Do Terrier dogs deter mice???

[TwingleMum]

We live in the woods and every winter we get some mice in the house , very annoying. My neighbor who has live here all her life said the only real deterint she has found is a cat. Something about mice smelling the cat and not coming in (?) I'm not looking to be flamed or converted but I am not a cat person. Would never get one. Don't like them. Nuff said. I am a dog person. Always had dogs growing up ( German Shepards and Malamutes). I was wondering if there was a breed of dog that would deter mice like maybe a terrier?? They were bred to be ratters, weren't they???

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Cats or dogs do not "deter" mice. I have had both and been in homes that have gotten mice.

Now I suppose a dog would eat thru the drywall to get at a mouse or alert you to the location so you can catch them. Cats are more effective mousers but you still have to do your part and plug the holes where they are getting in.

Steel wool is the only deterrent that is effective. They cannot chew thru it as it will cut them up. You plug the holes by going around in the dark with a flashlight from the outside and a person inside marks where they see the light coming thru. Once it is daytime you go back to the spots and plug the holes.

In this house currently they are coming into the garage. I know they are around the house and probably under the front porch.

Well placed snap traps/glue traps can catch them. Our snap traps have no food in them. We place them along their running trails.

 

[Ilivetogo]

My sister had a Welsh Terrier (bred to dig out little critters) and sure enough, he even dug up little voles out of my yard!! With a PURPOSE! Yikes! He wouldn't stop till he got those things. Anyway, some terriers will be better with that than others, but yes, as a "rule", terriers were bred for that. They're cute too!! And some of the breeds don't even shed!!!

 

[dawson5]

My neighbor's daughter has two Yorkies and one afternoon while sitting and playing with them, they tag-teamed on a mouse. We have a beagle who can't be bothered. When I was a kid we had a lab and a dachsund, I don't remember anything like this. Had a cat who would catch them and leave the rears on the back patio.

neighbor just told me to watch our landscaping edge. You know the black stuff with the tube on top? She's been finding mice in them, coming out of it. I know they can fit anywhere but that just seems really small.

 

[Chicago526]

Cats or dogs do not "deter" mice. I have had both and been in homes that have gotten mice.

Now I suppose a dog would eat thru the drywall to get at a mouse or alert you to the location so you can catch them. Cats are more effective mousers but you still have to do your part and plug the holes where they are getting in.

Steel wool is the only deterrent that is effective. They cannot chew thru it as it will cut them up. You plug the holes by going around in the dark with a flashlight from the outside and a person inside marks where they see the light coming thru. Once it is daytime you go back to the spots and plug the holes.

In this house currently they are coming into the garage. I know they are around the house and probably under the front porch.

Well placed snap traps/glue traps can catch them. Our snap traps have no food in them. We place them along their running trails.

If you can't be bothered with all that, you can also hire pest control companies. They look over your home, plug all the holes they can find and if you already have rodents, they can set traps and remove any critters caught.

I wouldn't get a pet (cat or dog) just for the sole purpose of pest control. First, it may not work if you get the one dog out of the litter that decides mice are his friends, and two, pets should be gotten because you want one for their own sake. Pets can cause their own share of home destruction, and even if you adopt an effective ratter, you may find yourself trading one set of problems for another set (think stained carpeting, chewed up furnature, $1000 vet bills, etc.).

 

[NeverlandClub23]

My sister had a Welsh Terrier (bred to dig out little critters) and sure enough, he even dug up little voles out of my yard!! With a PURPOSE! Yikes! He wouldn't stop till he got those things.

My Miniature Pinscher is always on a killing spree for something . Her favorite are voles. She's dug up a few. We also have bunnies that live under our deck that constantly have babies. Luckily she's only caught one (and that was such a horrible moment ). We get a few field mice every winter or when it rains for a long time but we just catch them in a big bucket and release them into a field (we have lots of open fields where the Revolutionary War was won that are touristy) a few miles from our house. I just wish she could keep our neighbor's obnoxious indoor/outdoor cat out of our yard so it would stop killing animals and leaving them in our yard.

 

[golfgal]

We have a Rat Terrier. They were bread to kill rats in barns so yes, they would help your problem. Our dog does chase rabbits and squirrels in the yard-has caught 2 rabbits this year. The nice thing about this bread is they are happy sitting on your lap or running around in the yard. They are not high maintenance. Our dog gets plenty of exercise just running around in our yard so if you don't have time for walks, that is nice. She is about 12 pounds but very sturdy.

