Guest itsagreytlife Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I started Selah this week on the allergy free vet food Z\D. She loves it and the treats too, thank goodness--as do my cats. It smelled so good to them they tried to get in the bag & I had to put in a plastic container. Anyway, I can't give her anything else or it would wreck the "experiment" to find out if she has a food allergy. Vet says give it 2 wks and we will know if her symptoms disappear. She is scheduled for a skin testing after these 2 wks (assuming it is in fact NOT food related). I have successfully eliminated all other food or food related items (including toothpaste ). So that's going we'll (except for her breath--yikes!) But she is still going to town with the rabbit poo outside. Its never seemed to bother her, so I try to just let it go. I do put a muzzle with stool guard after dark so she won't catch & kill any rabbits, & to keep the turnouts short & sweet. Cannot deal with that drama around bedtime. (They seem to come out after dark a lot. We've had a rabbit explosion in our neighborhood since last spring. Word is that the farmers nearby let hunters on their lands to hunt the fox population. And they apparently were quite successful. I've never seen rabbits & their poo during the winter--yes it has been very mild this year, but still: the rabbits are HUGE! And this is with our new fence too.) So, I got to thinking: what if there are things in the poo that she is allergic to and it nullifies my food experiment? Am I way off here? Do rabbits eat stuff that would correlate with her diet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I'm sure it will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest verthib Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 1329611541[/url]' post='5170617']I started Selah this week on the allergy free vet food Z\D. She loves it and the treats too, thank goodness--as do my cats. It smelled so good to them they tried to get in the bag & I had to put in a plastic container. Anyway, I can't give her anything else or it would wreck the "experiment" to find out if she has a food allergy. Vet says give it 2 wks and we will know if her symptoms disappear. She is scheduled for a skin testing after these 2 wks (assuming it is in fact NOT food related). I have successfully eliminated all other food or food related items (including toothpaste ). So that's going we'll (except for her breath--yikes!) But she is still going to town with the rabbit poo outside. Its never seemed to bother her, so I try to just let it go. I do put a muzzle with stool guard after dark so she won't catch & kill any rabbits, & to keep the turnouts short & sweet. Cannot deal with that drama around bedtime. (They seem to come out after dark a lot. We've had a rabbit explosion in our neighborhood since last spring. Word is that the farmers nearby let hunters on their lands to hunt the fox population. And they apparently were quite successful. I've never seen rabbits & their poo during the winter--yes it has been very mild this year, but still: the rabbits are HUGE! And this is with our new fence too.) So, I got to thinking: what if there are things in the poo that she is allergic to and it nullifies my food experiment? Am I way off here? Do rabbits eat stuff that would correlate with her diet? Do a search on rabbit poop. It's been discussed here before, google it too. It's not fine to have them keep eating it. Mine love rabbit poop. Now they wear muzzles with stool guards every time they go out, even during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gracegirl Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Why not muzzle every time she goes out? Seems a very simple solution to me. Quote Tessie, PK's Cat Island 12/9/13 Gabby the Airedale 7/1/18Forever missing Grace (RT's Grace, 18156/23B), Fenway (not registered, def a greyhound), and Jackson (airedale terrier, honorary greyhound) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I've never heard of such a short food allergy trial. My vet made me do 8 weeks on Z/D. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooker914 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Yes a typical food allergy trial is 8-12 weeks. I agree with the stool guard to prevent her from eating the rabbit poop-there potentially could be something that could interfere. For the food trial, they really can't have anything else, no flavored heartworm prevention, no rawhides, no treats, etc. Besides, she could get tapeworms from the rabbit poo-yuck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Yes a typical food allergy trial is 8-12 weeks. I agree with the stool guard to prevent her from eating the rabbit poop-there potentially could be something that could interfere. For the food trial, they really can't have anything else, no flavored heartworm prevention, no rawhides, no treats, etc. Besides, she could get tapeworms from the rabbit poo-yuck! Parasites can not be transmitted from eating bunny poo. Dogs can get transient diarrhea but, will not be infected with intestinal parasites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooker914 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Sorry for my wrong info--they can get tapeworms from rabbits, not the actual poop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest itsagreytlife Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Okay. This forum reflects what I have found online: no real consensus on the rabbit poop being damaging to dogs. Some people swear it gave their dogs parasites (or some such thing), others saying their dogs have never had an issue. I would like to be in the "just fine" camp since it would make life much easier, but for this trial I will be on the safe side and muzzle her. Yes, I thought 2 wks was short too. I asked the vet twice, as well as the vet tech and they confirmed that 2 wks should do it. We shall see. I'm taking her in soon for an unrelated issue and I will delve further into it with him. Selah has been off Pred and antihistamines for several weeks due to the upcoming skin test. She is doing fairly well, but I've been keeping a hawk-eye on her and lubricate/spray/bathe/wipe down whenever she starts to even think of scratching or licking. Having her wear a t-shirt to bed has also helped her stop the incessant licking. I don't want to have to do this for the rest of her life though--too much work/time and too stressful. Perhaps I will anyway if it is an environmental thing and the shots (if we go that route) don't really work. Sigh. It will be nice to at least know WHAT causes the itchies. After this we need to get her a dental cleaning, and then hopefully that will be it for awhile. Then I can just sit back and really enjoy this sweet, sweet creature. I luv this girl so much its scary! Thanks for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystella Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Parasites can not be transmitted from eating bunny poo.Dogs can get transient diarrhea but, will not be infected with intestinal parasites. Really? Jeff had giardia, twice, and the vet said it probably came from his rabbit poop snacking in our yard. Quote Take the time to stop and smell the flowers - appreciate your everyday ordinary miracles Carolyn, Faith, Jeff Gordon (aka Jeffy) and Oscar the chilla. Desperately missing our Stella, we'll see you later sweet girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooker914 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Giardia can be transmitted by eating rabbit poop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Tis true Giardia is a Protozoa - can be picked up from water sources, dirty kennels.... Most dogs just exhibit self resolving, transient diarrhea- if the dogs immune system is not up to snuff or it's a heavy burden medical intervention may be in order--ie metronidazole or Panacur. They can not get coccidiosis from bunny pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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