Dogs & Mice

Question
Hi Tamarah, thanks for response to my last question. Just a quick one - I was playing with my mouse today when my dog lunged and tried to attack my mouse. After a quick yell at the dog on my part and a fast scurry into his house on my mouse's part, I was faced with a what to do next conundrum.

Mouser was understandably upset in his house, but I gave him a fast once-over, there doesn't appear to be any breaks into the skin, and after a while left alone he seems to have come around and is playing with me again and appears to be moving fine without any pain... He just seems a bit more skittish.

How can I check he is fine physically, is there anything I should watch out for? How can I help him get over the ordeal and trust me again??

Thanks,

Zara

Answer
Hi Zara,

That's unfortunate!  I'm glad he seems okay, though, and in the future I'd probably not trust puppy to be around when the mousey's getting playtime.  What a scare!

I would just keep an eye on him for the next few days and make sure he doesn't have any changes in behavior.  Usually injuries from something like that present themselves pretty quickly, so just make sure he continues to eat, drink, and play like normal, and he is probably just fine (albeit a little shaken!).

He will come to trust you again with time, just keep playing with him as usual and give him space when he gets scared.  Make sure you wash off any doggy smell from your hands before you play, though, and keep puppy locked in another part of your home.  You may have to work back up from putting your hand in the cage to full-out playtime, but I would think over the course of the next several days he should bounce back and trust you again.  Just give him a bit of time!  :)

Best of luck!
-Tam