Rat Owners Who Also Have Dog(s)

[Velo]

So I know at least some of you also have canine companions.
I am looking for some opinions on having dogs and rats.

I have always had at least one dog all my life, up until recently.
I currently own a home with my boyfriend. It's a quite spacious 4 bedroom house (one of which is the rat room) and has a massive backyard that is fenced on most sides as of now.
If you know me, you know I work 13+ hours a day, 5 days a week. My boyfriend works the same plus another 6 hours on Saturdays.

Recently, we moved our company. The new shop and office is a bit more spacious and the office is nicer. I work with dog people (plus this is a family owned company, my family).
So I have the okay to bring the dog to work with me all day everyday, as long as he/she is well-behaved.
There is also a dog run being put in, a chain-link fenced area outside.
Needless to say, I'm at a point that I can get a dog again.

I have a pretty extensive list for this dog because he/she has to be:
>Healthy/capable and happy to travel to and from work with us everyday
>Adult age, I can't cope with a puppy ha
>Rescue/adoption, I'm not buying from a breeder
>Very people friendly
>A smaller breed... I have my heart set on a Welsh Corgi, which I know will be very hard to match to the above, but I love mutts too

Anyway, this list means that it is highly likely that it will take me a proper amount of time to find ~the~ dog, as is.

But the other bit I've been thinking about is the dog to rat interaction, and hence why I am really posting this thread.
So, dog & rat owners, if you don't mind my questions....

> Do your dog(s) and rats get along?
> Do you keep your dog(s) completely separated from your rats, or do they have access to each other?
> How big is your dog? I'm mostly interested in small breeds so they can't jump up on the cage. Of course I'll probably be avoiding the smaller hunting breeds.
> How did you "introduce" your dog(s) to your rats?
> Would you recommend having both at the same time?
> Have you run into any issues with adopting a dog and having rats?

And any other opinions you have for me, I would love to hear. c:

 

[2Rats]

I would never leave a prey animal where it would come into contact with a predatory animal. Whether the dog is being supervised around the rat does not make it any safer , as "accidents" can happen quickly & rats are small enough to obtain a fatal wound. Now I know others may not agree with me - but this is my take on it.
My rats have their own room. They stay in their cages unless I am in the room with them, at which time they can get out and run around on the large tables that their cages sit on. Never are they allowed on the floor. My dog is not allowed in that room. When I have them out for snuggle times they do not get off of me. I have trained them this way since they were babies. And my dog is not close enough to have access to them. I would not trust my dog, as much as I love her.

 

[Velo]

Oh I wouldn't either. I don't have any intention of letting my rats free-range in their room with the dog loose in it. I don't have any intentions of leaving the rat room accessible to the dog either, whether the rats are out or not.

By "introduce" I meant see each other, smell each other, know the other one is there, etc - through a cage.

 

[Velo]

So out of curiosity, do you keep the door to the rat room closed all the time or do you use some kind of doggy door to keep the dog out? C:

 

[murphyrat]

I am in college so my situation is kind of interesting. My boyfriend and I have a dog together, but it lives at his house, and my rats live in my apartment. The rats and dog have met, but I generally do not allow them to interact very much. Tig (the dog) is a pitbull/rottie mix who is closer to pitbull size. He is very young, just turned one year, but is very "gentle". By this I do not mean that he has a soft touch, but that he does not try to eat small animal and has a low prey drive. I have let him sniff the rats, and he has interacted with them through the cage bars but only with me watching. He listens to me well when I correct him, so I have alway felt comfortable with this. Whenever he comes over to visit though I keep the door to my bedroom (where the rats live) closed unless I am in there. If the dog you end up adopting has low prey drive, I think it would be fairly easy to train them to avoid and ignore the rats altogether depending on their temperament.

 

[SQ]

I adopted out two baby girls to what seemed to be a good home ... but I was extremely concerned about their dogs.
Another member on this forum convinced me that it would be fine and it would be a good home ... and the couple promised to never leave the dogs in the same room as the rats unsupervised even if the rats were safely in their cage.
They did not keep their promise, although they had signed a contract.
The dogs swallowed my baby girls alive ... I found out weeks later.

I will never be able to forgive myself and I still have nightmares, although it has been over 7 years.
I can only hope my sweet little babies died quickly

==============================

At present I rent a room from a family member who has a dog.
Her dog has a very low prey drive, he is not allowed in the room where my rats are and there are 3 closed doors between the part of the house where the dog lives and the room where my rats live in their two connected double CNs.

==============================

Several members have dogs.
I think that having dogs with an extremely low prey drive is very important if you have small pets.

It is extremely important to have your rats housed in an extremely strong cage that is both dog and rat proof.... like a CN.

I think it is also important that if the dog is allowed in the same room as the rats, it should only occur under supervision and the rats should always be in their cage when this occurs, never out of the cage, not even if being held

and I know others will disagree with this .... but I think it is better to be extra careful then risk tragedy.

 

[Joanne]

I have two Portuguese Water Dogs. They are a retriever type of dog, and have a low prey drive. If you know dogs, you will be able to tell quite quickly if the dog is too interested in small animals. My dogs are allowed to sniff the rats while I hold them, and they always try and lick them. They never bother with them in the cage - the cats are much more of a worry! My rats are in a DCN, so the dogs could not knock the cage over if they were so inclined.
Corgis are herding dogs, so probably not too interested in them. I would test any dog you want by showing them a rat at a safe distance and very carefully observing their reaction. If they get 'the look' in their eye, then they are definitely not safe. Even if they pass this test, they may still not be safe. Ideally your cage should have close bar spacing, and be large enough not to knock over, have secure doors that will not pop open if knocked down.
My dogs also come with me to work every day - it is great! I can understand the desire to have a dog. He will have to be well-trained anyway, and calm, in order for him to be the right dog for you. I hope you can find the right match for you!

 

[hopefloats]

We have Pit bull type dogs both have a high prey drive. My youngest dog was trained from a puppy so she seem them as one of the other critters in the house and does not try to kill them. I can let her play with a few closely monitored but she knows commands like dont bite, and no teeth and leave it. So when I tell her that she backs off. The rats are more of a danger to the dogs because my dogs always sniff them through the cage and nahla has scars to show it. You can have them live in harmony and you can teach your dog not to harm them but you have to always watch them as I know you will. We have had escaped rats jump off go to the dogs food and she tried so hit it with her foot but we only had one jumper and she is gone now. Even at that moment the dog could of killed her but she does seem them as little furry siblings since she was with them her whole life. Nahla is limited on the rats she can sniff and see and it is pretty much a few select girls and jackson and oliver's group. She knows when the rats are out she is on the other couch not the chair with me. You just have to train them right.

 

[2Rats]

I don't close the rat room door, The cages ( which are pretty heavy ) are way above eye level of my dog and are on large tables. She cannot get to them. As far as intros - I would suggest not doing , even through cages. The less you draw your dog's attention to them the better.

You can enjoy all the critters as long as you know you have the ratties "dog proofed"

SQ -- that is terrible what happened but it was not your fault.