When feeding rabbits to dogs how to stop the dog from going crazy

[Duck Survivalist]

Hello Folks,

I want to feed rabbit ears, feet, liver and heart to my dog and cat but I'm worried that they would go crazy when they see my live rabbits and try to jump at their cages and bark more at them because he wants to eat them.

Do i just rinse it and that's all? or do i need to soak it in something like alcohol so it doesn't have the rabbits scent?
My dog is a little wild and i know if he sees a loose rabbit he would try to eat it.

I would also like to feed some to my cat and keep him on a more natural diet.

 

[ladysown]

feeding rabbits to dogs is very different in a dogs mind to a dog feeding himself rabbit. one involves prey drive, the other involves relationship with person involved.

So feeding does not correlate to dog going crazy for rabbit. That's a dog management issue not a dog feeding issue.

insist that your dog be mindful around your caged rabbits (mindful being quiet, not excitable, not driven to chase) and have in the back of your head that he's prey driven and ergo do your best to make sure no rabbits escape for him to self feed.

As to actually feeding your rabbit to your dog.
People have different ways of feeding.
Some give them directly to their dogs.
Others dry, freeze, skin, cook, etc.

But most just say Here dog/cat... enjoy.
If they are new to eating raw it sometimes takes a bit of work to get them used to it. Other dogs/cats dive right in.

 

[kusanar314]

What @ladysown said, but also... do not soak anything you are feeding a cat or dog in alcohol. Alcohol is poison even to people.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Hello Folks,

I want to feed rabbit ears, feet, liver and heart to my dog and cat but I'm worried that they would go crazy when they see my live rabbits and try to jump at their cages and bark more at them because he wants to eat them.

Do i just rinse it and that's all? or do i need to soak it in something like alcohol so it doesn't have the rabbits scent?
My dog is a little wild and i know if he sees a loose rabbit he would try to eat it.

I would also like to feed some to my cat and keep him on a more natural diet.

I feel my dogs only meat and one of the meats is rabbit. My dogs know the difference between what is mine and what I give to them. You need to train your dogs and cats. Everything loves to eat rabbits. As far as the dogs going crazy that is a silly comment, again training is key. By training I don’t mean hitting or kicking your dogs.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

I feel my dogs only meat and one of the meats is rabbit. My dogs know the difference between what is mine and what I give to them. You need to train your dogs and cats. Everything loves to eat rabbits. As far as the dogs going crazy that is a silly comment, again training is key. By training I don’t mean hitting or kicking your dogs.

Should say feed not feel.

 

[Skai]

Hello Folks,

I want to feed rabbit ears, feet, liver and heart to my dog and cat but I'm worried that they would go crazy when they see my live rabbits and try to jump at their cages and bark more at them because he wants to eat them.

Do i just rinse it and that's all? or do i need to soak it in something like alcohol so it doesn't have the rabbits scent?
My dog is a little wild and i know if he sees a loose rabbit he would try to eat it.

I would also like to feed some to my cat and keep him on a more natural diet.

If I was worried about my dog I wouldn't give it ears or feet because that would likely be associated with the live rabbit. I wouldn't ever feed a dog a whole rabbit for the same reason. Skinned, cut up pieces will unlikely be associated with a live rabbit.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

If I was worried about my dog I wouldn't give it ears or feet because that would likely be associated with the live rabbit. I wouldn't ever feed a dog a whole rabbit for the same reason. Skinned, cut up pieces will unlikely be associated with a live rabbit.

I feed rabbits whole and pieces to my dogs, no issues. Training is key.

 

[Skai]

I feed rabbits whole and pieces to my dogs, no issues. Training is key.

I agree with you completely. The answer was for Duck Survivalist's concerns about that dog, not all dogs in general.

 

[Duck Survivalist]

Thank you all, ill try alittle bit first and see how he acts around the rabbits.
I cant really train him anymore, he's 7 years old, a German Shepard, and he's not even mine so he probably wouldn't listen to me.

 

[eco2pia]

Thank you all, ill try alittle bit first and see how he acts around the rabbits.
I cant really train him anymore, he's 7 years old, a German Shepard, and he's not even mine so he probably wouldn't listen to me.

Why not see how he acts around rabbits NOW? Also, if you are holding food or a toy that he wants, you can train him. I don't care how old he is! Build that relationship, and you will be surprised.

My one piece of advice is not to let him watch you harvest rabbits. He needs to not see the initial kill and clean. He needs to not associate you carrying a live rabbit into the house with yummy yummy treats being available any second.

