Possums and Dogs- Any Risk?

[David2011]

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!

[richhodg66]

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.

[farmbif]

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.

[ryanmattes]

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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[Electrod47]

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.

[762 shooter]

A cornered possum looks a lot like the monster from the movie Aliens.

A Jack Russel will worry about his wounds later.

762

[dverna]

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.

[big bore 99]

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.

[country gent]

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.

[CastingFool]

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

[BK7saum]

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.

Possums are very unlikely to have or contract rabies. Supposed to be due to their lower body temperature compared to the mammals they encounter.

[starnbar]

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.

[Handloader109]

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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[richhodg66]

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.

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.

[Wolfdog91]

Yeah other than a possible small infection from a bite their basically harmless

[MostlyLeverGuns]

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.

[472x1B/A]

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.

^^^ 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.

[reddog81]

Along with not carrying rabies, possums will eat ticks.

[cwtebay]

There is quite literally nothing that a possum carries that can harm your dog through casual interaction.
Now your horse.......

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[Land Owner]

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.

[owejia]

Opossums carry a protozoa that is not good for horses. Used to sell a lot of hay to horse people, always removed their feces from the hay before feeding to horses.

[echo154]

I have had two patrol K-9s, both had many encounters with opossums. Mostly they killed em and walked away without injury. They will bite quite viciously if playing dead does not work. They can get rabies as they are a mammal, it is rare however as they have a lower body temp than other mammals. they carry other nasties, such as the following. So keep your pets vaccinated
Opossums carry diseases such as leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, and Chagas disease. They may also be infested with fleas, ticks, mites, and lice.
Now skunks, on the other hand, carry rabies quite often. My first partner only got sprayed once, my second partner seemed to think the spray was delightful, he was sprayed 7 times....getting me into the line of fire once :groner: I went straight to the patrol LT,s office(I like to share),he told me to get out immediately told me to get out and go home and not return until I showered and changed uniforms....didn't help. It was a quick remedy though to dealing with several calls for service;-) If you have a skunk problem do yourself a favor...go online and get a product called SKUNK OFF by Thornell Corporation...do not use Tomato or orange juice or hydrogen peroxide/lemon juice and vinegar. It only spreads the skunk spray. The skunk off was recommended to me by a DNR officer. It works for about 90% of the odor.

[gwpercle]

Possums don't usually attack dogs ... dogs usually do the attacking .
Possums will retreat , playing dead (playing possum) is a main defense but if the dog bites ...and doesn't want to let go ...as a last resort the possum will bite back , they have teeth .
Usually if the dog leaves the possum alone the possum will leave the dog alone .
They try to lead a peaceful co-existence with the other animals .
My cats just look at them walking by and don't seem to care at all.
Gary

[bakerjw]

Opossums always get a free pass here. I've never had them bother my chickens. They just waddle along their way fat dumb and happy.

[David2011]

Pretty much everything posted here confirms what I’ve read. The dog tends to ignore new critters after seeing them a few times so unless something bad happens they’ll have to coexist.

[cwtebay]

"Opossums carry diseases such as leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, and Chagas disease. They may also be infested with fleas, ticks, mites, and lice."

While I appreciate your reply, I don't believe many (if any) of these are a real threat to the OP's pet from a possum not living in Australia or Latin America.

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[David2011]

The good news so far is that the presence of the dog and her interest in the possum seems to be discouraging more possum visits. I started checking the yard with a bright flashlight before letting her out and haven't seen it in 3 days. She usually gets one last trip outside around midnight to 1:00 AM; plenty late for the possum to be in the yard. Here's the hunter in her environment.

287452

I really appreciate all of the replies. I had a possum walk between my feet one evening many years ago and it bothered me more than the possum but I'll never forget those teeth!

[Thundarstick]

I had one put a nasty gash on the back of my rat terrier. I kill on sight, mostly with the jeep, they will, and do wipe out whole turkey, quail, and song bird nest! Don't even try to grow cantaloupe if you've got Mr opossum around because they will ruin everyone of them. I also know a dead one will draw a turkey vulture faster than anything else! Got absolutely NO use for them!

[Gator 45/70]

My entire corn on the cob was missing so I set a hav-a-hart trap last night, Sure enough 1 almost grown possum this am.
It never make a sound or showed any aggression, It's now free to roam another day.
Besides the way BI-dum is going that may be supper one day soon?

[richhodg66]

I had one put a nasty gash on the back of my rat terrier. I kill on sight, mostly with the jeep, they will, and do wipe out whole turkey, quail, and song bird nest! Don't even try to grow cantaloupe if you've got Mr opossum around because they will ruin everyone of them. I also know a dead one will draw a turkey vulture faster than anything else! Got absolutely NO use for them!

Show us on the doll where the possum hurt you...

