# caught & ate bunny!



## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

Uhhhh... Lua just brought me a pair of freshly removed bunny legs, and the rest of the poor creature is nowhere else to be found---I can only presume she ate it. Should I be worried? (PS Im obviously watching her carefully for signs of distress and will rush to the e-vet if anything seems funny.)


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I wouldn't worry about it.
Dogs can digest most things they catch and eat.
As long as she is acting fine, I would bet she is good to go.
Just keep a eye out for her passing worms in her stool, and don't get upset if she passes some rabbit fur.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Haha go Lua! How sweet of her to share with you. Dex catches a bird about once a week, thank goodness he only likes to play with them and carry them around. At least, that's what he does with the ones I know about...


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

Jeesh. Talk about a raw prey-model diet... gross.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Nothing wrong with that. Perfectly normal. My pups eat at least half a rabbit every day. The only thing to watch is if they ate the guts as well, they may throw it up later.

We go shoot a bunny every day. I always gut the rabbit first, then I cut it in half and they get a left or right half each. Whoever finishes first gets the head which they consider a delicacy. My little girl will prance around with it in her mouth, flicking it up in the air and catching it, with her tail wagging madly. Then they crunch it up and eat the lot. They eat it all, including the fur. Perfectly normal. They are dogs!


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

good to know-- Thanks ozkar! no wonder the rest of the body and head was missing, huh?


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

emilycn said:


> Uhhhh... Lua just brought me a pair of freshly removed bunny legs, ...


It's possible that some other predator caught and mostly ate the rabbit, leaving the legs for Lua to find.

If you don't want to believe that she ate it, it's an easy way out. <G>

Bob


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

ha, it's possible, but not likely. the feet were still malleable and warm, and the res of the spine attached had some VERY fresh-looking meat on it....


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I'm sure she was just telling you she missed you. How was New Zealand, btw? I would love if Scout caught a bunny. It would save me some money on her dinner! If you're worried about worms, ground up pumpkin seeds supposedly help kill and expel them.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

emilycn said:


> ha, it's possible, but not likely. the feet were still malleable and warm, and the res of the spine attached had some VERY fresh-looking meat on it....


Then I guess that you're stuck with the fact that she ate it. You still can be thankful that you didn't see her eating it. The process is truly disgusting when guts are involved! I saw my Daisy eating a groundhog and I can assure you that no one wants to hear about it in detail. It's probably why Ozkar field cleans the rabbits that he gives his dogs - so he doesn't have to watch the guts being eaten. OK, I've said too much.

Bob


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Bob said:


> emilycn said:
> 
> 
> > ha, it's possible, but not likely. the feet were still malleable and warm, and the res of the spine attached had some VERY fresh-looking meat on it....
> ...


The guts will normally make them throw up later, so it's important to gut them. The other reason, is to check the insides for parasites. If you find a clear sack filled with little white things, either cut it out carefully, or turf the lot.


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## mrmra (Jul 18, 2013)

My pup would bring back all sorts of things when we were living in the national forest. Very proud of the first rabbit he caught, and squirrel. Had to really watch him carefully and tether him up sometimes during spawning season -- after salmon spawn and wash up on shore, they are not good to eat. Community would lose several dogs each year from eating the dead salmon washed up on the side of the river.

Never had any problem with game he catches, but game he finds can be an issue. Likewise in deer season, the deer remains some hunters leave can be problematic -- gotta avoid deer brains. A sawed up four-point beats just about any toy, though!

Luckily salmon spawning and deer season kinda run together so just watch out if you're near either of those in the fall.

If it's small and s/he catches it, you should be fine, like everybody already said. Careful of finds.

Cheers,
-MrA


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## Erniesmom (Oct 11, 2017)

So Ernie caught another baby bunny in the yard tonight. He was so proud, running laps around the yard, dropping it then tossing it in the air and catching it and running around some more. I tried to trade him for some leftover steak but he wanted that bunny and little by little he ate it, all of it. It was a little gross to watch, especially...never mind that I'll spare you the details. He's resting in his crate right now and his stomach is making some noise. I've read the preceding posts so time will tell if he's going to keep it all down or not. I'm wondering if he does have worms in his stool tomorrow does it call for a visit to the vet? We won't be sharing a pillow tonight!


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## JKOMBU (Jul 18, 2016)

My three-year V Ruger caught and ate a bunny on Sunday. He is on an oral medication for heartworm and fleas which also includes a de-wormer. I am not worried about him. The poor bunny though!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

June has eaten a squirrel in the past. I wouldn't worry about them getting worms, or having a stomach problem. While I'm sure it can happen, most of the time they're perfectly fine. Just depends on if he has a sensitive stomach.
Good chance his poo, will look like coyote poo.
Don't be surprised if you see fur in it.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

In our endless anthropomorphism of them, we forget that they are predators, and veeery good ones, too. This, good. And frankly their periodically reminding us of this isn't so bad, not so for the bunny, unfortunately.


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## Erniesmom (Oct 11, 2017)

Agreed! It is quite a contrast between him hogging my pillow and his eating a chomping on a baby bunny. He did pass a bit of fur, but otherwise is fine.I've added "bunny breath"
to his nicknames.


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## Boney (Feb 17, 2020)

Poor bunny


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