Has anyone's rat terrier ever been helpful in catching mice? Of course this is what they were bred for.  I have had a rat terrier for 4 years , her name is Towser, and she has always been a digger and a very vigilant dog. But now I have mice in my kitchen and would like to know if Towser can take care of them.  Obviously even rat terriers aren't cats -- they're not going to stalk a mouse and plan a systematic attack against it, but what will she do? So far, she has smelled around the vents. In fact I first suspected there was a mouse in there when Towser  took up an avid interest in smelling the vents and baseboards with great enthusiasm. But the mouse only comes out from the vents when Towser is out of the room. I've seen the mouse a few times last night. when Towser was in the other room. Something tells me she's not going to catch it, so I've already begun setting mousetraps.

Any suggestions? Or anecdotes about your rat terriers helping out in a situation like this?

Sorry- we only have an occassional mouse in the basement and they always get stuck on the spider glue boards before Rowdy has any time down there....  So, no idea how he does with mice in the house.  He has managed to kill a squirrel in our backyard.  Even without him, our lab Sam has earned her worth with catching mice at previous places I've lived.  Some dogs are actaully quite excellent mouse hunters and she's one of them.  Used to always be hunting down mice and leaving them dead on the kitchen floor.  My childhood dachsund Sweetpea used to do that too.  She caught mice beter than any cat I've seen!

My 1 y.o. rescue caught her first outside rat recently. But I haven't had any mice get inside here to test her hunting skills indoors. You know, they usually won't come out of their hiding places if there's people/dogs moving about making noise. Mice aren't dumb. They could be coming in through the vents or another common entry point is the plumbing hole into the wall under your kitchen sink. You might clear that cabinet out for a few days and leave the cabinet doors open full, to give the dog access to the possible access point in/out. Try turning off most of the lights one evening, except for a small one in the kitchen; turn off radios & TV's, as you would when going to bed. Hold your dog awhile in your lap in another room and then after awhile, say 15-20 minutes, quietly release the dog in the kitchen. Reason I think this might work, is because in our last house on the coast, where mice were finding some way inside (which I could never find), in no time at all after turning off lights & TV and leaving the room, the traps would go off! Try it with your "live trap". LOL He'll outrun them to the entry/exit hole, most likely.  I'f he's been sniffing around the baseboards and vent, he's interested in getting to the target for sure!

Thanks, it looks like the traps are working. Still, it would be nice to know that Towser could take care of situations like this!