My Mom Caught My Male Pomeranian Eating a Bunny Two Days In a Row

Question
Help! my mom called me today and told me that she caught my Pomeranian, Titan, chewing and eating on a rabbit two days in a row. We are not sure if he caught it or not but he was licking the blood and eating the rabbit, remains and all! He has never done this before, and our other Male Pomeranian did not join him in his efforts either. What is going on with him and what can we do to stop this type of behavior? I'm also nervous that some type of disease can form from this.

Answer
Dogs may be cute, but they are still predators;-)  The way you keep your dog from eating rabbit is to fence the area, or be outdoors with him and supervise his activities, otherwise, it's safe to say that a dog that finds prey will be opportunistic enough to dive right in.  If the rabbit had come from out of a can, you wouldn't think this was out of the ordinary, right?

As to the issue of whether wild caught or scavenged food can cause illness, the answer is yes.  If the animal had fleas, the dog could have consumed some, and that can cause infection with parasites, such as tapeworm.  Coccidiosis and leptospirosis are two diseases that dogs can get from ingesting rabbit feces (which could be on the animal's fur, as well as in its environment).  So, it's probably best to discourage the dog from this behavior.  Deer fencing can keep him separated from the wild bunnies relatively inexpensively.  Your mom can take a fecal sample from the dog to her vet's office to have it tested for parasites.