They brought home a rat (ny subway breed) Sunday night. I was not pleased. My hound has mixed feelings on it. It's got big ears & short tail. The past few nights it's been what I can only describe as whimpering and strange squeaking noises throughout the day. Today the rat got stranger it started to make a strange sound like it was trying to mimic the hounds bark. My hound is real confused as I am.
Is this normal?

rats are social animals. it doesn't like being alone.

Let it snuggle with you at night like a dog/cat! LOL

Lol my wife and kids like snuggling with it. He sleeps most of the day.

You can get the kids a new pet, a big snake and the rat will only make noise for a short while. Snakes are quiet.

When I raised rats, they never made much noise. It seems strange that your rat is so vocal.

Keith

I'm assuming it came from a pet store and not a sewer if so....
Like Danny said, they are social and it's best to buy them in pairs (same sex, so you don't wind up with more). I was skeptical when my wife brought home rats, but I kept an open mind and they turned out to be great pets. They can be trained to come when called and do all kinds of tricks, check out youtube search "rat tricks". They are cheap to keep we used our shredded mail as bedding and feed them table scraps as they eat anything. The ones we had really loved banana. (I'm still trying to come up with a banana scented lure for muskrat trapping as I think it would be very effective.)
If it's a true sewer rat I'm not sure if it can be domesticated or not.

Rats are very smart. Teach it some tricks. They'll play fetch like a dog. Use an empty thread spool. I've had a couple over the years. Had one that would ride on my shoulder and when it got tired it would climb into my shirt pocket. Lol.

Yup he's starting to understand basic commands. No they were at a birthday party and the lady gave it to them.
No need for a snow Keith plenty of hawks and Eagles here

Is it the same sound they make when they are carrying Plague?

(Just pulling your leg Adam)

Mike

I caught one in my garage and tried to teach it to swim....FAIL!

Rats are smart....they use different types to run wire line through long pipes to save costs in needless digging for access repair....they use the larger white tailed rats with small harness on to locate mines - saving the solders. They never miss locating them, are easy to transport, easy to feed ....I thought that was cool when I saw a documentary on that a while ago.

Get some here in the strangest places has a field approach in the middle of nowhere just ripped up by badgers set some 220s and had a rat then the pieces fit on what was going on! LOL

I think so Mike

They are indeed very smart.

Lol goldnut same here, but not this one.

Here's a pic of the cute rat

Wow...you need a bigger trap...or, smaller ???

I think you have a new coon hound there

You will love him !!! Trust me...give him/her a chance.

Oh- so that is the rat you're referring to ...I thought you meant one like this ...

I agree on getting a second one of the same sex. Ive kept a few as pets before. I enjoyed them. Ive always had a pair adn never had any problems. They would make noises sometimes but usually at night when they were playing.

slightly off topic , but there was a study a rat alone in a cage with no contact to other rats would choose narcotic laced water , but 2 or more rats in a cage choose clean water.

rats may be smarter than many people in that regard , if they have company they don't want to be stoned and can quit opiod use on their own.

or so a study says.

LOL!

Awwww, poor thing fell off his scooter and then took a nap on his blanky.

And cute puppy there, Sharon.

OAC, yup I think so. He's growing on me. I've had girlfriends with them and couldn't stand them. This one I'm tempted to take on the line with me if I set this year.
That's a cute rat Sharon.
GCP, I bet they choose that water as a way to escape