I have a very smart belgian malinois. He has the same grasp on the english language as a 2-3 year old child, and he is himself only a year and a half old. He is shockingly smart, and has learned that rabbits are for brushing, and petting. I still feed him frozen whole rabbits. I freeze them largely to avoid any parasite issues, but it means that he also gets wildly excited when I go to the freezer where dog food is kept.

One time I let him see me kill a rabbit and skin and clean it, and I regret that. Now I crate him until it is all over and cleaned up--he is too intense to have around at that time, and I do think it made an association in his head--carry a rabbit to the garage and he is sure food is coming, and is so excited he is shivering. It has made getting him to calm down around the live rabbits more challenging. Fortunately he is getting it, and will sniff and wag at my fearless angora rabbits when they come in to be brushed. It helps that they are not afraid of him. But I made my job harder with that one mistake.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Why not see how he acts around rabbits NOW? Also, if you are holding food or a toy that he wants, you can train him. I don't care how old he is! Build that relationship, and you will be surprised.

My one piece of advice is not to let him watch you harvest rabbits. He needs to not see the initial kill and clean. He needs to not associate you carrying a live rabbit into the house with yummy yummy treats being available any second.

I have a very smart belgian malinois. He has the same grasp on the english language as a 2-3 year old child, and he is himself only a year and a half old. He is shockingly smart, and has learned that rabbits are for brushing, and petting. I still feed him frozen whole rabbits. I freeze them largely to avoid any parasite issues, but it means that he also gets wildly excited when I go to the freezer where dog food is kept.

One time I let him see me kill a rabbit and skin and clean it, and I regret that. Now I crate him until it is all over and cleaned up--he is too intense to have around at that time, and I do think it made an association in his head--carry a rabbit to the garage and he is sure food is coming, and is so excited he is shivering. It has made getting him to calm down around the live rabbits more challenging. Fortunately he is getting it, and will sniff and wag at my fearless angora rabbits when they come in to be brushed. It helps that they are not afraid of him. But I made my job harder with that one mistake.

My dogs watch me kill the rabbits, the dogs are outside the pen as I have a large communal pen. I throw each dead rabbit out of the pen where my 3 German Shepards are. None, I repeat none of my dogs touch the still convulsing rabbit. They may look and may sniff from a distance but will not touch the rabbits.
I feed my dogs only raw, the key is the feeding ritual and even when I put their pans of food down they will not approach until they hear ok. That is the word I use for them to eat. I can put steak or roasts on a plate on the floor and the dogs won’t touch it, the reason is beautiful it’s mine. This behaviour comes with training. I also feed whole rabbits.

 

[Skai]

My dogs watch me kill the rabbits, the dogs are outside the pen as I have a large communal pen. I throw each dead rabbit out of the pen where my 3 German Shepards are. None, I repeat none of my dogs touch the still convulsing rabbit. They may look and may sniff from a distance but will not touch the rabbits.
I feed my dogs only raw, the key is the feeding ritual and even when I put their pans of food down they will not approach until they hear ok. That is the word I use for them to eat. I can put steak or roasts on a plate on the floor and the dogs won’t touch it, the reason is beautiful it’s mine. This behaviour comes with training. I also feed whole rabbits.

I think that's great. Wonderful even. However, not all dogs are trained that well and not everyone is that good at training dogs. In that case, we need to overcome a dogs prey instinct in other ways.

 

[eco2pia]

All this is true, and if you are working with a dog that is not yours, then it is doubly true. It is not easy to control a dog that has no relationship with you.

If you want to feed a friend or neighbor's dog rabbity treats, I would absolutely do that. It is a great way to build that relationship (with the owner's permission of course). I would still not have that dog around when I was butchering. The treats would very clearly come from my pocket, not from the live rabbit. And the dog would sit, and take them gently, or I would not feed that dog. These are the rules of engagement. That is how you keep them from being crazy. Start slow, and small, with something cooked, or frozen.

I feel like the average dog can catch on to warm freshly killed meat coming from that animal easily, especially if they see it happen. I don't feel like a frozen chicken breast=live chicken in most dogs minds. My super smart pup can figure a lot out. But he can also be easily trained, and he does not rush a rabbit carcass either. He will, however, stand there shaking, waiting for the release command. And without that connection between rabbit and meat made so early, I think training would have been easier on us both. He does mind, but he is young, and requires my focus and effort. If that "going crazy" is what you do not want, then don't start with freshly killed meat. The control @Rabbit Warren Man is talking about is respect that is built over time and much effort.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

I think that's great. Wonderful even. However, not all dogs are trained that well and not everyone is that good at training dogs. In that case, we need to overcome a dogs prey instinct in other ways.

Just pointing out it’s doable.

 

[kusanar314]

All this is true, and if you are working with a dog that is not yours, then it is doubly true. It is not easy to control a dog that has no relationship with you.

