We recently adopted a 4 year old Jack Russel/Yorkie mix. She’s come nose-to-nose with a juvenile possum twice that I know of without any fur flying. Just wondering from those of you with more possum experience if the possum is likely to attack. I would prefer not to eliminate the possum but certainly don’t want the dog hurt. Thoughts? Thanks!
Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris
My experience with them is they are very docile and will try to get away as fast as they can (which they are not very fast). I think unless your jack russel bit one and didn't let go, you have nothing to worry about.
you know possums do got some nasty teeth but ive never seen them attack anything. they sneak on the back porch all the time and look to see if the cats left anything in the food bowl. I used to shoot em. but more keep coming out of the forest, there is an endless supply of em out there. plus--big plus here- they eat ticks and supposedly can't spread ticks diseases or immune or something like that. momma cat has new kittens and three of her previous litter lay around on back porch chairs and there hasn't been any problems.
Possums won't generally attack a dog (or a cat, or a raccoon, or anything the same size or larger). It's the other way around I'd worry about. If the dog grabs the possum, he's likely to get a nasty bite for his trouble.
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We have a big border collie/ shepard mix here in the MS country. Likes to chase things and try and corral them up. The cats tolerate him. Anyway he has 3 different octave barks. 1. Come see me 2. Somethings here and 3. SNAKE. The other evening he was barking number 2. There was a big possum on the ground dead. He was barking at it. In fact he had worked himself up practically foaming at the mouth a bit. The possum was all salivaed up and I figured he killed it. The skin wasn't broken. Shooed him in the house while I put the possum in a 5 gal pail to take to the woods picking him up by the tail. Went to get a flashlight and came back. Mr. Possum was gone. So yeah they are pretty docile. I quit shooting them years ago when I was informed they eat ticks. I hate ticks.
“You should tell someone what you know. There should be a history, so that men can learn from it.
He smiled. “Men do not learn from history. Each generation believes itself brighter than the last, each believes it can survive the mistakes of the older ones. Each discovers each old thing and they throw up their hands and say ‘See! Look what I have found! Look upon what I know!’ And each believes it is something new.
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A cornered possum looks a lot like the monster from the movie Aliens.
A Jack Russel will worry about his wounds later.
762
Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
My amendment can beat up your amendment.
They are creepy looking but I do not shoot them as varmints. No issues with them so why kill them? And I doubt I will get hungry enough to want to eat one.
Don Verna
My German sheperd "Buster" came nose to nose with one of them. They have a mouthful of needle like teeth. Anyway. quick work by Buster done him in in a instant.
I would be as or more concerned with the diseases and things a wild possum might be carrying than the possum itself. rabies, distemper, mange, fleas and ticks.
If you dont want to "eliminate" the possum live trap it and relocate few miles down the road.
I had a friend whose cat tangled with a possum in the garage. Cat was pretty torn up. Friend who happened to be a Leo, quickly applied corrective measure and possum went on a one way trip in a garbage truck
Possums are very unlikely to have or contract rabies. Supposed to be due to their lower body temperature compared to the mammals they encounter.Originally Posted by country gent
I had a bluetick and a mix rottie/pit that used to double team em when possums used to use my back fence for their highway I finally told the boys hey let em go. The bluetick would give em the bark that said move along or become fertilizer possum did not let the warning go to waste.
Had Four rat terriers, male and three of his kids, one Male and two females. About 3 yrs ago possum got on my 50ft long deck and the terrors penned it up on the high side. You should have heard the noise from those guys. I finally shooed it off the deck, and the possum headed toward the back fence, but the two female terrors (mainly the smallest meanest) would slip around it and nip it. the possum finally got tired of being bit and died. Terrors couldn't figure it out. And finally left it alone for a few minutes, at which time the possum revived from the dead and scampered off. Haven't seen one since.
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Possums don't carry rabies and if your dog is vaccinated, which it should be if you're a responsible owner, then it's a non-issue.
Yeah other than a possible small infection from a bite their basically harmless
A wise man will try to learn as much from a fool as he will from a master, for all have something to teach- Uncle Iroh
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My Chesapeake Bay retriever found one in an outbuilding, I thought she killed it. She carried it up close to our house and dropped it, leaving it alone, like it was dead and cold, not worth eating. From the house I watched the possum roll over look around and start to leave. The dog charged after it. The possum just 'played possum' again and the dog left. After the dog was back in the house I looked out and the possum was gone. The possum never did fight the dog. Dog just carried it around and lost interest.
^^^ This. Of the 100's and 100's of possums that I have skinned and scraped, I never ever seen one with a tick on it. Fleas yes but only early fall. If the possum thinks something is going kill it, it will bite back. All they want to do is wander around and eat what ever they can and be left a lone. Oh, and their teeth ARE VERY sharp, this is from experience.
Enewetak Atomic Clean Up Veteran 1979
Along with not carrying rabies, possums will eat ticks.
There is quite literally nothing that a possum carries that can harm your dog through casual interaction.
Now your horse.......
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Had a baby possum at the side of the house last weekend where the AC condensate drains. Cute little bugger about the size of a newborn kitten. Picked it up to inspect for dog bites and it "played dead" while wrapping its tail securely around my finger (hehe).
Our Wirehaired Terrier (WHT) has met the possum Mom on several previous occasions and has not attacked her, given her a Pass even, which to me is unusual, since the WHT "kills" every chew toy in the house in a few hours after purchase, as it practices for what it was inherently bred.
If the WHT ever "ran down" or surprised a squirrel, I am certain the squirrel would be a "dead duck" by thrashing and biting.
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
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