# Tank ate the Easter Bunny...



## Amelydia (Dec 5, 2018)

Its that time of year again and the bunnies are out in full force. You'd think they'd stay away from a house that smells like predators, but I've been seeing bunny poops in my yard. It turns out my old neighbor used to feed them - she would put out her old produce for them...

Tank came in with what looked like a bloody spot on his side, after checking him over I realized he wasn't hurt so I let him outside and he led me to the bunny nest he found. There was half a bunny left. The good news is that I can take high value treats from him no problem and his drop it/leave it have gotten really good. The bad news is he ate a lot of bunnies and has had the runs, waking up whining to go outside in the middle of the night...


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

I caught my dog with a dead bunny in his mouth the other week and he outed it for me. I think last week he ate one or some bunnies and developed acute gastritis and colitis and I had to take him to the vet because he was vomiting a lot of bile and was pretty sick, but is back to normal. I had a female GSD come across a bunny and she crushed his head in one bite and swallowed it whole.


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## Amelydia (Dec 5, 2018)

I grew up with indoor/outdoor cats that would regularly bring us 'presents' so this was nothing new. He is the first dog I've had that has been able to get a hold of a bunny though, my corgi used to try but they were always too fast. This is also the first time they've had babies in our yard since we moved here, hopefully it'll be a while before they try again...


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## crittersitter (Mar 31, 2011)

One of my GSD's used to find dead carcasses of squirrels and eat them before I could stop her. Crazy dog! I sure do miss that old girl.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Make sure to deworm him. Bunnies have fleas and tapeworms.


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

Most of the GSDs I have had, had a feral/predatory streak in them. We have a pond and one year several wild ducks appeared and each day one of my dogs chased them in the water until she caught one and brought it up to the back door. I have seen them work as a team also, trying to drive a critter to each other. Groundhogs never stood a chance. Even some of the neighborhood cats went missing, but they made the mistake of coming into our fenced yard.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

It's what they do. He choose a prey model diet. Hope your neighbor doesn't find out.


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

The neighbor died too, but my dogs didn't have anything to do with that.


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

My dad's GSDs use to constantly get off the property and raid bunny hutches  Always had to worm those dogs. Between the deer they would bring down..the bunny raids, chicken coop raids. The one came home with a well deserved butt full of buckshot. It was farmland, it happened all the time, and it was understood raiding dogs would be shot. Our dogs were stealth and quite good. My father had to monetarily compensate plenty of neighboring farms. I dont agree with it, but hey I was a teen and not in charge. Anywho, yeah they would get worms.


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## Clare (Feb 6, 2005)

Sasha had a regular cemetery at our old house (my husband insisted on giving her victims a proper burial...) She was a true serial killer - killed but never consumed. Killed for the sake of killing


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Yeah I don’t let my dogs chase wild animals. My moms tiny white fluffy dog that wore a pretty pink bow killed a squirrel. She dropped it for me and the squirrel was still alive and I was able to have it euthanized at the local vet. Tiny little animals don’t hang around with little ***** cats around. Deer and wild turkeys ground hogs now stay away to they are just smart. Even the hawks don’t fly overhead when my dogs are out.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

" * Tank ate the Easter Bunny.." *That explains why I didn't get my basket full of chocolate eggs this year...


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## lovemyatlas (Feb 19, 2010)

Diatomaceous earth is a great dewormer but if you use it get the food grade and just sprinkle a tiny bit on his food.


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

Oh no, now it's my turn to say - Rumo is a bunny serial killer! :-(
He killed an entire burrow of baby bunnies in our backyard - five furry little corpses. 

How I found out?
I was on the phone with my mom....I saw Rumo come in through the dog door, carrying something in his mouth. 
Are those little legs hanging out of one side of his mouth? 
He laid it carefully on his bed and I realized it was a dead animal!!! Argh! 

We found four more dead baby bunnies in the yard - shaken to death, but not eaten.

Are GSDs supposed to be more gentle with other animals than average dogs? 
I know huskies like to hunt. 
Maybe he is more of a husky than I thought...


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

Interesting that so many dogs have gotten sick.... Keys ate an opossum and had the best stools of his life! The ratios must have been perfect. No problems with worms either and the babies that he killed but did not eat were covered in fleas.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Our neighbour's cats found a bunny nest in the flower bed under a tree on my front lawn. They killed them all before I even knew the nest was there. 

My younger dog has killed and eaten chipmunks and squirrels. Hey, the darn chipmunks were trying to nest in my basement...a girl's gotta protect her turf!


