[whiteleo]

Just got some whole skinned rabbits some with the heads still on, YUCK! So if the dogs won't eat them this way do I need to open them up and gut them and dehead them also?

 

[dobesgalore]

You can gut them. When we fed rabbit, we fed whole and they ate the whole thing. Try it first and if they don't eat them you may have to gut them.

 

[RawFedDogs]

Just got some whole skinned rabbits some with the heads still on, YUCK! So if the dogs won't eat them this way do I need to open them up and gut them and dehead them also?

Put the rabbit on the ground and see what they do. As long as they are playing with it, let them be. They are trying to figure out how to eat it. If thay lose interest, cut open the belly but leave the guts inside. Usually this is enough to get them started.

Different dogs eat rabbits differently. I had one dog that started with the head and worked his way to the back. Another started with the feet & legs, then then the tail, then found a way to open the body at the tail. Another just started ripping open the belly. The end result was always the same. All that was left was a neat little pile of intestines and strewn around stomach contents.

 

[DaneMama]

I would personally gut them because they can carry worms that infect dogs. Leave everything but the digestive tract. Two of my dogs wouldn't eat whole rabbits either so we gave theirs to the cats :wink:

 

[whiteleo]

Do you think is true of rabbits that are raised for this purpose, the tapeworm thing? I'm not doing it, my husband will have to do it, but he won't do it either, we'll have to get the neighbor to do it!

 

[DaneMama]

Dipylidium caninum is the flea tapeworm that can be transmitted to dogs by anything that carries it, but the risk is only letting them eat the fur of the rabbit where the fleas are. Roundworms, Toxocara canis is the worm I was originally talking about which is not a tapeworm, but still a nasty bug that you don't want your dog to get. They are carried by many rodent species, not just rabbits.

 

[RawFedDogs]

I used to feed my dogs rabbits that I purchased. Now both my dogs and cats catch and eat wild rabbits along with a zillion other kinds of small animals. I never had a dog or cat get worms. My cats eat at least 3 or 4 critters a week each.

 

[whiteleo]

Well, the dogs got their first taste of rabbit in the buff, yesterday during my split shift from work I took out one of the dressed rabbits I got to defrost. When I got home from work last night I wanted to give them a taste so I chopped it in 4 quarters.
As usual, garbage gut inhaled hers, Leo ate half of his and Kenzie wouldn't touch hers, Leo and Cayenne have had ground rabbit in the past with no issues, and Kenzie still won't touch chicken but will eat turkey necks. Dogs are nuts!

 

[DaneMama]

I used to feed my dogs rabbits that I purchased. Now both my dogs and cats catch and eat wild rabbits along with a zillion other kinds of small animals. I never had a dog or cat get worms. My cats eat at least 3 or 4 critters a week each.

Sometimes you don't know that your dog is carrying worms til you check or a kid that has been around your dog comes down with an infection from the same worms. Not all dogs show symptoms, but the worms they carry can and do infect people everyday. For me, it's a personal hygiene thing and not so much about the health of my dogs...which is still a part of it.

 

[whiteleo]

Its been 3 days now with the "tough love" and the rabbit scenario, I guess the rabbit will strictly be for "garbage gut". LOL Oh well, the dogs get plenty of variety anyway! Lets hope the Emu thats coming on friday is a different story.