Dog Fur and Nesting Material?

Hey all,
Maybe a bit of a strange question, but would it be okay to give my mice some dog fur to use as nesting material? I have two very very furry dogs that offer up a lot of fur after a bath (with pet safe shampoo).

They are not currently on any topical ointment either since it is winter and our yard is untreated so there is no concern of pesticides on their fur.

Would fur present a choking risk though?

It should be safe, in the wild it is regularly used as nesting material.

Fantastic, thank you!

Just make sure that they haven't been treated with flea medication or anything recently.

They haven't. Though, I should ask, what about Ivermectin? They are both on oral heartworm prevention. I know Ivermectin is absorbed in the bloodstream and *can* travel to the fur. Would this hurt them? The type of heartworm preventative they are on is not the kind that prevents fleas and ticks. Only heartworm.

I'm not sure. This may be something to ask some of the vet-schooled people on here. I would think that the amount that gets into the fur through the blood stream (if any) is so minimal that it wouldn't hurt. But I do not know this for sure.

Are they longhaired dogs?

Medium length fur- they are Border Collies:



I wouldn't be giving them the guard hairs. Just the soft fluffy undercoat.

With adult mice it should be fine, just be very careful giving it to babies, the soft fibers can get wrapped around legs and tails and cut off the circulation.

Perfect, thank you! I'll keep it out of the baby tank.

Just curious, would there be any potential for it to smell like predators and worry the mice?

From what I've seen, these mice have NO fear of the dogs. Seconds after I put the fluff in there, they dragged it into their little cave anyway

I frequently show the mice and dogs to each other (controlled situation- VERY controlled) to make sure the dogs understand what the mice are and vice versa. The mice are more curious about the dogs and will sniff them nose to nose. The dogs are just as curious about the mice- nose to nose sniffing, very relaxed posture, not excited. The only time I see excitement on the part of the dogs is when they watch the mice run around in their tank- but that's prey drive and there's nothing you can do about that.

Mice don't seem nervous at all when the dogs are sniffing them (again, they sniff right back, very curious and very trusting). So I don't think they have any idea that the dogs are a "predator".

As Rhasputin mentioned before, they use the fur in the wild as well. Actually, I could see that as being an advantage. Use a predator's fur for your nest and you might keep other predators away.

I don't see the heartworm prevention causing a problem. And the mice will not usually eat the fur. lol They are smarter then that. I do agree with Cindy though - do not give it to baby mice due to the fact that they can get tangled and cut off circulation. Other then that, you should be good to go!

Neat idea! I'll have to try to remember that when I have mice again.

Super cool, I love border collies. Could ivermectin in the fur be considered a good thing, warding off mites and all? I also was wondering about the fur being wrapped around baby limbs as well.

That is really good point Frizzle.