Bunny Killer!

[Guest Dragon]

I'm not sure where exactly to post this, but since my main question is about health, I'll post it here. Last night my girl (who woulda thought?) was walking around the house whining at about midnight. My husband graciously woke up to let her out. I woke up to the sound of a weird scream and ran downstairs thinking that some skunk attacked her or something. Turns out she was fine...but decided to lie down under the trees...and was clearly occupied (I couldn't see anything bc it was dark)...and would not respond to her name...WEIRD.

 

So I sent DH out to figure this situation out. She had KILLED and was EATING (like, eating) a rabbit! It was such a serious situation she had going on over there, that Dragon, though very interested, wouldn't even interrupt her (and he steals treats from her all the time, being the boss and all). It was NOT what I wanted to deal with in the middle of the night, or ever, and I was totally freaked out. DH said she was going after it like a stuffie.

 

I'm sure other people have dealt with this horror before, and I'm kind of over it this morning. DH cleaned up the carcass, and I washed her bloody (rabbit blood, not hers) paws and face last night. Should we do anything now? Like is this something that warrants a trip to the vet? She is on interceptor, and actually just took it yesterday, so I feel like she's good on the worm front, but is there anything else I should be thinking about, health wise?

 

Thanks!

[Guest HHHounds]

Mine have just killed cats - no rabbits or squirrels yet... Eww what fun in the middle of the night!

[GeorgeofNE]

Ah, nature! Circle of life and all. Gross to you, perfectly natural to a dog.

 

They were hunting dogs long before they were racing dogs. Not sure about any health issues, although I personally wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure others with more experience can help there.

 

My last dog killed more chipmunks and moles than I could count, but I never let him eat them.

[JAJ2010]

She should be fine as long as she's on a hw pills and healthy. She might poop out some fur though... No need to freak out and get worried. She's a dog and that's what they do sometimes. I bet she thought it was the greatest night ever!

[kudzu]

She'll be fine. There is the possibility of her getting a type of tapeworm, different from the ones they get from fleas. If so, you can treat with fenbendazole (Safe-Guard).

 

I went out one morning to call the dogs back in. All came running to me but one had something in his mouth. He dropped it on the porch. Eeewwww. It was part of a bunny. I sent the dogs in & then had to dispose of the carcass but first I had to search the yard for the rest of the kill. Ick. Dog is fine. No problems. I was not fine & stayed freaked out for hours.

[Guest BrianRke]

Im sure she will be fine. Diamond has killed a couple creatures in my back yard that are worse than a bunny...birds, possum, etc... Mine all take Interceptor too thanks goodness. ITs a broad spectrum parasiticide so worms should not pose a threat.

 

Im sure she had the time of her life and will be on the lookout for more everytime she goes out for the next several days.

[Guest Dragon]

Thanks so much everyone! I kinda figured I was overreacting, but I'd rather ask on here than call the vet. Sometimes I feel like it's their policy to make everyone who calls with a question come in to get an office visit charge...

 

And yes, she DID have the night of her life, and has been looking for more every time she's been out since! Pixie: "I love stuffies! Sometimes they're FOOD!!"

Edited September 1, 2011 by Dragon

[OwnedBySummer]

Summer takes birds from the sky and a couple of months ago, she, too, got a rabbit. At least it was morning and not night like you had! I let her eat it, "waste not, want not". I just gave her a lot less kibble for breakfast! She didn't make any mess at all and there was absolutely nothing to clean up. She is on Advantix and HeartGuard but I did add a month of Diatomaceous Earth, to make sure no nasty tapeworms took up residence.

Edited September 1, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[greytpups]

Ben killed a squirrel and our vet said not to worry about it. I would imagine rabbits fall into the same category. If you have a vet visit coming up for a check up you could always mention it. Our vet also told me not to worry about rabbits in our area because they weren't carrying any diseases. This was a couple of years ago now though. I wouldn't go to the vet if she appears healthy...just a little bit of a raw diet dinner.

[sobesmom]

As everyone else has said - it's fine. My have eaten rabbits, mice, birds, squirrels and moles.

 

I have a great rabbit story - it's on greytalk somewhere. It involves my dog actually bring his kill into the house, chomping away on his dogbed, me getting the dogbed and rabbit away, and me in T-shirt and undies outside at 3am trying and failing multiple times to throw said dead rabbit over the fence via the dogbed - with the very excited dog bouncing around me the whole time.

 

It was a show the neighbors would've loved to have witnessed.

[Guest KsFrets]

Our wrecking crew scattered a bunny nest just last week. Maggie found it, next thing I see 4 bunnies running for their lives... one made it through the fence to safety, and I'm dealing with three greyhounds, each with a bunny in their mouth. I grabbed Maggie, and yelled at Lisa and they both dropped theirs... amazingly, they scurried off through the fence. The one Magnus chomped was less fortunate. By the time I got to him, it had met the same fate as some of our stuffys. Ewww is right. Why a momma bunny would bring her babies into a Greyhound's yard is beyond me!!!

[Guest carla7]

Hi:

 

Your pup should be ok. I had a similar experience with my husky. I had let him out and left the door open....well, I went to call him in and found him with a groundhog in his mouth (face first). Not only would he not put it down, but he ran straight into the house, under the bed and proceeded to eat it as fast as he could. By the time I could get to him and grab the remaining carcass out of his mouth, he had devoured half of it........Needless to say, I was horrified! The vet told me to just watch him and make sure that he didn't vomit, act sick, etc. He was fine........I, on the other hand, couldn't get that visual out of my head for days!

Carla

[Guest SusanP]

Our hounds were great hunters in their youth--not so much anymore. We had numerous fatalities (which almost included a neighbor's cat except for an extreme rescue and $2,000 of emergency surgery/hospitalization)and resorted to always putting their basket muzzles on when they went outside. Mind you, they still killed critters with the muzzles on, but not anywhere near as often.

 

One of our worst--Dr. Doug ran in the house with the front half of a squirrel sticking out of his mouth and obligingly dropped it in the trash for me...but it was ONLY the front half. Found the tail in the yard, but we didn't see the back half until he barfed it up 20 minutes later (on the living room carpet, in front of a guest), *fully intact*. Nearly choked on it getting it back up.

 

In the middle of the night, I'd rather muzzle than deal with what you had to!

[SarahsBlackPack]

Your hound should be ok. You might might to keep a eye out for flea's though. If you have a lot of flea's in your area. Rabbits tend to carry them.

[Guest ChrisGHDogs]

There is a very good chance you will see tape worm in the next month or so. Everytime mine have killed and eaten, I see tape worm. But that is easy to take care of and not all that expensive. 30.00 or 40.00. Other than that probably nothing to worry about.