Top 3 Reasons Why Dog Eats Rabbit Poop & How to Stop

There are times when dogs will find the most disgusting things to eat, one of them being rabbit poop. Whether this behavior is normal or not will depend on the context. How frequently is your dog eating rabbit poop? What other signs and symptoms does the dog show?

1. Enjoying the scent and taste of rabbit poop

For whatever odd reason, some dogs may simply like the taste of rabbit poop. Rabbits are herbivores. Their diet main consists of grass, feeding hay, and maybe some vegetable as well. The dog has taken a liking to whatever the rabbit eats and digests.

2. Suffering from nutritional deficiencies

Dogs that aren’t being fed a well-balanced diet may engage in pica, the condition in which dogs crave non-food items. There could be something attractive about the rabbit poop. Perhaps the dog is being wrongly fed a dry-food only diet. The dog is eating rabbit poop because he seeks something with a bit moisture than ordinary kibbles.

It might also be a result of certain nutrients the dog’s body is lacking. Researchers in the past have studied whether the lack of vitamins, for example, may explain strange eating habits of dogs. Revisiting your dog’s diet plan might be necessary if the dog shows other signs of nutritional deficiency.

3. Your dog is hungry

It might be something a bit more obvious. Your dog is just hungry! He may try to eat anything that has an interesting scent. This would include rabbit poop and whatever else the dog might encounter while outdoors. Make sure the amount of food you feed your dog is adjusted to an appropriate amount.

Can dogs become sick from eating rabbit poop?

There is always a possibility of dogs getting sick when they eat something they shouldn’t have. Rabbit poop is part of the list. There are certain dangers rabbit poops may introduce to dogs. It could, for example, lead to the spreading of internal parasites. Your dog may end up showing worrying symptoms such as vomiting and having diarrhea. These symptoms may not occur immediately after a dog eats rabbit poop.

It’s important to keep an eye on your dog for a couple of days. Your dog may act normal for the first few hours after eating rabbit poop. This can easily change and the dog may start to show adverse signs a day or two later. Please take your dog to the vet immediately if you suspect something is wrong.

How to stop a dog from eating rabbit poop

Prevention is the most important step to discourage your dog from eating rabbit poop. Recall (or the leave it command) is the most important command that would be of assistance. Start noting down specific patterns whenever your dog starts to eat rabbit poop. You will want to use the recall command whenever these cues occur.

If you are dealing with wild rabbits in the backyard, you may just need to take the steps to get rid of them or to relocate the rabbits somewhere more appropriate. Live traps, for example, work decently well in catching wild rabbits.