Well, Buddy's pictures of his first rat reminded me of a video I have of Rita's first kill.  Now, we don't really have rats out here, but we do have gophers.

I'm putting a warning on it.  There's no blood, but it is kinda gross watching her "play" with this squeaky toy.

I believe it just comes natural to them. 

That's the reason Ratties were bred!  They were used on farms to control rodents and actually is how they got their name.  Teddy Roosevelt had "ratting" terriers  or fiests in the White House and when they did a renovation, his killed so many rats that he named them Rat Terriers.  At least, that is what I have read. 

That's the reason Ratties were bred!  They were used on farms to control rodents and actually is how they got their name.  Teddy Roosevelt had "ratting" terriers  or fiests in the White House and when they did a renovation, his killed so many rats that he named them Rat Terriers.  At least, that is what I have read. 

Re: The rolling in it. Wonder if they do that so the "essence" or scent can be worn as a sort of trophy. I found it amusing the big dog just watched as if totally disinterested! He had a "Big Deal! What's so great about a little rat?" look on his face the whole time! 

Yeah, that's what I've read too.  I've got a Rat Terrier book too that talks about their history...like the reason for docking tails was because back in England, working dogs didn't get taxed.  So, they'd dock their tails to tell the difference.

 As to the rolling around, from what I've read and heard is that it is a natural thing that animals due while hunting. It's similar to a deer hunter putting doe pee on them, to disquise their scent so that they can continue to hunt. When hunting in a pack, they wouldn't want to scare off the prey.