If you want to feed a friend or neighbor's dog rabbity treats, I would absolutely do that. It is a great way to build that relationship (with the owner's permission of course). I would still not have that dog around when I was butchering. The treats would very clearly come from my pocket, not from the live rabbit. And the dog would sit, and take them gently, or I would not feed that dog. These are the rules of engagement. That is how you keep them from being crazy. Start slow, and small, with something cooked, or frozen.

I feel like the average dog can catch on to warm freshly killed meat coming from that animal easily, especially if they see it happen. I don't feel like a frozen chicken breast=live chicken in most dogs minds. My super smart pup can figure a lot out. But he can also be easily trained, and he does not rush a rabbit carcass either. He will, however, stand there shaking, waiting for the release command. And without that connection between rabbit and meat made so early, I think training would have been easier on us both. He does mind, but he is young, and requires my focus and effort. If that "going crazy" is what you do not want, then don't start with freshly killed meat. The control @Rabbit Warren Man is talking about is respect that is built over time and much effort.

I'm not even sure who's dog it is.. He says it's his dog in the 1st post, then later says it's not even his and therefore won't listen to him.

If the dog isn't his, why is it near his rabbits in the first place and why is he feeding it? If it's someone else's that lives in the house, it needs to respect and listen to him like all dogs should to anyone that lives with them.

 

[eco2pia]

I'm not even sure who's dog it is.. He says it's his dog in the 1st post, then later says it's not even his and therefore won't listen to him.

If the dog isn't his, why is it near his rabbits in the first place and why is he feeding it? If it's someone else's that lives in the house, it needs to respect and listen to him like all dogs should to anyone that lives with them.

Those of us who live in close proximity, or in communal situations, sometimes have to learn to deal with other people, and other people's pets. We do not all have fully fenced, high acreage land, or even complete agreement with everyone in our household. I do not know what the situation is, but the original question is a good one, and a reasonable concern. I try to offer helpful suggestions based on my experience, regardless of the other person's situation.

Just pointing out it’s doable.

Absolutely! Life goals, my friend! I thought of you when I was taking a dead rat out of a trap this morning and my dog reached for it like he thought it was for him. I scolded him and he backed off immediately, but he is still learning. My last dog would not take a defrosting steak off a bench in front of the fire even tho it was at eye level, but he did not start out that way!

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Those of us who live in close proximity, or in communal situations, sometimes have to learn to deal with other people, and other people's pets. We do not all have fully fenced, high acreage land, or even complete agreement with everyone in our household. I do not know what the situation is, but the original question is a good one, and a reasonable concern. I try to offer helpful suggestions based on my experience, regardless of the other person's situation.



Absolutely! Life goals, my friend! I thought of you when I was taking a dead rat out of a trap this morning and my dog reached for it like he thought it was for him. I scolded him and he backed off immediately, but he is still learning. My last dog would not take a defrosting steak off a bench in front of the fire even tho it was at eye level, but he did not start out that way!

Awesome

 

[kusanar314]

Those of us who live in close proximity, or in communal situations, sometimes have to learn to deal with other people, and other people's pets. We do not all have fully fenced, high acreage land, or even complete agreement with everyone in our household. I do not know what the situation is, but the original question is a good one, and a reasonable concern. I try to offer helpful suggestions based on my experience, regardless of the other person's situation.

I get not having the entire property fenced, but nothing should be getting to the cages themselves, so why is the dog in the enclosure with the cages is what I was asking. And the question still stands, if it's not his dog, why is he feeding it? I would be seeing red if I found out someone was feeding any of my animals.

 

[Phrick]

I'm not even sure who's dog it is.. He says it's his dog in the 1st post, then later says it's not even his and therefore won't listen to him.

If the dog isn't his, why is it near his rabbits in the first place and why is he feeding it? If it's someone else's that lives in the house, it needs to respect and listen to him like all dogs should to anyone that lives with them.

Just to say, at my house we have now 2 dogs and even though they are family dogs and my husband usually refers to them as "our" dogs, we all here know they are MY dogs primarily. They listen to me, follow my commands, but are less inclined to listen to him, as he hasn't spent the time and effort in training them. They usually respond to his commands appropriately. But if we were in a situation where Husband was in charge of the rabbits and trying to feed "our" (my) dogs rabbit meat, he would be correct to consider that the dogs may not be as responsive to commands given by him in the face of the excitement of a live rabbit. That's how I read it: "my dog" aka "the dog that lives in our household but is really someone else's pet" (and in our house, the last part of the sentence would be "that I tolerate only because Wife loves the dog and I love the Wife" haha).