My Dog Ate a Cockroach Will He Get Sick?

Many dogs, even though they’ve been domesticated for thousands of years, have a strong prey drive. And even if that drive is horribly strong, they may see even a cockroach as fair game for hunting! The dog may kill the roach, or some dogs may eat it. Can cockroaches make a dog sick?

Cockroaches & Dogs Dining on Roaches

The most common types of roaches found in the U.S. include the German cockroach, the American cockroach, Oriental cockroaches, and brown-banded cockroaches. These pests are found in many parts of the country and are able to survive all types of areas and climates. Plus, they eat almost anything and everything. These bugs are real survivors, until, that is, they meet up with a dog who snacks on them!

On their own, cockroaches are not poisonous, and they don’t contain poisonous substances. So, they aren’t normally toxic to dogs. However, some dogs may be allergic to these bugs and may suffer a reaction from eating one or more of these pests.

What About Roach Poison?  

Even so, roaches may be covered in a poison that’s meant to kill them, or they may have eaten poison. If your dog eats one or two roaches that have been poisoned, chances are they will not contain enough poison to make him sick. Your dog would have to eat a lot of cockroaches to become poisoned.

Having said that, if your dog ate poisoned roaches on a regular basis, then he could eventually become affected by the poison. If he does become poisoned, you may notice these symptoms in your canine companion:

• Mouth pain
• Lethargy
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Shivering
• Tremors
• Uncoordinated gait
• Liver/kidney failure

Roaches Carry Disease

Another possible issue is that roaches can carry diseases that can make your fur baby sick. They carry bacteria such as clostridium, salmonella, streptococcus, coliform and more. If your dog eats a roach that’s carrying one of these nasty diseases, he could end up pretty sick and would probably need to be treated at the vet’s.

If your dog develops this type of infection, you may notice these symptoms:

• Fever
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Loss of appetite
• Dehydration
• Increased heart rate
• Lethargy
• Depression
• Shock
• Swollen lymph nodes

In this case, your fur baby would need to be treated by the vet as soon as possible in order to prevent other problems such as gastroenteritis or sepsis, both of which can be serious.

While roaches, untainted by poison, will not hurt your dog as an occasional snack, it’s best to keep him from eating roaches if possible due to the diseases they may be carrying.