Rabbit won’t leave dog food alone. Help?

[LuckyBunny]

I have a Flemish giant who is approximately the same size as my Jack Russell mix. She can even stand taller than him to reach things he can’t. I’ve had a problem with feeding my dog though, thanks to her. I tried first doing the timed feedings so he would get fed 2 or 3 times a day. He did not take to that well and got sick from not eating for 2 days. He grazes all day so he didn’t want to eat when I gave him the time to. I’ve also tried to put the food where the bunny doesn’t go but she just learned to go there. I would think the first idea would be a dog feeder up off the ground but she is determined and if he can reach she can reach. What do I do? I know she shouldn’t be eating dog food at all but right now that’s all I can do so my dog gets fed and not sick.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I wish I had some suggestions for you but other than putting the dogs food somewhere the bunny doesn’t have access to, I really don’t. My Bindi loves my cats food and will always go get it if I don’t shut the baby gate that keeps him away from it.

[LuckyBunny]

I wish my dog could jump a baby gate haha. I just wish he could be timed fed but he did not do well with it at all. I felt like I was torturing him. I know a lot of people are against free feeding dogs but I think it’s nicer to the dog.
Did your rabbit like wet cat food? Mine doesn’t like getting her whiskers wet so maybe she wouldn’t eat his stuff if it was wet food…

[Chelsea]

I’m sorry, I can’t really help.

But your story made me laugh a bit remembering when I was a kid and we had a female house bunny. We couldn’t figure out why she was suddenly so eager to eat the dog’s food. It gave her horrible diarrhea, but she kept trying to sneak it no matter what we did. Three weeks later it became obvious why she had started eating dog food when she gave birth to 13 little baby bunnies. Hopefully your girl is spayed though and has some other reason for craving protein 🙂 I hope you are able to figure out a solution.

[flemishwhite]

Don’t understand.  Is your rabbit eating your dog’s dry food?   If you’re feeding you dog wet meat dog food, I wouldn’t think the bunny would be eating it.  I’m surprised to learn that if you’re feeding dry dog food and the bunny is eating it.  From what little I know, a rabbit’s first stomach could digest dog food.  Their secondary stomach, normally their most important stomach, digests only cellulose. The secondary stomach, with the sympiotic bacteria, transforms cellulose into glucose.

[Hazel]

It’s really best for your dog to eat at certain times rather than graze. In the wild, canines eat once a day, at the most, and ideally their stomachs should empty completely before eating again (also, after leaving food out for 30 minutes, bacteria start to grow rapidly!). Grazing can have a negative impact on their health for several reasons, but I’m not gonna drone on about all that. Anyway, I can’t blame him for digging in his heels after you restricted his access to food, even to the point of not eating to voice his displeasure. Having it available at all times is of course very nice and convenient. But I think you can pull this off if you go slowly. If his food is available to him 24 hours a day right now, cut it down to twelve hours to start with. Pick your “goal” meal times, and leave the food down for three to four hours around that time. For example, if you plan to feed him lunch at noon, leave the food out from 11am to 2pm or so, however it fits your schedule best. Do the same for breakfast and dinner. This will get him used to going without food at certain times of the day, while still allowing him to graze for a good amount of time. I would do this for the first week, then cut it down to 2 hours per meal for the second week, one hour the third, the fourth week 30 minutes. Then you should be pretty much set. Hopefully this will avoid a doggie tantrum. They are very good at making you feel guilty, but don’t let him pout his way to success! Good luck!

[LuckyBunny]

Thanks Hazel! I will try that. And no, my dog eats dry food. Yeah my rabbit isn’t spayed but she hasn’t been around any other rabbits since I got her in May so I think I’m safe haha

[LittlePuffyTail]

We don’t feed our cat wet food. I can’t imagine any bunny would eat that. barf…..lol

[Chelsea]

I wonder if a false pregnancy would also make a rabbit try to eat dog food. The rabbit we had must have gotten pregnant from a trip into the backyard. We never saw the male, but we thought it was probably a wild bunny that got through the fence.

[LuckyBunny]

Well Chelsea, I don’t let her outside ever so I don’t think it’s that. Also she will eat anything and everything she can get so I don’t think it’s a protein craving when she pulls chips on the floor and eats them XD
She’s just a huge pig. I feed her pellets, hay, and fresh veggies but she always wants to eat–anything at all!

[Vienna Blue in France]

My lurcher cross couldn’t eat once a day – I tried (as all the dog books and advisors advise) but she got so hungry (as I do) before the next day that stomach juices started churning (as mine do) and then she wouldn’t eat the following day (had a stomach that woke up the neighbours) and so she was only eating once every 3 days. For an already skinny dog this would not do…. so once I worked out that twice a day was sooo much better for her, this is how we continued.

There was always one day in about every fortnight where she would go without food (I’d heard this was OK for dogs) and so I didn’t worry.
I think every situation is different.

Certainly give your dog two meals a day if that suits his digestion, but stop him from grazing during the day (on what?) so that when you put down your one or two meals a days he will munch it all up before bun gets to it.

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