My dogs encountered an Armadillo- Do I need to go to vet? (lab, bite)
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An Armadillo entered my fenced-in yard this evening and my dogs attacked it. I got them away from it as quickly as I could but they did have contact with it for a while.
I did not notice any wounds on the dogs but the internets say they carry disease. Should I take them to the vet? I have no experience with armadillos.
IIRC, the only danger from armadilloes is leprosy and rabies. The dogs can't catch leprosy, and if you didn't handle the armadillo, you aren't likely to either. As for rabies, the armadillo would have to bite the dogs to pass it, IF it even had it. And, your dogs are vaccinated for rabies, I imagine, which means no worries on that score. I'd call my vet anyway, to err on the safe side.
You might try to find the hole where the armadillo got into your fence. But other than that, if the dogs don't need stitches and the dogs are vaccinated against rabies, you are fine. Armadillos are not normally carriers of rabies, so even that is very little worry.
Thanks all. I did find a couple of places an armadillo could get in and put in some things I bought at pet smart for blocking animals from passing under. I also figured it was looking for grubs (I have a lot of moles so I know there are grubs) so I treated the yard for grubs.
I don't think this one will be back. It was injured and yesterday I saw a couple of buzzards hanging out in the area it walked off to.
Aren't they ugly things? I had one that lived under my house and I called a trapper who lent me a cage to capture it. Yuk. I was shocked when the thing appeared inside the cage. The guy took him off to a better place for him to live in the wild. I had thought it was just a raccoon !!
Aren't they ugly things? I had one that lived under my house and I called a trapper who lent me a cage to capture it. Yuk. I was shocked when the thing appeared inside the cage. The guy took him off to a better place for him to live in the wild. I had thought it was just a raccoon !!
And they stink to high heaven. Like you, I had one under my foundation. Hired trappers and they set up an elaborate series of traps and fencing to guide it into the traps around the perimeter of the foundation. Over 10 days, it caught everything except the armadillo - a skunk, raccoon, possum. They were all taken up to be freed elsewhere. But no armadillo. I filled the hole with rock and put heavy pavestones on the surface and never had a recurrence... so far. Armadillos are very common here and they love to dig.
Aren't they ugly things? I had one that lived under my house and I called a trapper who lent me a cage to capture it. Yuk. I was shocked when the thing appeared inside the cage. The guy took him off to a better place for him to live in the wild. I had thought it was just a raccoon !!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and beauty is more than skin deep. I don't find them ugly...just the opposite. They are impressive evolutionary survivors with unusual capabilities. They've also made unique contributions to research. A former co-worker raised a couple of orphaned pups. Cool, entertaining little guys IMHO. Can they be inconvenient? Sure! You can say the same thing about just about every critter given the right circumstances...including that cute fluffy little lab puppy digging in your flowerbeds.
Last edited by Parnassia; 05-20-2023 at 04:41 PM..
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and beauty is more than skin deep. I don't find them ugly...just the opposite. They are impressive evolutionary survivors with unusual capabilities. They've also made unique contributions to research. A former co-worker raised a couple of orphaned pups. Cool, entertaining little guys IMHO. Can they be inconvenient? Sure! You can say the same thing about just about every critter given the right circumstances...including that cute fluffy little lab puppy digging in your flowerbeds.
Amen. I absolutely love them (and all God’s creatures). There used to be one in my yard who I named Rutabaga. The armadillo was doing the OP a favor by eating the grubs. Natural insect control at its best!
We just heard a story from a woman whose dog attacked an armadillo and was covered in blood. The woman was sure the dog was mortally wounded…rushed it to the vet to discover not a scratch on the dog.
Who’d a thought a dog could even get through the armor?
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