 

[elgerber]

We have a Rat Terrier. They were bread to kill rats in barns so yes, they would help your problem. Our dog does chase rabbits and squirrels in the yard-has caught 2 rabbits this year. The nice thing about this bread is they are happy sitting on your lap or running around in the yard. They are not high maintenance. Our dog gets plenty of exercise just running around in our yard so if you don't have time for walks, that is nice. She is about 12 pounds but very sturdy.

We have 2 rat terriers, 7 and 14 pounds. They would love to have something else besides the cat. I am not sure what they'd do if they caught something, but they would love to try.

 

[kristilew]

My two Cairn Terriers will kill anything that scurries or slithers. And bring it in as a gift.

So far: moles, mice, opossums, squirrels, snakes, lizards, bunnies, chipmunks, toads, and they'd dearly love to help my neighbor with her varmit problem (she keeps guinea pigs on her porch and my two keep offering their services to exterminate )

They are a lot of fun, but you have to do some research before comitting to a terrier. They will dig a tunnel in your yard like it's their job (they think it is) and they are not so much about pleasing their humans. Still, I've had terriers for years and years and wouldn't think of having anything else.

 

[terri01p]

Read my signature, my dog will bring them to you while you sleep....

 

[PixieFan]

My Yorkie has killed 3 mice and 2 pet hamsters.; He just kills them and leaves them. Thank Goodness!!!

 

[TwingleMum]

Thanks everyone. My DS wants to get a small dog and I've always liked Westies so if they deter mice its just a bonus.

 

[jfoofj]

I met a rat terrier once who brought his owner rocks... I don't know if he was wired wrong or something, but he thought it was his JOB to bring his owner rocks, and he did it very well. It was pretty amusing to watch.

I have a Yorkie, and while he is VERY territorial and barks and anything that steps foot on our property, he is a bit frightened of little critters. The neighbor's greyhounds... he thinks he can take them... a mouse and he is jumping on my lap.

Go figure....

 

[mjkacmom]

My Miniature Pinscher is always on a killing spree for something . Her favorite are voles. She's dug up a few. We also have bunnies that live under our deck that constantly have babies. Luckily she's only caught one (and that was such a horrible moment ). We get a few field mice every winter or when it rains for a long time but we just catch them in a big bucket and release them into a field (we have lots of open fields where the Revolutionary War was won that are touristy) a few miles from our house. I just wish she could keep our neighbor's obnoxious indoor/outdoor cat out of our yard so it would stop killing animals and leaving them in our yard.

We had a minpin who loved to hunt, but we still ended up with mice in the house (I think she did get one). Mice come out at night, when dogs sleep. Sometimes she'd bark at a wall, but that's it.

 

[JaymeKelley]

My family has a female Jack Russell Terrier named Mercedes whom belongs to my 18 month old daughter, Sissy. The house we live in is 76 years old and is in some disrepair to the point where we are trying to move before the winter actually sets in. As a result of the disrepair, we have been seen A LOT of small gray mice lately. I have tried everything I could think of to get rid of them, and nothing worked... Until Mercedes found one. Now she has dedicated herself to constant vigilance against them, even trying to dig through the floor to get to them between the floor and the kitchen cabinets. When she sees one, she chases it down, corners it, kills it, and carries it to my daughter's feet, where she leave it, as though she is blessing Sissy with some great gift. She means well, but my daughter doesn't understand that Mercedes thinks she is providing her with a meal, and the whole thing is pretty gross. Whatever, I'm just glad to have figured out how to be rid of them!

 

[mjkacmom]

I've had 2 terriers. They chase and bark at squirrels, bunnies, chipmunks, cats, even jumping high in the air for birds (and love chasing flocks of geese). We still get mice. My dog would definitely kill one if she saw one - got a hold of a baby bunny, and it wasn't pretty - but mice are smarter than she is.

 

[bcla]

There was a piece on This American Life about terriers in Manhattan going on rat hunts with the Ryder's Alley Trenchers Society (R.A.T.S.).

https://thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/596/becoming-a-badger?act=2#act-2

I don't know if they really think they making a dent in the rat population, but it seems to be more about letting them do what their instincts tell them to do.