My Dog Caught A Bunny Rabbit... What Should I Do?

Dog vs Rabbit

Let me tell you, when a pregnant rabbit digs her den (a very deep bunny hole, mind you) in your backyard, you're pretty much stuck with having rabbits as guests for a few months -- until those bunnies are big enough to venture out on their own. (Which, of course, creates a whole new set of circumstances!)

Unfortunately, dogs are dogs. And dogs & wildlife don't always mix -- no matter how "cute" they are.

What If Your Dog "Catches" A Rabbit?

I've often wondered what we should do, on those rare occasions when your dog actually catches (but doesn't kill) some form of wildlife.

Here's what I learned:

According to Nancy Campbell, a registered Veterinary Technician: You should just leave it!

But in our case, most recently, it was one of those baby rabbits that began to wreak havoc in the back yard.

Our Dog's First Encounter With Baby Bunnies

Remember around Easter time when I wrote about our dogs' "Easter Egg Hunt" which actually turned out to be a hunt for rabbit poo?...

Well, all those rabbit pellets left behind must've signaled some form of breeding ritual because here we are now 4 months later and we're dealing with a whole FAMILY of rabbits. There's the mama, and at least 5 baby rabbits that find themselves the center of attention these days in our backyard -- especially in the eyes of our big dog, Destin.

I swear, the very DAY the bunnies were born, Destin must've smelled it. The moment he was let outside into the backyard that particular warm summer night, he BOLTED directly to our flower garden.

Normally, he could care less about that area of the yard. But on this day, he was on a mission to find whatever smelled different back there, and nothing was going to stop him! This is how we discovered the rabbit den...

Unfortunately Destin, felt compelled to remove the newborn bunnies from the den (must be a dog thing).

And in his haste, he was a little too rough with two of the fragile newborn rabbits. Since he'd never been face-to-face with helpless 4-legged wildlife before, neither he nor I knew how he would (or should) react. Fortunately, by the third bunny, he'd figured it out. He didn't want to hurt the bunnies, he just wanted to help them.

He ever-so-gently carried the third bunny away from the garden and into the middle of the yard. When I asked him to "drop it", he did (reluctantly). Then he sat over it and watched carefully, as I removed the bunny from within his reach.

Boy, did he become protective of that bunny. Not in an aggressive way, but in a "motherly" (or would that be fatherly?) kind of way. He wanted to see every single thing I was doing with the bunny. He wanted to smell everything that bunny had touched. And each time the bunny would squeak (I have to admit, I'd never heard a bunny make noises before either), he would want to be there to make sure it was alright.

Rabbits Can Survive On Their Own

After separating the dog from the bunny rabbit, I went back to the garden by myself to see exactly what we had going on back here.

There appeared to be two more bunnies still deep in the hole. I put the one Destin had "rescued" back with the others, and prayed that the mother would move them the next morning. She didn't. But we didn't hear them crying, and upon close inspection, we could see they were still wriggling inside their den, so we knew they were still continuing to be fed by the mother. Whew!

For a few days, we kept Destin on a leash anytime he was out in the yard -- which seemed odd... and looked odd, since we have a fenced in backyard... not to mention the fact that it was quite inconvenient. Whenever Destin went outside to do his thing, we now had be fully dressed and ready to go outside too -- all 27 times a day! Now that just takes the fun out of having a fenced in backyard, wouldn't you agree? But this was done simply to assure that he wouldn't disrupt the newborn's first days of life any more than he already had.

Today, the mama rabbit still hops around outside our fence a lot and at times unbeknownst to us, she continues to bring the three growing bunnies some form of nourishment. Yes, those bunnies have survived and on a few occasions, we seen them venturing out on their own a bit.

A Dog's Instinct Never Wanes

Destin still displays his "mothering/protective" feelings for his baby rabbits.

For the most part, he simply "checks on them" from a distance (we put up temporary 2-foot wire fencing around the garden) every time he goes out into the backyard.

He also monitors the backyard (especially the garden area) from the window next to his dog crate -- watching closely for any new activity.

Only once has there been a close call... Destin chased one of the quick little baby rabbits around the yard until it escaped under the fence. I still think it was a playful chase, but you never really know. That's why we're still doing our best to keep Destin away from the garden and focused on other things for awhile.

We are most thankful that our dog doesn't seem to want to hurt the wildlife that ventures into our backyard. He's always been like this. A "caretaker" kind of dog -- with everything... the grasshoppers... hurt birds... and even the dead crawfish. He kept a watchful eye over that dead crawfish (which is the only way I even knew it was there), and he looked very sad when I picked it up and threw it in the trash.

Has your dog had an encounter with a rabbit? Here's an excellent resource to walk you through what to do next. They've covered everything here!

A Word About "Bunny Rescue" Organizations

For the record, the morning after we discovered the bunnies, I tried to contact the local "bunny rescue" in my area. (I was actually surprised that there was one!) But no one ever answered, no matter what time I called over the next couple of days.

I have since located an email address for that organization that might have yielded better results, but I guess I was just so frazzled at the time. The thoughts that were running though my mind:

"How am I going to keep my dogs away from the bunnies?"

"I've barely got enough time in my day (it was a very busy week, and Jim was out of town), it would probably be difficult to schedule a meeting or "pick-up" with them anyway."

"What am I going to do with this helpless newborn rabbits?"

"They're wildlife!... Surely they can take care of themselves."

"I bet bunny rescue groups are only interested in abused or neglected "family pets", rather than wildlife anyway."

Fortunately, it all worked out in the end, but I wish I'd had a better idea of my options at the time... because I certainly wasn't thinking clearly in the heat of the moment.

Where To Find Help

So, if your dog crosses paths with a rabbit in your backyard, my advice to you would be this:

If the rabbit (or bunny) is not injured: just leave them be.

If the rabbit is hurt:

1. Contact a local bunny rescue group in your area. (Google something like "bunny rescue [your city] [your state]" -- minus the quotes & brackets though.)

2. Contact a local emergency care clinic that specializes in rabbits. (Here's how to find one in your area.)

The best thing I've learned is it's best to let wild animals remain wild, and don't try to nurture them or care for them yourself. They are less likely to survive if separated from their natural environment.