He was quick, he was sly, but I finally spotted the mouse living in my house. I think he's holed up in my stove, using insulation for nesting material, because I never use my oven (well, I'm not going to start now!). This is exactly what happened in my last house. He probably thinks insulation is cozy, but his poor little nestlings are not going to be very comfy in that stuff. Not my problem. My problem is that my oven is going to become unusable.
I have a possible solution right here at home if I can figure out how to utilize it. Akira, a Yorkshire Terrier practically lives with us. I keep her all day while my neighbors are gone (Mom's a teacher, Dad's the principal, the whole family stays at the school 8-12 hours a day). Officially, she's a Silky Toy, the smallest Yorkie you can get. The Capt, out of curiosity, Googled Yorkshire Terrier and found out that they are not foo-foo dogs after all, but were bred to catch mice in English clothing factories. This was way before clothes with holes were considered a cool thing.
Akira — not a foo-foo after all
All I have to do is teach her how to do the thing she was bred for: catching mice. It may get a bit bloody in my kitchen, but we could win this little war. Now, how do you teach a dog to hunt vermin? It should be hardwired in her tiny brain: running mouse = lunch. Do I need to buy pet-store mice for training purposes? Make a stuffed toy mouse, attach it to a string and pull it in front of her? Naah, it needs that mouse smell...
6 comments:
not a foo foo dog-how funny! akira is a cutie. jack killed many a rat in our garage when we had them in our older house some years back. i think akira would probably be a natural. just put her near the stove and see what happens.
yes we gave jack up but he went back to his former owners-long story. i seem to have a bit of a stomach virus so don't feel much like writing but i will e-mail you when i feel better.
teresa
I would pull the oven out and bang on the thing and let the litter scatter, then bing the dog in for clean up.
Wikipedia states that the Yorkies were bred to "catch rats in the clothing mills." It doesn't say that the Yorkies actually killed the rats, but one presumes. If Akira is bred to catch rats, a house mouse should be "no problema."
When I was growing up on the farm, we had a cat who was an excellent mouser. I don't recall my parents ever buying food for her. Like everyone else on a farm, she was expected to work and her job was to catch critters.
I expect if Akira was hungry enough, her breeding would kick in and Mr. Mouse would soon be history. But who lets a non-working pet go hungry?
Teresa - Well, she's a foo-foo with additional potential. Just needs a bit of a career nudge. Hope your tummy feels better today.
C&K - Sounds doable, especially if I block off the hidey hole just opposite the stove, which is where the mouse went when he spotted me.
MX - OMG, Akira is only slightly larger than a rat herself! They must be really gutsy little critters, those Yorkies.
Barb - I'd never have taken you for a farm kid. The problem with not feeding Akira is that she'd just go over and eat Chica's food. And Chica, that little marshmallow, would allow it!
Should Velcro and I fly up? She's a great mouser and brings me "presents" from time to time, outside though.
I had lots of mice 10 years ago when I moved in here. Got mouse traps but then was too squeamish to pick up the traps after they had done the deed. A nice man did that for me....
Your hardware store has them. I didn't know how to ask. I went in and said the word "raton" and slammed my arm on the counter - he got the message and brought many sizes. I still laugh about that....I bought the smallest ones, ha......
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