Why Are Raw Rabbit Heads Good for Dogs?

Raw rabbit heads are one of the best raw meaty bones you can feed a medium-to-large dog.

They weigh around 5 oz, consist of 75% bone and 25% muscle meat, and because rabbit is a cooling, hypoallergenic protein, they’re especially valuable for dogs with food sensitivities.

One dressed rabbit head (fur removed) contains 3.75 oz of bone. For a 40 lb dog on a 2.5% maintenance percentage, that covers about 2.5 days of their bone allowance in a single feeding — no guesswork, no sawing the head in half.

Below you’ll find exactly what rabbit heads are made of, how to feed them (including to gulpers), a complete raw meal recipe built around one, and where to buy them in the US and Germany.

Rabbit Heads in Raw Feeding

Raw rabbit heads are not your average raw meaty bone! Nonetheless, they’re a powerful one you should definitely feed your pup(s) on a regular basis.

I first discovered them back in 2016 with my then pups Missy & Buzz. These days, my pup Wally goes crazy for them, and my Lab puppy Pepper loves them just as much!

In this blog post, I’ll explain what they consist of and why that’s important to know along with a free raw dog food recipe that includes raw rabbit heads.

You’ll also learn what type of protein rabbit is and how to feed raw rabbit heads (to gulpers). For this purpose, I recorded Wally munching on one. Spoiler alert: He could not wait to dig in!

Last but not least, I’ll share where to buy raw rabbit heads both in the US and in Germany. FYI: I made the move from the US to Germany with Wally back in 2021.

There are two specific reasons why raw rabbit heads are good for dogs.

1. Rabbit Is a Cooling Protein For Dogs

First off, rabbit is a cooling protein known as a hypoallergenic food source. That’s according to Chinese food energetics.

If you’re not familiar with the different types of protein temperatures, there are also neutral and hot ones.

This is really powerful information for anyone who has dogs with food sensitivities that cause itching and scratching.

Wally’s one of those dogs and over the years I found that he does much better with cooling proteins and neutral ones than hot ones. For example, rabbit and duck.

2. Raw Rabbit Heads are Raw Meaty Bones (RMBs)

Next, raw rabbit heads fall into the category of raw meaty bones. They also have a tiny amount of brains in them which fall into the secreting organs category, but it’s less than an ounce on average.

RMBs are a small but essential part of raw dog food and make up about 10% of an adult dog’s daily food allowance.

FYI: Puppies need more raw meaty bones than adult dogs.

The Benefits of Raw Meaty Bones for Dogs

Now here’s why RMBs are so powerful:

• They have the perfect balance of calcium and phosphorus. That’s important for healthy muscle/bone growth and regeneration.
• RMBs clean your dog’s teeth. You can toss your doggie toothbrush once you give your pup(s) whole RMBs!
• They exercise your dog’s jaws and massage their gums. That’s actually a great boredom busting activity for dogs!

Bone:Meat Ratio of Raw Rabbit Heads

Dressed rabbit heads (meaning without the fur) consist of 75% bone and 25% muscle meat, which includes the super nutritious brains.

Brains are a secreting organ, but due to the small size of the rabbit head when you compare it to a lamb or goat head, there’s not a whole lot of brains in there.

Now, rabbit heads with the fur have about 20% less bone. So those have around 55% bone and 45% meat and fur.

And raw rabbit heads with the fur and ears have a bone percentage of around 45%.

FYI: A whole rabbit with fur has about 10% bone.

How to Feed Your Dog Raw Rabbit Heads

Rabbit heads without the fur are more common than rabbit heads with fur, so I’m going to focus on the ones without.

Those weigh around 5oz on average, which makes them a great RMB for medium to large size dogs.

Important: So that’s not 5oz of pure bone!

Instead, it’s 3.75oz of bone (75% of 5oz) and 1.25oz (25% of 5oz) of muscle meat.

That’s important to know when you put your pup’s raw meals together. Want your dog’s total bone allowance first?

Just as a refresher, raw dog food consists of:

• Muscle meat (70%, including about 10% fish)
• Raw meaty bones (10%)
• Secreting organs (5% liver, 5% other secreting organs)
• Optional plant matter (10% pureed veggies and fruit). If you don’t feed veggies and fruit, increase the muscle meat allowance to 80%.

Raw Dog Food Recipe Idea with a Raw Rabbit Head

I put this recipe together for a normally active 40lb dog on a 2.5% maintenance feeding percentage.

That means they eat 2.5% of their target body weight in food per day. Doggie athletes and pregnant dogs will need to eat closer to 3 or 3.5%, possibly even 4%, of their target body weight.

For our 40lb “normal” dog, the 2.5% translate into 16oz of food per day. If you feed breakfast and dinner, that’s 8oz per meal.

Here’s how to do the math:

40/100 = 0.4 x 2.5 = 1lb = 16oz

The 16oz translate into the following amounts per ingredient category:

• Muscle meat: 11.2oz (includes 1.2 oz of fish)
• RMB: 1.6oz
• Secreting organs: 1.6oz (0.8oz liver, 0.8oz other secreting organs)
• Pureed plant matter: 1.6oz

Tip: It’s easiest to measure out your pup’s daily allowance and then split it into two.

If you paid close attention, you probably noticed that our dressed rabbit head consists of 3.75oz of bone, but our 40lb pup only needs 1.6oz of bone on a daily basis.

