations, there is now considerably more to it than disease. Today's rats living in sewers in NYC, for example, undoubtedly consume or are exposed to vast quantities of toxins...degrading plastics, industrial cleaners, and medical waste, for example, that the rats that are not killed off by the toxicity will have developed some immunity and/or tolerance to. I doubt Yorkies have that 'advantage' if you can call it that.

My lap dog Yorkies will hopefully never consume such things...nor will they likely kill rats. Were they to come in contact with the toxic load one of today's city rats was carrying, if it didn't cause lethal or at least serious harm, I would be absolutely shocked because today's food makes me ill just from the chemical additives!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by navillusc

I also lived in TX a while...my older son had open heart surgery in San Antonio. That's not a tip I would ever forget, either...nor one I would do!

Having grown up in OK and having been "chased" as a child by a huge black hairy tarantula that just wouldn't die by being 'ground' multiple times into the earth by my Dad's cowboy boot heel and continued to hop up out of the hole and chase me again, I am not a huge fan of spiders of any size...oh, and I accidentally discovered that "Raid Wasp and Hornet" will cut the legs off the brown FL tarantulas (and the huge wolf spiders) at close range...

Leaving San Antonio, late at night with my 1 month old baby, we headed for small Texas town, where we would be stationed. The road ahead was blackened with something and as we slowed down we were horrified to learn that there were hundreds/thousands( ?) of tarantulas, it must have been a tarantula road crossing, you could hear crunch crunch as we drove over them. I was terrified that when we got out of the car there would be hundreds of them on it (there weren't). It really was like something from a horror movie.