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

I am glad that none of my dogs were animal killers and my cats focused on rodents. Wildlife passing through my yard can expect a punk rock hairdo if they dawdle a little too long.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Jenny720 said:


> Yeah I don’t let my dogs chase wild animals. My moms tiny white fluffy dog that wore a pretty pink bow killed a squirrel. She dropped it for me and the squirrel was still alive and I was able to have it euthanized at the local vet. Tiny little animals don’t hang around with little ***** cats around. Deer and wild turkeys ground hogs now stay away to they are just smart. Even the hawks don’t fly overhead when my dogs are out.


I don't allow it either. I don't let the dogs outside, until I scope out the deck. I leave the deck gate shut, until I check out the yard. If they still manage to chase something, I call them off.

True, ironic story..... Unbeknownst to me, my cast iron bird feeder fell from the second story deck. It landed on a dove, may he RIP. What are the odds? I saw the feeder missing and went in the yard to get it. Saw scattered feathers. Looked up to see Shelby proudly running around with the dead dove in her mouth. She was so gentle with it. No punctures. And she did drop it on command.


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

Most of the Wildlings stay out of our back yard but last year there was a bunny that didn't seem to care about his surroundings. I did scope the yard that entire summer and sometimes it took getting close to him to shoo it back in the woodsy thickets. 
@MineAreWorkingline that was funny. "Wildlife passing through my yard can expect a punk rock hairdo if they dawdle a little too long.". Thanks for the visual and chuckle.


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## LRP (May 8, 2019)

For us its gophers... my female can smell them through the ground in the backyard and will frantically chase them around. They haven't caught one yet, but it is coming!


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Chasing is a very addicting habit. My rescue came to me chasing squirrels, so it was already a thing for her. Just recently she has chased cats over the fence. I’m not positive about why, maybe herding instinct. The only thing she has ever caught was a huge lizard, and then didn’t know what to do with it. She was startled at it squirming in her mouth. I said Leave it and she spit it out. A previous GSD once chased a baby skunk and lost. I don’t think it should be treated as a normal behavior and would do what I could to stop it. I also don’t know how to train that out of a dog once they start. A friend’s GSDs did a pack attack in a neighbor cat and killed it. She was devastated. She is in a rural area, so they had a lot of acreage to run on but still managed to find the cat, corner it and attack. It happened before she could take action. She didn’t see it until the cat was already dead. If a dog goes after bunnies, what else will it go after? I’m not blaming the OP. It was obviously unavoidable.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

LuvShepherds said:


> Chasing is a very addicting habit. My rescue came to me chasing squirrels, so it was already a thing for her. Just recently she has chased cats over the fence. I’m not positive about why, maybe herding instinct. The only thing she has ever caught was a huge lizard, and then didn’t know what to do with it. She was startled at it squirming in her mouth. I said Leave it and she spit it out. A previous GSD once chased a baby skunk and lost. *I don’t think it should be treated as a normal behavior *and would do what I could to stop it. I also don’t know how to train that out of a dog once they start. A friend’s GSDs did a pack attack in a neighbor cat and killed it. She was devastated. She is in a rural area, so they had a lot of acreage to run on but still managed to find the cat, corner it and attack. It happened before she could take action. She didn’t see it until the cat was already dead. If a dog goes after bunnies, what else will it go after? I’m not blaming the OP. It was obviously unavoidable.


I agree. I think we should at least try to deter the behavior. I understand we will sometimes fail, but I think we can do a great deal to curb the chasing. I, personally, enjoy the wildlife and want my dogs to leave it alone. I also understand that some dogs have a higher prey drive than others. But heck, one of my dogs is mostly beagle and my high content GSD mix is 17% coonhound. I can still get their attention, at least enough to give the critters time to escape. :grin2:


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

LuvShepherds said:


> Chasing is a very addicting habit. My rescue came to me chasing squirrels, so it was already a thing for her. Just recently she has chased cats over the fence. I’m not positive about why, maybe herding instinct. The only thing she has ever caught was a huge lizard, and then didn’t know what to do with it. She was startled at it squirming in her mouth. I said Leave it and she spit it out. A previous GSD once chased a baby skunk and lost. I don’t think it should be treated as a normal behavior and would do what I could to stop it. I also don’t know how to train that out of a dog once they start. A friend’s GSDs did a pack attack in a neighbor cat and killed it. She was devastated. She is in a rural area, so they had a lot of acreage to run on but still managed to find the cat, corner it and attack. It happened before she could take action. She didn’t see it until the cat was already dead. If a dog goes after bunnies, what else will it go after? I’m not blaming the OP. It was obviously unavoidable.


Exactly this. With small animals in my house I don’t allow my dogs to kill or chase any wildlife.


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## jessandboone (Mar 17, 2019)

He looks happy to have eaten so many LOL.


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