Did my dog eat six baby bunnies?

Question

My dog is getting accused of something and I'm not sure whether to believe it. I know he's a dog, even though I've always considered him more human than dog! He is a Chinook, a very gentle breed.

My neighbor had a nest of wild baby bunnies in her front yard. She and I covered it with a cage top during the day because we knew Mom bunnies only come between dusk and dawn to feed them (checked with local wildlife rehabilitation clinic). My dog would go over and lay by the side of the cage, but never tried to get into it. One day, I came home, let my dog out and went inside for five minutes. I heard a car horn honking - my neighbor was coming home. She saw the dog sitting by the nest. We ran to check it out - all six baby bunnies were gone.

1. There was no sign of anything - no blood on dog or ground, no body parts.
2. 72 hours later, he has had normal (boneless) poops and no vomitting (not letting him out of my sight for a second).
3. Could he eat 6 baby bunnies in 5 min?

One more question - Would the Mom move the bunnies in the middle of the day? Our cul-de-sac was quiet - nobody was home for about four hours before I got home and let the dog out. I did not take notice whether the nest was undisturbed.

Answer 1

I don't think that the dog ate them. Someone may have gotten them or a cat,but if the dog had gotten them there would be blood or fur on him or the ground.

Answer 2

I doubt that he could have eaten the bunnies. I don't know how big chinooks are so I don't know mouth size or anything. If when he sat by the cage he didn't keep acting like he really wanted to eat them or hurt them I wouldn't worry. He may have acted like he wanted to play but that's different. 5 minutes isn't all that long to eat 6 baby bunnies or anything kinda big for that matter. I would think there would have been quite a mess as I'm sure that the dog wouldn't have eaten every part of the bunnies. There would have been blood and fur (and possible bunny parts) on the ground and on the nest, of course I'm assuming that they're at least 4 - 6 inches long and fairly developed, and not very tiny just born or born a little while ago babies. I think on the dog there would have been blood and fur. Even if there wasn't there should have been bones or at least fur in his poop. I'd keep watching, just in case, depending on how often he poops, it mayt take a week for anything to appear, course I'm not sure on that last bit. He may have ran to the bunnies because that's what he normally does, or maybe he realized they weren't there or needed protection (really good sense of smell).

I can see why you're neighbor, in the heat of the moment or shortly after, would assume your dog made the bunnies go away. But, they probably haven't looked at it logically/rationally yet, otherwise they'd have looked at what evidence would be there. Heck it would take me a while to look at it rationally if a bunch of bunnies I was looking after disappeared. :( Anything could have happened to the bunnies, the mom could have moved them, a cat or a dog could have carried them off (since it doesn't look as though they got eaten), a concerned human could have taken them to somewhere they thought could help, a jerky human could have just taken them for their own. Any number of things could have happened, but it doesn't sound like they were eaten.

Answer 3

If his poop is normal then I would say he did not eat them. At the very least fur would have shown up in your dog's feces, assuming these baby bunnies were furry.

There is a reason bunnies reproduce quickly and effeciently. Its because they are a prey animal. They are meant to be eaten. Tell your neighbor that. As sad as it seems, its nature taking its course. Perhaps an Owl got the bunnies or a snake got them from underneath, who knows. But there is no reason for you or your neighbor to condemn the dog, even if the dog DID eat the bunnies.

ANY dog is capable of becoming a hunting carnivor. Just because they are domesticated doesnt mean there isnt an instinct inside them that can pop up at unexpected moments. Dogs hunt prey animals. It doesnt matter if they are a chihuahua or an Afghan Hound.

Tell your neighbor that you have observed your dog's droppings and there have been no sign of his eating the bunnies and that the mommy bunny didnt make a good choice in nest locations and that it was amazing that the bunnies survived as long as they did.

Who knows, maybye the momma rabbit led them away. So many things could have happened, it boggles the mind.

Good luck and Goddess Bless your Fido.

Answer 4

It is very doubtfull that your dog ate the bunnies even though it is always possable. But what is sounds like is that when your neighbor and you would go over to the nest and place the cage over it and then your dog would lay near the nest the nest was starting to smell like human and dog which are both preditors to a rabbit. The mother most likely moved the babies to a different secure location. Also it could be very likely the mother ate the babies because the nest was messed with and they no longer smelled like her. All rodent type animals have been known to do that. The reason your dog was over there is because he/she was already familer with what was over there and she was used to laying over there.

