How To Stop Dogs From Eating Rabbit Poop?

At times, our dogs seem compelled to eat the grossest and oddest things they can find. This can include anything from cigarette butts to diapers to ant traps. But now we’re talking about a strange preference: some dogs like to eat rabbit feces.

Dogs eat rabbit feces for various reasons that we’ll discuss later. Don’t be frightened; this reasonably common event only causes little illness. It may, however, make your dog feel bad in other situations, and you’ll want to do everything you can to prevent it because it’s disgusting.

Continue reading to learn more about this strange issue and what you can do to solve it.

There’s a reason why dogs eat rabbit poop:

Dogs consume rabbit excrement for various reasons, including nutritional shortage, curiosity, and plain ol’ derpy dog behavior.

Rabbit feces can cause sickness in dogs, but it seldom makes them sick or causes serious health problems. You can keep your dog from eating rabbit dung by doing a few things, which we’ll go through with you.

What makes dogs eat rabbit feces?

As with any examination of a dog’s motivations, we will never know why they do what they do. However, we can be confident that rabbits consume their feces for one of the following reasons:

Curiosity

Humans prefer to explore the world with their eyes, whereas dogs use their taste and smell senses. As a result, they take a nibble when they come upon a little clump of rabbit dung.

Nutritional deficiencies

Due to a lack of nutrients, dogs may consume strange foods to supplement their diet. Rabbit feces, for example, contains a lot of fiber and B vitamins.

Pica

Pica is a condition in which dogs devour things that aren’t edible (or mostly inedible). Medical problems can play a part, but compulsive disorders can also be a factor.

Hunger

A hungry dog will test practically anything that smells like food, and some dogs even enjoy it. While this isn’t a very satisfying explanation, it’s important to remember that dogs, like humans, do unusual things (hopefully, your strange behaviors don’t include scavenging rabbit dung from the yard). A dog is consuming bunny feces.

Is Rabbit Poop Safe for Dogs to Eat?

Rabbit excrement has little effect on dogs. However, we should do all possible to prevent youngsters from taking it.

Finally, excrement can nourish bacteria and other microscopic diseases that can make your dog unwell. On a regular day, your dog’s saliva goes all over you and everything you own, so it’s only natural to keep poop out of his mouth.

Rabbit poop, on the other hand, is unlikely to make your dog sick. Most parasites and diseases found in rabbit feces are species-specific, meaning they cannot infect dogs.

Coccidia (a type of single-celled parasite) is frequently seen in the feces of dogs who eat rabbit dung, for example. On the other hand, these coccidia organisms are perfectly safe for your dog and will pass through his system.

Even though rabbit dung is normally safe for dogs, you should contact your veterinarian right away if:

When your dog eats rabbit feces, he begins to vomit. Your dog will have diarrhea if he eats rabbit feces. Rabbits may still be a menace to your dog. While rabbit feces may not be dangerous to your dog, the rabbit itself could be.

Rabbits will not fight your dog, but he might get tapeworms if your dog catches and eats one. Rabbits can contain fleas and ticks, spreading diseases including tularemia and the bubonic plague (yup, that plague).

If your dog eats bunny dung or if you have a lot of rabbits on your property, you’ll want to do everything you can to keep your pet safe.

This entails using a good flea preventative (preferably one that works on ticks) and keeping a tight check on your dog while running about in the backyard.

What’s the difference between rabbit poop and other droppings, anyway?

Unless you’re a seasoned wildlife tracker or have kept rabbits as pets, you might not be able to distinguish bunny feces from that of other species. But don’t worry, learning it isn’t tough. First, it’s critical to recognize that rabbits produce two separate types of “number twos.”

Genuine excrement, sometimes known as “decent poop,” is one type.

Each dropping is about the size of a pea and is spherical. They are predominantly brownish but may contain grass, hay, or other plant debris. The rabbit’s feces are frequently deposited in little mounds around its territory.

The second type of droppings generated by rabbits is cecotropes. Cecotropes are pellets derived from partially digested food that the cecum produces (a section of the large intestine). They appear after the rabbit has eaten for several hours, usually at night.

Cecotropes are smaller than regular feces (they’re not feces), commonly mixed up into a single mass. They also have a unique pungent odor instead of the subtle odor of typical rabbit excrement. This begs the question of why bunnies produce two different types of feces.

On the other hand, Cecotropes aren’t as prevalent as typical rabbit feces since the bunny that produced them would devour them before your dog could eat them unless it were startled. In terms of canine health, it makes no difference whether your dog eats rabbit dung of cecotropes.

What Can I Do If My Dog Eats Rabbit Poop?

Unfortunately, there aren’t many simple and efficient techniques to stop your dog from eating his poop. However, the following measures may be beneficial:
When your dog is outside, keep an eye on him. Still, it will help limit your dog’s risk of swallowing rabbit excrement (or anything that may be dangerous in the backyard).
Teach your dog the commands “drop it” and “leave it.” Even if you keep an eye on your dog in the backyard, you’ll need to be able to stop him from eating rabbit excrement if he’s not in your immediate vicinity. As a result, make sure he learns and practices a “leave it” or “drop it” command.

Make use of a muzzle. If you can’t keep up with your poop-eating dog every time he goes outside, a muzzle may be the best option. There are a variety of wonderful dog muzzles on the market, and you can also construct your DIY muzzle.

Attempt to keep rabbits out of your yard. It’s not always simple to keep rabbits off your property (as our Australian readers may attest). Still, you can try removing favorite food sources and erecting substantial barriers around the perimeter. Also, attempt to get rid of brush heaps and other places where rabbits can hide.
If you feel your dog is suffering from PICA, consult a canine behaviorist. If your dog’s poop-eating behaviors appear to be caused by PICA, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to rule out any medical issues and call a canine behaviorist to treat the problem.