[echo154]

cwetebay you, not being the OP, I'm not are why your reply was so negative to my post(other than to discourage newbies from posting)! Tularemia, chagas and others are now encountered as far up as the state of MO. Chagas is mostly by Kissing or assassin bugs. Climate change I guess. My post was intended to simply give information I have. Plague and Hanta viris have been noted in all but about 9 or 10 states .....but not in alarming numbers. We have had cases of tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, rabies and some nasty roundworm infections in Illinois. Who knows what else will be coming across our southern border! Now if you go to your doctor and get your blood tested and he asks if you have ever been to Southern Papua New Guinea you might start to worry

[cwtebay]

cwetebay you, not being the OP, I'm not are why your reply was so negative to my post(other than to discourage newbies from posting)! Tularemia, chagas and others are now encountered as far up as the state of MO. Chagas is mostly by Kissing or assassin bugs. Climate change I guess. My post was intended to simply give information I have. Plague and Hanta viris have been noted in all but about 9 or 10 states .....but not in alarming numbers. We have had cases of tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, rabies and some nasty roundworm infections in Illinois. Who knows what else will be coming across our southern border! Now if you go to your doctor and get your blood tested and he asks if you have ever been to Southern Papua New Guinea you might start to worrycwetebay you, not being the OP, I'm not are why your reply was so negative to my post(other than to discourage newbies from posting)! Tularemia, chagas and others are now encountered as far up as the state of MO. Chagas is mostly by Kissing or assassin bugs. Climate change I guess. My post was intended to simply give information I have. Plague and Hanta viris have been noted in all but about 9 or 10 states .....but not in alarming numbers. We have had cases of tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, rabies and some nasty roundworm infections in Illinois. Who knows what else will be coming across our southern border! Now if you go to your doctor and get your blood tested and he asks if you have ever been to Southern Papua New Guinea you might start to worry.


My post was not intended to discourage - merely inform. Yes, rare cases of oddball diseases pop up a lot of places, but when you hear hoofbeats - don't look over your shoulder thinking a herd of zebras are a comin!
TB, toxoplasmosis, rabies, yersenia, hanta virus, and a whole battalion of different roundworm species are endemic in most of the ole US of A, but not from our marsupial buddies - and definitely not in the scenario that the OP presented.
I always enjoy the banter on this forum! But I do try to take the time to educate when there is information presented that i might know something about.

(And believe me.... I've been educated again and again on this forum on matters that I definitely know little about!!!)

Cheers!

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[r80rt]

My boston terriers just ram them and knock them over then pee on their head.

[David2011]

That’s hilarious.

[r80rt]

It is, I laugh myself silly every time.

[farmbif]

fresh wild possum roasted over open fire is good eaten according to Joe Teti on dual survival, I saw it on tv so its got to be true.

[firefly1957]

There are two good uses of possum practice with EDC gun and compost !
The internet is full of lies about how good and how cute possums are as said above they carry many diseases it is fact look it up and learn, they are tied to T.B. transmission from cattle to deer they do kill chickens and will clean out a mess of them in a night often just biting the top of the head off. I have seen them do the same to abandoned kittens . I have seen where they corner a adult rabbit and killed it and a Grouse roosting in my wood pile . Possums are probably the #1 reason for pheasant decline but you will be hard pressed to find any of that they are like democrats when it comes to reporting facts on them!
My last dog was a 30 pound corgi mix I lost track of the possums he killed he did not let them play dead only one bit him that I know of and it was shredded for it.
Ticks are bad here I have killed several possums covered with ticks so by my own eyes I can tell you they do carry ticks anyone who says otherwise is just plain wrong. Last year I had one get in my small live trap set for red squirrels getting on my porch I dunked it in a bucket of water about 30 ticks floated up or were in the bottom of the bucket . One in the larger live trap I set over where turtles lay their eggs by my RV pad was really covered with ticks I tossed it in the burn barrel with a pint of gasoline. OH YEAH THEY REALLY CLEAN UP ON TURTLE EGGS ! I have caught more possums then Racoons at it have caught one skunk as well most of them were shot in the act at night .
A friend's wife reached in a bag of dog food to feed the dog the bag was in the barn and was bitten by possum, the county health department ordered her to get rabies shots for good reason they may not die of it they can carry it and live with it. Skunks can live long with rabies be born with it and have young that are infected same cycle over again.
Do your research cats and horses are at risk from having possums around .

[waksupi]

There are two good uses of possum practice with EDC gun and compost !
The internet is full of lies about how good and how cute possums are as said above they carry many diseases it is fact look it up and learn, they are tied to T.B. transmission from cattle to deer .

I bet more TB is still transmitted by raw milk, than by possums. TB was pretty common when I was a kid, and everyone drank raw milk.

[firefly1957]

waksupi you must have read that wrong unless you think deer drink milk from the cows!

Possums are bad news I did just feed one to the buzzards maybe that is a 3rd good use for them! Big male too!

[cwtebay]

Waksupi is quite correct. The whitetail deer is the reservoir host for most wild ruminant transmission. Inapparent / non-clinical TB shedding is what caused the demise of whitetails in Michigan for example.
Raw milk is by far the most common means of infection historically - which I'm sure will be an issue again soon with recent legislative changes.

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