Dogs and hamsters are beloved pets in many households for their furry friendliness and calm demeanor. However, dogs are natural predators, and hamsters are natural prey. Do dogs eat hamsters, and can they live in the same home?
Dogs eat hamsters on occasion. Hamsters are tiny animals that dogs may see as prey or threats to their territory. While hamsters are not part of a dog’s natural diet, dogs are still carnivores seeking easy prey. In some cases, dogs can be trained to live with and be calm around hamsters.
It’s impossible to know if your dog will eat a hamster. However, the risk is present because of canines’ high predator drive. In this article, I’ll discuss the risks of having a dog and a hamster in the same home and how to protect your hamster if they do cohabitate.
The Risks of Having a Dog and Hamster in the Same Home
If your dog has never been introduced to a hamster, there is always a risk that the dog’s predatory instincts will kick in, regardless of the dog’s overall demeanor.
Dogs are predatory canines and very protective of their territory. They consider the boundaries of their home and their owner’s well-being as territory to defend.
When you introduce a hamster (or any small rodent) to your home, there’s a chance that the dog will see it as either a threat or potential prey. The dog’s instincts will encourage them to attack or eat the hamster unless they have been trained not to do so.
In many cases, sensing that their owner is comfortable with the hamster, a dog will be curious about it and want to play with it. While the dog’s intentions may be pure, the roughness of the dog’s play can quickly overwhelm a hamster and even kill it.
However, it’s possible for dogs and hamsters to cohabitate, and many pet owners stand by their decisions to do so. Additionally, there may be situations where a dog is present around your hamster, and you want to take steps to ensure its safety.
How To Protect Your Hamster if a Dog Is Present
Because there’s always a risk that your dog may attack a hamster until it is trained not to, you should always take precautions when introducing the two species. Eventually, you’ll want to train your dog to be calm around hamsters, which I’ll cover in the next section.
The first step is to always supervise interactions between a dog and your hamster to ensure the dog doesn’t succumb to its instincts and attack the furry critter.
Keep the hamster in an enclosure at all times. Hamsters should generally live in enclosures and not roam free. However, the type of enclosure your hamster inhabits may need to change if you introduce a canine.
Avoid wire cages or cages made with metal slats, and opt for full plastic or plexiglass cages with air holes at the top. Enclosures with wires, mesh, or slats provide space for a dog to claw through and tear apart. Uniform enclosures with air holes at the top are much safer for your hamster with dogs present.
Additionally, you can provide various hiding places or structures within the hamster cage to allow your hamster to hide when it gets scared. Hamsters get stressed easily and will feel more comfortable if they have an exit strategy.
It’s best to keep your dog and hamster in separate rooms and ensure your dog can’t access the hamster’s cage while no humans are present. Just because your dog behaved while you were in the room doesn’t mean it won’t get ideas while you’re away.
Over time, if a dog and hamster cohabitate, they can spend more time together as the dog gets used to the hamster as a family member. Doing so will require you to train your dog to be calm around hamsters.
How To Train Your Dog To Remain Calm Around Hamsters
You can train your dog to become calm around your hamster by teaching it that its predator instinct isn’t suitable and rewarding it when it remains calm.
It would help if you always supervised the interactions when introducing dogs and hamsters in the initial stages. Dogs will be much calmer and more responsive with their owners present, and it will be easier to train your dog correct behavior.
Treat the interaction like you would with another dog or human and closely monitor the dog’s behavior. Keep the dog on a leash during the entire process.
To start, introduce the dog and hamster while they are in separate rooms with a closed door between them. Allow your dog to sniff under the door and get used to the new smells so that it will recognize the hamster when they first meet.
Rather than reprimand the dog if it gets aggressive, reward your dog each time it remains calm around the hamster, and your dog will quickly catch on. If your dog does begin to growl or get aggressive, take it to another room and wait 3-5 minutes before resuming the interaction.
Each time you take your dog away, it will reinforce to your dog that aggressive behavior isn’t acceptable by disconnecting the association between its predator instinct and the hamster’s scent.
Over time, as your dog becomes calmer and more accepting of the hamster’s scent, you can introduce the two animals for a couple of minutes at a time. Take your dog away at the first sign of aggression or after it has lost interest in the hamster.
As your dog and hamster become more comfortable, they’ll begin to cohabitate and likely become close companions. Ensure you’re in the same room when they interact, and don’t leave the hamster out when you’re not home.
If your dog ever does eat a hamster, consult a veterinarian immediately for the best course of action.
Final Thoughts
Dogs and hamsters are both excellent companions, but they don’t get along the best with one another.
Of the most concern is that a dog will eat the hamster, which is possible because of dogs’ high predatory drive.
If you introduce a dog to a hamster, ensure that the hamster is in an enclosure and that the dog is leashed. You can train a dog to remain calm around hamsters by reinforcing calm behavior and dissociating prey behavior around the hamster.