My dog ate a hedgehog

[VandaMay]

I think it was was dead already and my dog has just eaten all of it whilst out walking. He was a little distance away and I thought it was a stick. He’s eaten all of it, should I be worried about rabies?

Oh just go away

I wouldn't worry - my beagle managed to help himself to part of a dead rabbit (or fox, DH isn't sure), some dead pigeon, some poo and some sheep wool from a bush yesterday 🙄

He's absolutely fine - not even a runny poo to show for it

Nice - did he give you a big kiss afterwards? 🥰

My brothers terrier used to kill hedgehogs, but didn’t bother eating them, same if a rabbit or rat strayed into the garden. Out in the countryside most hedgehogs are killed by badgers who will catch anything that is slower than them - rabbits are too quick.

I hope you do decide to contact your on call vet this evening given the dangers, I realise Sunday evening will be significantly more expensive but it might actually be the difference between a good outcome or not.

Tbf the hedgehog was probably more nutritious than Royal Canin 😂

It is really overpriced for what it is.

Look on all about dog food. Com

You can get a much better food cheaper!

Thank you that’s very helpful - will definitely take a look 👍

How “little” a distance away can a dog be to be able to eat a whole hedgehog corpse ? 🤮

Not helpful, I know…

Thankfully not

He also once found a dead deer in the woods - of course he ate it, but before that, decided he needed to pee and poo on it first!

Rabies? No. Nor would I contact the vet unless the dog seems unwell.

I had a scavenger dog (rescue - had been starved) that would eat all manner of dead things. Such is a dogs life.

There’s a group on Facebook called ‘Pet Vet Corner’ - only vets allowed to answer questions if you want to ask them if it could wait until the morning to see a vet?

Haha those photos,he looks pretty chuffed with himself in the last pic🤣

The vet won't be able to do anything on a Sunday night - they could get him in to be sick but that has to be within an hour or two or it's totally pointless.

Personally I wouldn't bother to contact the vet over this - dogs eat all sorts and the vast majority of the time they're absolutely fine - he might vomit or have a runny bum but it's really not an emergency unless he's eaten the spikes - and he wouldn't be acting his normal self if he'd done that!

I thought it said my dad at a hedgehog.

There is no rabies in England, but he could still pick up nasty germs/parasites. As another poster mentioned, there could be a lungworm risk. I'd get a vet's opinion.

RIP Sonic 😩

That's his IDGAF look.🤣
He's a handsome boy ❣️

Nooooooooo 😱

Oh do pucker off Dr Dolittle! Clearly you don’t own a dog or you wouldn’t post something so sanctimonious!

That's going to be one painful shit😂

Why did I know just from the title that it was going to be a lab?! They will eat anything. My friends lab has had 3 operations from eating whole shoes.

My dog has also done this, unfortunately(for him and the hedgehog). Ticks was my worry but the spines really upset his stomach, as you would imagine and he needed to see the vet a few times. If the hedgehog was already dead I would also wonder how it died.

I realise Sunday evening will be significantly more expensive but it might actually be the difference between a good outcome or not.

Argh! Posters like you are so annoying! Stop fear mongering, the dog isn’t going to die ffs. Spiky bum is the only bad outcome OP needs to worry about.

I thought this must be about Freddie Starr's dog but I've just remembered neither of them are still with us.

It’s a fairly common sense approach to seek medical assistance when your dog has eaten something which is highly susceptible to poisons. My retriever ate a mouse last year and living on a farm, I knew it was likely poisoned so it went straight into the vet to induce vomiting. Hedgehogs aren’t in the habit of dying for no reason but they do induce a lot of poison used by households as a non target species. A dog is fine for several hours after eating a poisoned animal before they have absorbed enough to create internal bleeding. I’m actually just trying to offer some advice - why people post on the internet instead of talking to their medical professionals never fails to amaze me.