In cases like these, you can still feed them the whole rabbit head in one sitting. You just won’t have to feed them any RMBs the following day(s).

It depends on your dog’s target body weight and daily bone requirement as to how many days one rabbit head covers your dog’s bone requirements.

Doing it that way is A LOT EASIER than trying to meticulously measure out every single meal (and saw the rabbit head into half). You’ll drive yourself nuts doing that, so please don’t!

• 1 rabbit head (RMB), 3.75oz bone + 1.25oz muscle meat
• Ground beef (Muscle meat), 8.75oz
• Mackerel (Muscle meat – fish), 1.2oz
• Turkey (liver – 1st secreting organ), 0.8oz
• Beef kidney (other secreting organ), 0.8oz
• Pureed broccoli, 1.6oz
• Kelp – follow the instructions on your kelp packaging

When to Grind Raw Rabbit Heads for Your Dog

If your dog’s teeth are weak or your pup doesn’t have many teeth left, it’s time to grind their raw rabbit heads (and other RMBs) for them.

You can do that with a meat grinder.

You may get away with a food processor for grinding chicken feet and duck wings, but it won’t be powerful enough for rabbit heads.

Where to Buy Raw Rabbit Heads For Dogs

My trusted raw dog food place in the US that sells raw rabbit heads is Raw Feeding Miami.

I placed orders with them between 2016 and 2021, when I moved to Germany.

The quality of every single one of my many, many orders was always impeccable and all my pups loved their RFM deliveries.

Now that we’re in Germany, I get raw rabbit heads from a brand called Haustierkost.

I’ve placed several orders with them and both Wally and myself have been very happy with everything they’ve sent us so far.

Other Edible Heads I Feed My Dogs

Duck Heads For Dogs

Duck heads are another favorite of Wally’s, and my previous pups Missy & Buzz loved them too.

Back in the US, I got them from Raw Feeding Miami – save 10% on your orders with my referral link.

Here in Germany, I have yet to find duck heads!!

Which is a real bummer because it’s another great raw meaty bone.

Fish Heads For Dogs

Besides being another great raw meaty bone, fish heads are also naturally rich in healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.

I haven’t come across a fish head that doesn’t still have its eyes, so you’re even getting a little secreting organ with it!

Yep, eyes count towards secreting organs.

Salmon Heads For Dogs

Salmon heads are massive, so they’re a great raw meaty bone for larger pups. Missy & Buzz had salmon heads only occasionally because they weren’t that easy to find.

Unfortunately, Wally doesn’t do well with salmon, so he doesn’t get to eat salmon heads.

Herring Heads for Dogs

Since herrings are fairly slow in size, their heads are a great raw meaty bone for small and medium size dogs.

Since Wally’s a medium pup, I always give him the entire fish, but you can certainly cut it into smaller pieces.

Mackerel Heads For Dogs

Mackerels are a decent size fish, although interestingly enough, the ones they sell here in Germany are noticeably smaller than the ones I got in the US.

I got my mackerel from Raw Feeding Miami in the US – save 10% with my referral link if you’d like.

Trout Heads For Dogs

Wally only gets trout occasionally because it’s a warming protein. I buy it from local grocery stores when I’m in between my herring and mackerel orders.

You can find it at larger grocery stores like Wegman’s and Trader Joes in the US.

What About Chicken Heads For Dogs?

The only reason why I don’t feed Wally chicken heads is because he does very poorly with anything chicken.

It makes him crazy itchy and scratchy and he’s just a mess, so it’s not worth it for us.

Update 2025: Wally overcame his chicken allergies after not having ANY for 6 years! So yes, it IS possible for your dog’s food intolerances to change over time.

Here’s a picture of him with my Lab puppy Pepper and a tray of individual RMBs, including chicken heads:

However, if your pup can have chicken, go ahead and add chicken heads to their raw meaty bone rotation!

It’s fully edible, including the beak.

This would be a great raw meaty bone for smaller to medium size dogs (as well as cats and ferrets).

You can find raw chicken heads at Raw Feeding Miami.

Why Are Raw Rabbit Heads Good for Dogs: Bottom Line

Raw rabbit heads are a favorite raw meaty bone here with us because they’re a cooling protein source.

That’s great for dogs who suffer from food sensitivities because rabbit is known as a hypoallergenic food.

They weigh 5oz on average and consist of 75% bone and 25% muscle meat. That makes them a great raw meaty bone for medium to large dogs.

For more raw feeding resources, visit my full homemade raw dog food library.

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• Rabbit for Raw Dog Food: Where to Buy It & More
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Barbara Rivers

Barbara Rivers is the founder of K9sOverCoffee and a raw feeding educator with over a decade of hands-on experience.

She has fed raw in the US and Europe since 2015, after her Boxer mix Missy’s cancer diagnosis led her to move away from processed kibble and commit to species-appropriate nutrition.

As a former professional dog walker, she developed deep insight into canine behavior, conditioning, and the essential link between proper exercise and long-term health.

Barbara completed online training with veterinarian Dr. Marion Smart and Labrador breeder Dana Scott and works for one of Germany’s leading raw dog food brands, BARFER’S.

In 2026–2027, she is completing a year-long raw nutrition certification for dogs and cats at THP School, founded by raw feeding pioneer Swanie Simon.

Through her blog and weekly newsletter, she provides clear, experience-based guidance to help dog owners feed raw safely and confidently.