the poor bunny saga

Tonight I violated the first rule of dogs and children, which is, "If all is quiet, you'd better go see what they are up to." #-o

Nala was chock full of energy and she and Bonnie were wrestling all over the house. It was prime time for a fight, so I shooed them outside to get rid of some energy. The kids and I were watching TV, so I didn't notice for a while that they hadn't asked to come in. Then I did think of it, but the weather has been so beautiful they have been staying out longer.

So finally it was time for bed and I went to let them in, expecting to see them in their usual spot, sitting on the deck and surveying their "kingdom." But no. Neither one was there.

I called, and Bonnie came trotting in. No Nala. Hmmmm. "What," I think to myself, "could she possibly be doing outside for so long, that is so interesting she'd ignore me calling her in."

It could only be one thing - food. Most likely squirrel or rabbit. I've never seen her actually catch one, but I found her with a whole squirrel dangling from her mouth once, so I took it away and disposed of it, not knowing if it had died of disease or if she had killed it herself.

So I turned on the outside light and spied her, lying in the lawn. Yep. Definitely eating. I went outside.

Rabbit. Cute, dead rabbit. :shock:

It was over half gone by then, so I let her finish it. I'm sure she caught it herself, and it looked young. Too bad I already fed her tonight. I guess it will be small meals for her for a couple days!

I checked on her a while later, and she was trotting around the yard. Looking for a place to bury the remains? I called her and she came trotting up on the deck, poor bunny head dangling from her mouth. She actually seemed to think I would let her in the house with it! I told her to drop it, but she just stared at me, and then crunched a little. :-& I shut the door and turned off the light.

Later she came in, sans bunny. I told her it was time for bed, and she froze. Rather than running to her crate, she ran for the back door, looking worried. I let her out, and she went to her eating spot, where apparently she had stashed the bunny.

She finally came inside. I guess she finished it. I'm not going to check.

So. Anyone want to start a pool - which small hour of the morning will Nala vomit a pile of rabbit in her crate? :0024:

 

ohh yuk, poor bunny. I wouldnt think she would get sick since you already feed her raw, but since she did already have her dinner, she could get that feeling my, I ate too much :shock: :shock: I know better when all is quiet they are up to no good.

 

oh thats yucky....
yeah, Molly used to carry bunnies around. only she wouldn't kill them..

 

Yeah, I figured digestion-wise it should be fine especially since she has had rabbit before, but I was thinking of the volume. How much would a small wild rabbit weigh?? She looked pretty round when she came in, and in her crate she was lying there panting. I thought for sure she would up-chuck it all at 3am.

So far, so good. But apparently she didn't finish it last night after all. I looked out the window this morning and she was chewing on something, and then I spied two floppy ears. *sigh*

It will be small meals for the next few days for her!

Can anyone think of anything disease-wise I should be concerned about? Worms, maybe? I guess I should watch her poo for a week or two.

 

Wild Wabbits carry tape worm often so I'd watch out for that and I might worm her in any case just cuz.

Otherwise I think she'd be fine other than a bit full...

Sara

 

Thanks! Tape worms are easy to get rid of, so I'll just wait and see rather than give her medicine she doesn't need.

 

I've never dealt with tapeworm but I'd take your approach too... Less is best.

Sara

 

"I looked out the window this morning and she was chewing on something, and then I spied two floppy ears. *sigh* "

LOL I am almost spit up over that one!

 

Just about every foster who has come through our house has had tapeworms (the first time is horrifying, LOL). The conventional route is one pill. They eat it, the worms die and are dissolved back into their bodies - no dead worms even have to come out.

There are more natural approaches as well, but probably I would just give in and give the pill.

 

Oh man, the last foster I had, i wormed him. it was soooo gross. He had these HUGE white tapeworms. I'm talking he had one that must have been a foot long!!!! it was disgusting. He poo'd worms about 3 times that day before they cleared up.

 

I know wild rabbits can carry tulerimia, but I couldn't find any info on whether dogs can catch it. I also couldn't find anything that says they can't. I do know that people can catch it, so I'd be careful to dispose of any remains you come across.

 

I had all the animals at the vet on Saturday for bloodwork re-checks and routine checkups. The vet said bunnies can carry tapeworms or coccidia, so she recommended a fecal. However, since it had only been two days she said nothing would show up yet most likely. I will just wait and look for tapeworms, and get fecals done at their next heartworm check in 6 months. The vet said very healthy dogs can have a coccidia infestation with no symptoms, and in that case it becomes questionable whether even to treat it.

Sams, tapeworms are usually the flat, rice-sized thingies, which are just small parts of the larger worms. When long ones come out, aren't they usually round worms? Whenever I have wormed a dog for tapes, the dead ones aren't expelled - they just get reabsorbed into the body. However, nice long nasty roundworms do come out in the stool.

I haven't noticed any remains - I'm sure she did a very thorough job. If there were any, I don't plan to touch it with my bare hands or eat it, so I'm sure we're safe.

 

Oh man...I knew I shouldn't have opened this one. They're our babies, but they are in fact DOGS.

 

Yes, my daughter was upset about the rabbit, as was I. But I told her that dogs do what dogs do, and it's the way of nature. If Nala could catch the bunny, then so could other predators. Or the bunny could have been hit by a car. At least I'm sure Nala killed it quite quickly. I do prefer, of course, that wild animals be the ones to eat the bunnies since they have to eat to live, while my dogs have a steady food source that doesn't involve hunting down the native wildlife, but what can you do?

 

well these looked like flat tennishoe laces!!!

 

Ewwwwwww! :shock:

 

Tell me about it!!!! I was scared to clean it up!