I finally found a whole prey rabbit supplier for Wally who sells whole rabbits with the fur on!
That’s such great news because rabbit is a cooling protein source that Wally does really well on.
And so while he’s had a few whole rabbits that I found at a local grocery store, those rabbits were dressed and gutted.
That means they didn’t have any fur and only came with a few of their organs.
But after my video conversation with Drs. Lonsdale and Clarke-Williams in late 2023, I really wanted to get my hands on a whole prey rabbit.
As in, the entire animal with its fur, without any messing parts, and including all of the entrails and the blood.
Essentially what they would look like if Wally had hunted them down himself.
Long story short, I bought two and Wally just ate the first one!
And in this blog post, I’m sharing the two videos of his feeding sessions.
You’ll also learn more about the:
- Benefits of feeding furry whole prey rabbits
- A few feeding challenges to be aware of
- And where to source them in the States and in Germany (my two raw feeding locations so far).
Ready? Let’s hop right in!
Vet-Approved Whole Prey Rabbit Feeding
Whole Prey Rabbit Benefits
There’s several benefits of feeding your dog whole prey rabbit.
Whole Body Workout & Oral Benefits
First of all, they’re getting a whole body workout along with lots of mental stimulation for them.
That makes a whole prey rabbit a wonderful boredom buster and it tires your pup out.
Plus, raw meaty bones help clean your dog’s teeth and exercise their jaws.
Acts As A Slow Feeder
If you give your dog a whole prey rabbit, they’re forced to eat slowly.
So whole prey feeding in general is great for gulpers.
Complete Raw Meal
Your pup is also getting to eat a perfectly balanced raw meal that has a 10% bone content and consists of:
- Fur
- Blood
- Glands
- Muscle meat
- Raw meaty bone
- (Secreting) organs
Fur is a great source of animal fiber that cleans the colon and helps bulk up their stool.
It’s also a great source of the trace mineral manganese that’s needed for bone growth, and it also helps absorb protein, carbs and fatty acids.
Muscle meat is rich in protein and important for your dog’s…you guessed it, muscles!
Raw meaty bone is rich in calcium and phosphorus, which are needed for healthy, strong bones and teeth.
Secreting organs are very rich in vitamins, which support all sorts of bodily functions and an overall healthy immune system. The eyeballs and brains are also great Omega-3 sources!
And last but not least, the blood in a whole prey rabbit is naturally rich in iron. That helps transport oxygen throughout the body and is important for your dog’s energy supplies.
Blood is also rich in other trace minerals like zinc, copper and iodine that support the immune system, wound healing and a healthy body in general.
What Does Whole Prey Rabbit Feeding Look Like?
To give you a better idea of what you can expect when you’re offering your pup a whole prey rabbit, I recorded Wally’s recent feeding session.
Check out the videos below or watch them as part of my whole prey feeding playlist on YouTube.
All in all, Wally got two feeding sessions out of one furry rabbit that weighed 1 lb 13 oz = 29 oz = 0.8 kg.
By the way, he ate the rabbit from the front to the back. So he started at the head and finished at the hind paws.
And just as an FYI, he ate EVERYTHING including the fur, which made his poop a big bulkier than usual, but it had the perfect consistency.
Not too hard and not too soft.
And just in case your pup doesn’t want anything to do with the furry bunny, you can always grind it in a meat grinder.
Whole Prey Rabbit Feeding Challenges
As you’ll see in the videos, I fed Wally in our kitchen which has laminate flooring.
Surface Clean Up
That makes it easy to wipe down and mop up any juices and blood – which there’s inevitably going to be some of!
So I strongly suggest you feed your pup the whole prey rabbit in an area that’s easy to clean up.
Besides laminate flooring, this can also be on tile, in a bathtub or in your pup’s kennel if they’re crate-trained.
Another option would be to feed the whole rabbit outside in a yard space.
Potential Choking
Wherever you feed the rabbit, make sure to supervise!
That way, you can intervene in case your pup might be choking.
That’s unlikely to happen, but it can happen.
Burying Leftovers
As long as you supervise, you can also keep your pup from burying any leftovers in your flowerbeds. Or, worse, behind couch cushions or in your bed!
Tip: If you have a huge yard, you can also keep your pup on a long leash.
I demonstrated that in a recent raw pig foot feeding video that I took in our shared, partially fenced yard space.
The leash I used is a 30 ft dog leash with a buckle handle from Mighty Paw.
Resource Guarding
If you have several pups, make sure to keep them separate at whole prey feeding time. That way, you’re avoiding any potential fighting and resource guarding.
Speaking of resource guarding: If your dog isn’t large enough to eat one whole prey rabbit in one feeding session, you’ll have to be able to take it away from them.
As you can see in the video, I was able to distract Wally with tasty treats halfway through his feeding session. Another option may be to spray them with water.
Like Dr. Lonsdale said in the video conversation I had with him, the hand that feeds is the hand that takes away.
Where To Buy Whole Prey Rabbit For Dogs
In the States, I’m aware of the following raw dog food retailers that sell furry whole prey rabbits:
Out of those 3 options, Hare Today is the most reliably stocked one.
But you can sign up with the other two retailers to get notified of when their furry rabbits are back in stock.
In Germany, I’ve only found one raw dog food retailer that sells furry rabbits.
They’re called cit Tiernahrung, and this is the link to their furry whole prey rabbit listing.
Other than buying whole furry rabbits from an online raw dog food retailer, you can also try local rabbit farms and make friends with hunters who hunt rabbits.
Vet-Approved Whole Prey Rabbit Feeding: Bottom Line
So, to recap, there’s lots of benefits to offering your pup a furry, whole prey rabbit:
- Offers dental benefits
- It’s a complete raw meal
- Acts as a natural slow feeder
- Provides a whole body workout
- It’s a great source of animal fiber
But there’s also a few feeding challenges:
- Surface clean up
- Potential choking
- Potential resource guarding issues
- Possibility of wanting to bury leftovers
As far as where to buy them, you’re a bit limited as far as (online) raw dog food retailers are concerned.
So if you find furry whole prey rabbits, I suggest you stock up on as many as you can!
Related Content
- My video conversation with Drs. Lonsdale & Clarke-Williams
- 2024 review of the Animal Diet Formulator – Individual Version
- Easy Prey Model Raw Dog Food Recipe with 6 Ingredients
- My whole prey feeding YouTube playlist
- How to feed whole raw fish for dogs
- How to add fur to raw dog food
- All about rabbit raw dog food
- Whole prey duck for dogs
Barbara Rivers is the founder of K9sOverCoffee. She has been raw feeding her dogs in the US and Europe since 2015, after her Boxer mix Missy’s cancer diagnosis led her to leave processed kibble behind for good.
As a former professional dog walker, she knows firsthand how much nutrition and daily exercise shape a dog’s long-term health.
Today, she works for BARFER’S, one of Germany’s leading raw dog food brands, and is completing a year-long raw nutrition certification for dogs and cats at THP School, founded by raw feeding pioneer Swanie Simon.
Starting in early 2027, she’ll offer one-on-one raw feeding consultations. Join the waitlist.