# Whole-Prey trouble



## mac658 (Sep 22, 2012)

Hello everyone, 

I've started feeding my guy Fitz raw, he is adjusting very well. We are on month 4 or 5 now, and he is thriving. I am introducing now whole-prey to his diet to add more variety, and this week I got 20 pounds of whole rabbit. He's had whole chicken and nice slabs of pork, whole fish as well, but is relatively uninterested in the rabbit. I think the fur is what is freaking him out. Any advice for a picky eater? Do I play the classic you eat what I give you card? He usually wolfs his dinner down. (See what I did there?)

I've tried slicing the chest open for him, he sniffed, licked, and walked away. I'd really rather not waste the money on the rabbit if at all possible, just looking for advice to get him interested if I can. Should I try skinning it? 

Thanks! Pic of my guy added for fun! :wub:

*** Pic removed by ADMIN - Max pic size allowed 800 X 600 ***


----------



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I would try skinning the rabbit and see if he likes it that way first.


----------



## mac658 (Sep 22, 2012)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> I would try skinning the rabbit and see if he likes it that way first.


Since I'm an apartment dwelling Chicagoan who's never hunted in my life, tomorrow will be a squeamish experience I think.


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Rabbit definitely has a different odor and flavor. My guys too right to it, but it was skinned and dressed ...but they were already used to eating venison which was also pretty gamey because it was from a buck.... I would say skinning it and offering a management piece like a leg may be a good start.


----------



## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Alexis and Deja will not eat rabbit. I quit bothering. The rabbit I get, though, is farm raised so not gamey. Deja, OTOH, will eat wild rabbit that she has caught. Go figure.


----------



## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

BTW, great ad for VW.


----------



## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

I have found that dogs either LOVE whole rabbits or hate them. Good luck!


----------



## volcano (Jan 14, 2013)

tie a string to it and twitch it, that should get her going, if not then you bought too much.


----------



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

mac658 said:


> Since I'm an apartment dwelling Chicagoan who's never hunted in my life, tomorrow will be a squeamish experience I think.


Hey - I was a suburb raised kid that never HEARD of hunting and yet I raise, kill and butcher my own rabbits.

My family tells people I'm adopted.


----------



## Ilee (Feb 7, 2013)

A friend of mine raw feeds her gsd pretty much all the usual meats including rabbit (which she loves). One day she bought some rabbit meat from a different butcher and gave it to her dog. She took one sniff and walked away. Later she found out from the butcher that the rabbits were gassed. Which is strange because I always thought that gassing was only used as a method of pest control.


----------



## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Hans ate rabbit when he was younger, but when I tried to give it to him today (ground) he sniffed it, turned his head, then proceeded to barf, not once, but twice!

I tried to coax him to eat it, he sniffed it again, then looked at me with the most woeful expression and slunk away. 

I threw the rabbit in the trash ( I had even mixed it with beef) and gave him his beef. 
I guess I have to grab the rest of it out of the freezer and toss it.


----------



## bellagriff (Jul 1, 2012)

Our Bella has had ground rabbit from MPC and the first time she was hesitant. We just mixed it up with some green tripe (she loves that stuff) and her other raw foods. She ate everything that night and has never looked back. The only thing I haven't gotten her to eat consistently is seafood (except canned tuna). The hispanic grocer where I buy her meat from had a great sale on shrimp so I decided to try it. Bella wouldn't touch it. She will eat fish if coaxed, but she doesn't want to. After a few meals of coaxing and trying, we just decided that seafood would not be a part of her diet - other than the canned tuna, she loves that stuff also.


----------