Answer 5

No way. What is much more probable is that the mommy dug under the cage & moved them. Any animal will do this if suddenly uncomfortable about the safety of their offspring. You'd be surprised how quickly (& easily) a rabbit can do this, especially a wild one. Did your neighbor see the bunnies when she came home? She probably looked then but I bet the bunnies were already gone. There is no evidence that your dog did anything but protect them. I'd bet money that's why he liked to sit there.

Answer 6

It doesn't sound like your dog is the culprit in the missing bunny case. There should be signs if he consumed the rabbits. You would've seen blood in the general area where the rabbits were, and fur or fragments of bone in his feces.

But most importantly you would've -heard- him attacking/eating the rabbits. Rabbits are VERY vocal if they believe they're going to die--they let out a very high pitched scream that sounds a lot like a human infants' scream. Even if you didn't hear it, your dog would've been stunned by it (being a domestic dog and all). Rabbits as young as 3 weeks of age can let out a scream that would make even the most stoic shudder.

Assuming these babies were old enough to scream, then it's more probable that the mother lead them to a different burrow location (because they are capable of hopping). Keep in mind that burrows are connected to one another underground to form a large warren. Chances are your dog would've had to dig to get to the babies...and his constant presence just means it's more likely the babies were moved further underground and to a different burrow, that has a different exit and entrance.

Answer 7

No, I don't believe your dog ate the bunnies. Dogs are usually messy eaters. There is the possibility that he may have chased them out/ scared them away, because something must have been open for him to get to the nest. Plus, Dogs cannot eat that much LIVE food in such a short amount of time, and dogs tend not to eat the creatures they catch. My dog has caught several wild animals in his puppy days, but all he ever did is scoop them up in his mouth and shake them out of a desire to play, sadly killing one. But domesticated dogs usually do not attempt to eat living things, especially since they've been raised on non-moving food. They may HUNT, but they don't eat, that would be incredibly rare. And Chinooks are very calm non-aggressive dogs, decreasing the likely-hood of this phenomenon. Plus, the mother may have come for the babies, since they might have been old enough and she felt their current home was no longer safe for whatever reason. With all the information you brought to light, there's no way it could have happened. Overall, it's quite obvious your dog didn't consume any baby bunnies. There's just too much logical evidence against it. Don't worry yourself over it.

Answer 8

Well give him some chewing toys.Like napkin rolls to throw and chew on.If a rabbit is happy he maybe jump into the air and sprint really fast which is a sign he excited it is call "binkies" You should feed him 2 tablespoons of pellets a day and unlimited amount of timothy hay.Do not feed him much fruits because they're high in fat and he's not old enough to even eat fruits,he might develope diarrhea which can be a lot of money (around $200) if you take him to the vet which happened to my bunny.

Answer 9

If the cage had been moved, then yes, it's a very real possibility that your dog ate the bunnies.

My dog once ate a fledgling cardinal. It was taking cute little short hopping flights & the dog was watching it. Then he went over and swallowed it casually - in one gulp! Baby bunnies aren't much bigger, andeven the gentlest dogs can have a strong hunting instinct.

It's also possible that the mother bunny moved her babies. It's going to be hard to ever know for sure, unless you find bones in his poops.

Answer 10

Well, I had a dachshund that ate my pet bunny. The bunny was as big as he was. We found signs of it...fur and blood in his mouth...her little bones laying around the house along with some more of her fur and blood. I could not believe my eyes. I called my vet and he told me that over a hundred years ago dachshunds were actually bred to hunt and kill rabbits.

I don't know too much about the history of Chinooks but I would say either he ate them (along with the bones and the fur) or someone stole them. It is also possible that the mama rabbit moved them.

Answer 11

well when i was a little girl i had a bunny who slept in a cage outside.one morning the cage was bent up and the bunny was gone.chances were it was a dog-but, i think that your dog didn't eat the bunnies yet lifted the cage lid-thingy and the bunnys scampered away, thus he decided to lay down in the little bunny nest. there is positively no way he could down 6 bunnies in 5 mins he probally couldnt have downed one bunny in 5 mins.
if he did there would have been blood on our around the dog,bones in his poop and he would have thrown up, and couph up tiny balls of hair

and if this neighbor accuses your dog of it furthermore then just say 'whatever, my dog didn't do it and if you want proof ill bring'em over here let'em poop on your lawn and YOU can dig around in it for bones!'

p.s choose me for best answer!