Making dried rabbit ear treats for dogs.

[ekaelliott]

I have heard of making dried rabbit ear treats for dogs. Does anyone know how to do this?

 

[alforddm]

Just dry them in a dehydrator or in your oven on low heat with the door cracked. Like you would jerky.

 

[GBov]

I toss them onto a cookie sheet on the lowest setting my oven will do and leave them until crispy.

They look a bit odd but the dog loves them.

Dont expect them to keep your dog occupied for long, my dog takes about 0.00003 seconds to eat one. :roll:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I just feed them raw- with the head attached. :mrgreen:

 

[Nika]

What is the best way to peel off the skin (from ears and the head)? My dog barfs furballs if he eats any fur

 

[alforddm]

What is the best way to peel off the skin (from ears and the head)? My dog barfs furballs if he eats any fur

With a sharp knife. Pull downward on the skill while slicing the flesh that holds it to the skull. It doesn't "peel" like the rest of a rabbit, at least in my experience, and has to be skinned. Pay careful attention to the ears and the eyes.

 

[Zass]

What is the best way to peel off the skin (from ears and the head)? My dog barfs furballs if he eats any fur

With a sharp knife. Pull downward on the skill while slicing the flesh that holds it to the skull. It doesn't "peel" like the rest of a rabbit, at least in my experience, and has to be skinned. Pay careful attention to the ears and the eyes.

Yep, you will have to cut through the ear cartilage, and there is some membrane around the eyes and lips that will have top be cut, but the rest usually comes off pretty easily for me.

It's one of those steps that might seem to take forever at first, but the whole process speeds up immensely with just a little practice.

 

[Bug4H]

mamasheepdog- do you feed them raw?

 

[FourRingCircus]

I keep forgetting to do this! Not that I have butchered many rabbits, but the couple I have done it would have been nice to save them.

I have a fear of feeding raw rabbit stuff to the dogs - they already have a taste for chicken :evil: , don't want to further the damage if I can help it. Any issues that you can tell?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Any issues that you can tell?

My dogs will just casually lick a live rabbit on the forehead when I have one out for routine care. They don't bother the live ones despite being fed whole fur-on rabbits at times.

The only issue I have had is with one dog and nestboxes. I used to always feed her any dead kits straight from the nest, and now she always looks a bit too eager when I check the babies.

As a test, I once showed her a very small live kit, and she started reaching for it intending on munching the little guy right down. :x Thankfully our dogs are trained to take food very gently, so a gentle reprimand from me was all it took to stop her.

 

[Nika]

Do you perhaps know the ratio meat:bonergan on the head?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Do you perhaps know the ratio meat:bonergan on the head?

Nope.

 

[GreenAcresHomestead]

I keep forgetting to do this! Not that I have butchered many rabbits, but the couple I have done it would have been nice to save them.

I have a fear of feeding raw rabbit stuff to the dogs - they already have a taste for chicken :evil: , don't want to further the damage if I can help it. Any issues that you can tell?

Personally each to their own but we would never ever feed our dog who is part of our family a raw animal head or body part that could in anyway make him sick. We would not take the chance of any unknown parasite or disease transmitted from it or even the small bones from the skulls. No way but we love our dog. Now the ears we would dehydrate.

 

[Scooter1A]

I don't have dogs but next dispatch will keep the ears for the neighbors dog. I will scrape hair off and let them dry in the sun. See what happens?

 

[eco2pia]

I don't have dogs but next dispatch will keep the ears for the neighbors dog. I will scrape hair off and let them dry in the sun. See what happens?

I just throw them in the freezer and feed them frozen. they are gone before they thaw. But I would not try the sun angle unless you can protect against flies and rodents.

I feed fur on--it is doggy fiber, good for them, I do the same with the head. Your dog does need to be bigger to be able to crush the skull with it's jaws, for my shepherd puppy I sometimes need to smack it with a hammer to give him a little help--which is not as messy as it might sound, thanks to the fur.

 

[KelleyBee]

I have heard of making dried rabbit ear treats for dogs. Does anyone know how to do this?

I dehydrate mine gently at room temperature within a room where I have a dehumidifier running 24/7. The dehumidifier runs in there 24/7 for other reasons and so I decided it was a great place to dry my stretched rabbit hides, ears, feet, tails. I like the idea that they are drying naturally rather than being heat dried.

 

[Rabbittracks]

I toss them onto a cookie sheet on the lowest setting my oven will do and leave them until crispy.

They look a bit odd but the dog loves them.

Dont expect them to keep your dog occupied for long, my dog takes about 0.00003 seconds to eat one. :roll:

Yeah, my dogs are both over 100 lbs so that wouldn't even suffice as a snack! LOL

 

[Burke's bunnies&bees]

I'm sorry about this question it may sound crazy to ask but what about the hair on the ears. Will it smell while in the oven and what about my dogs eating all that hair?

 

[KelleyBee]

I'm sorry about this question it may sound crazy to ask but what about the hair on the ears. Will it smell while in the oven and what about my dogs eating all that hair?

The hair is a natural dewormer. It doesn't hurt the dog. I have a tiny 5 pound Maltese who eats my rabbit treats without ever a problem.

 

[Rabbittracks]

The hair is a natural dewormer. It doesn't hurt the dog. I have a tiny 5 pound Maltese who eats my rabbit treats without ever a problem.

I'm sorry about this question it may sound crazy to ask but what about the hair on the ears. Will it smell while in the oven and what about my dogs eating all that hair?

I would say that in the wild our canines would consume hair. It acts as a natural fiber. If they were able to catch a bird, they consume feathers and if they catch something with fur, while they may try to pull most of it out, they would still consume a good bit of it, so what I'm trying to say is that they are built to digest these types of things.