Bunny eating dog food

[DukeBabette]

I am sitting here in tears writing this- my precious Babette has been eating dog food (dry) for about a week.  I thought it was funny!  I feel so stupid.  I read on a couple of sites that this is very dangerous- and can cause long term effects.  How bad is it ya’ll?  Have I really harmed my baby?  I will never forgive myself.

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[babybunsmum]

everyone makes mistakes… it sounds like you care about your bun very much and wouldn’t intentionally cause harm.  i’m not at all sure what the long term effects of eating dog food would be & hopefully some one can offer you some insight with this.  has Babette been pooping normally & drinking? has she only been eating dog food, or does she get hay, greens, veg, and rabbit pellets too?  i think in the short term it’s most important that her digestive system keeps moving (per binky bunny’s "BUNNY 911" at the top of the page).

i’ve learned so much about bunnies since finding this site & forum… hope you do too!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Try not to look at the bad side of this, at least you now know!  Like was said before, is Babette eating her regular food and are her poops normal? How much exactly has she consumed? If it was just a few snatches, she should be O.K. I recommend that you place the dog food up higher or in a room where she doesn’t have access. 

Just for future reference, rabbits are herbivores and have a very delicate GI tract and anything out of the norm in their diet (especially animal products) can cause imapction, upset or some kind of imbalance, so it is very important to make sure your rabbit only gets rabbit food and of course some rabbit-friendly treats. So you just might want to place the dog food up higher or in a room where she doesn’t have access. 

Welcome to Binky Bunny by the way!

[BinkyBunny]

Welcome DukeBabette! I’m sorry about all of that. I know you wouldn’t ever mean to intentionally harm your precious bunny. ANd it’s true, we all make mistakes, and we just learn from them. I think at this point you need to just watch closely to make sure your bunny is eating and pooping normally.

Also, this is not to scare you, just to keep you aware of urination issues. Dog food is high in protein (just the nature of carnivore food) and high protein can cause kidney problems – but I don’t know how much and for how long a bunny would need to be eating it in order for it to cause serious problems. I am not saying this to make you feel bad, I know you feel bad enough already! It’s just to make you aware, so that JUST in case there is a problem, the sooner you spot something, the better.   Do you have a rabbit savvy vet? If so, you may want to call and talk to him/her about it.   They may even decide to do a kidney test, (depending on the amount of dog food and for how long).   At least it may set your mind at peace that no damage has been done.

But again, please don’t beat yourself up, that won’t help either. Be greatful you found out, and are taking the steps to prevent it. We all learn. HUGS to you.

Keep us updated

[DukeBabette]

Well last night after I posted this, I went and picked him up and he let me snuggle him for about a half hour.  We fixed him and Emma’s food bowls.  His cage is in my bedroom bcause we put up Christmas and needed the space.  They each get two small bowls with greens every night.  Normally both bowls are empty the next morning.  Well last night he wouldn’t go back in his cage, so we shut the bedroom door and he stayed loose all night.  He only ate 1 bowl of food, and is under my bed.  I talked to him and tried to lure him out, but he won’t come to me.

Thank you all so very much for your prompt replies.  I really needed to talk to someone last night- the guilt is just eating me up because I have watched the little fella eat it- and done nothing.  He was really eating it with gusto for a week now- it’s hard to say just how much he ate- but I am sure it was quite a bit.  From what I read, it can cause long term kidney damage.  I think I will call the vet tomorrow and see if the can do a blood test.  I should have joined this forum a long time ago.  You all are a bunch of sweethearts, and I thank you.

[MooBunnay]

Does your bunny also get unlimited hay? The reason he may be eating so much dog food, is that he might be getting hungry during the day. By providing them with unlimited hay, they will have something much more bunny friendly to snack on instead of the dog food!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Don’t blame yourself. I didn’t know how sensitive bunnies were either until I did some research online. Stormy snatched a few pieces of cat food once in a while when he was younger and I forgot to put the food up. He turned out fine! For your own sake, though, I would do as BinkyBunny suggests: Get him checked and then it might ease your worries. Good luck with your bun, she is extremely adorable.

[Gravehearted]

I think we all are learning about bunnies. My first two bunnies got unlimited pellets, occasional hay, no veggies and teddy grahams as treats! Granted it was a very long time ago and not much was known about bunny diet – but they both lived to ripe old bunny ages. The point is, don’t beat yourself over it.

I don’t really know about the long term effects it might have – but it seems worth talking to your vet about it, so glad you’re calling them tomorrow. I’d encourage Babs to eat lots of hay, since it seems to have the most positive effects on re-balancing the sensitive bunny tummy.

Is he coming out ye? I guess the question I’m trying to get at – is he not feeling well or just being bratty?

[Scarlet_Rose]

You’re welcome and I’m glad we could be here for you DukeBabette!  I hope to see you around more!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Don’t know how I missed this thread!
Don’t beat yourself up, I’m sure stranger things have happned…it was only a week and you’ve stopped him! I’m sure he’ll be fine! Keep us posted if anything changes!

[MarkBun]

My guess would be that he’s being bratty that you took away his scooby snacks. Other than that, I wouldn’t worry as long as he is eatin’ and poopin’. My rabbit turned her nose up at food for a couple of days when I switched her pellets but she eventually forgave me and dove in.

[BinkyBunny]

Okay, so I talked to few rabbit savvy people, and I even asked the question about what kind of long term damage can a rabbit have from eating dog food everyday for a week. Allexperts.com with one of their rabbit experts there. (Dana Krempels) Of course since we have no way of knowing how much was consumed in the weeks time, but it was also assumed that your bunny wasn’t exclusively on a dog food diet , ANYWAY, the consensus was that it probably won’t cause long-term damage at this point, just keep the dog food out of the bunny’s reach to prevent long-term damage. The biggest thing was just to watch for any serious digestive upsets. However, again, we are not vets, don’t know the exact amount and how your particular bunny’s body will react, so it would be up to you to talk to your own vet about this.

Keep us updated on how he’s doin!

[DukeBabette]

You all are so sweet. You know the funny thing about him is he is a spoiled brat. I buy him organic 1st cut Timothy Hay- which he loves. I buy fresh veggies every other day- Kale (limited), Green leaf & red leaf lettuce, Boston lettuce, Cilantro, Parsley, and carrots. I rarely give him pellets- maybe once a week. And he would actually have food in his bowl- right by the dog dishes- and STILL eat the dog food!!! He seems to be fine. He is eating good and he is pooping normal. I still need to take him to the vet and get a blood test- hopefully I can do that soon. TY for all your help. Bunny Kisses to you all!

[Spacehopper]

Babette doesn’t look too impressed by the diet… (hilarious pic, looks like a right bruiser! He’s fantastic!!) Hope he’s forgiven you. I think most rabbits get hold of (intentionally or not) things that they really shouldn’t eat (mine ripped and tucked into a bag of builders plaster a few months back, they’re fine), just keep checking the poopsies!!!!!

[MarkBun]

I had a friend who has a bunny that gets a lot of people food. I came over to her house one day and saw the ‘treat’ dish she has for her bunny. It included such things as gold fish (the snacks) and doritos! She has been feeding the bunny ‘junk food’ for nearly a year (she feeds it hay and pellets too – not JUST junk food). I took her and her bun to a vet – actually Dr. Harvey – and the rabbit got a clean bill of health.

Now, I’m not saying that there won’t be future issues with her bunny if she keeps on going the way she’s going (and both the Doc and I talked to her about it) but after seeing that rabbit get a perfect health score, I personally believe that a week of dog food won’t do anything to your bun.

Except maybe he’ll play fetch now?

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