Rabbits are adorable little animals. Well, not for those people who are gardening. There are many ways to keep the rabbits away from your garden. But are those methods safe for your loving dog? Let’s find out.
Is rabbit repellent safe for dogs?
Most rabbit repellents are safe for dogs. But make sure to follow the application instructions. Keep your dog away while applying the rabbit repellent. Rabbit repellents are safe as it repels rabbits through irritation of eyes, nose, smell, and taste.
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Rabbits are in the lower part of the food chain. So, it’s easy to scare them or repel them. Rabbit repellents are cleverly designed to scare them off by the smell that they fear.
Some repellents use eye and nose irritation products to repel the rabbits. You may know the pain of cutting onions! Onions are more sensitive against rabbits and similar herbivores.
Most rabbit repellents use onion and chili to keep them away. Plants like onions developed these irritative characteristics to save themselves from plant-eaters.
So, as the rabbit repellents do not have any harmful ingredients, they will not harm your dog. Rabbit repellent is safe for all kinds of small animals and the environment too.
However, there are many brands and types of rabbit repellent. You may have to be more careful about some of those. Check out if those rabbit repellents are safe for your dog.
Homemade Rabbit Repellent:
Usually Traditional homemade rabbit repellent is safe for your dog. But if you use poison or something harmful for animals, it may harm your dog or even children and the environment.
So, use safe homemade rabbit repellent for safety. We will discuss some processes to make safe homemade rabbit repellent in the next part of the article.
I Must Garden Repellent:
I Must Garden repellent is safe for dogs as it repels rabbits by smell and taste. It also has a nice mint smell and is also safe for humans and the environment.
It is long-lasting and even works after rain. To save the plants from rabbits and deers, spray it directly on the plants.
Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent:
Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent also works by smell and taste. That means, if a rabbit tries to come near the plant, the spray effect will create an irritating effect on its eyes and nose. The rabbit will go away even without a bite in your plants.
It is also harmless for humans and other animals. It’s biodegradable and rain resistant.
Ultrasonic Rabbit Repellent:
Ultrasonic Rabbit Repellent may not be a good option if you have a dog. The machine mimics the ultrasonic sound wave of predators to scare the rabbits off.
But dogs may get stressed because of that. Well, there are many types of ultrasonic rabbit repellent and even more types of dogs. Most probably, your dog will adjust to the sound, but why choose a risky path if you can deter the rabbits in other ways.
Rabbit Scram:
Yes, Rabbit Scram is safe for dogs and has no toxic component for them. Dogs will simply ignore the place if it doesn’t like the smell.
It is very offensive to rabbits as it has a predatory smell for them. It’s made of all-natural ingredients and completely safe for the environment.
Kids and other pets are also safe from rabbit scram. Even it will not harm any rabbits.
How to get rid of rabbits without harming dogs?
There are numerous effective methods to repel rabbits. Read through and find the best one for you. Let’s start with the easiest ones.
Homemade rabbit repellent:
Rabbits can be repelled with homemade rabbit repellent. It is easy to make and ingredients are usually available in your home. Here is the recipe-
First, blend 5 garlic and 5 hot chilies in a blender machine. Take a bottle or jar that can contain 1 gallon of water. Fill the jar with water, add the blended ingredients, and 1 teaspoon of dishwasher soap.
Shake the bottle well and leave it for one day. The liquid is ready to spray to repel rabbits.
Directly spray the mix in your plants. Keep the kids and pets inside the home and wear protective glasses. Don’t let the repellent fall on your body, it may cause you suffering as it has chili in it.
There is another easy rabbit repellent recipe we can share. Break an egg and add two cups of water with it and mix well. Pour the mix into a pump bottle and apply it to your plants.
The eggs stick to the leaves, so light rain will not wash away the eggs. The odd smell of eggs will effectively deter rabbits.
Your dog:
Yes. Your dog can repel rabbits if it stays in the backyard. After getting chased by your dog, the rabbit may not come to destroy your garden again. And it’s safe for your dog too, but not for the rabbit I guess.
Commercial rabbit repellent:
Commercial rabbit repellents are the most effective and long-lasting method to repel rabbits. Commercial rabbit repellents use irritating strong-smelling sprays to repel the rabbits. Most repellent contains onion, paper, and garlic.
So, they are completely safe for your dogs and other pets.
The spray will cause a burning effect when it comes into contact with the eyes. So, be careful to avoid that. Keep children and pets inside during applying.
Rabbits usually avoid the smells of predatory animals. Some rabbit repellent companies make repellents with fox urine components. But still, it’s safe for animals and the environment. I recommend not to spray them on your salad plants!
Fences:
Yes, it’s the obvious one. It’s not so cheap though. Use at least a 3 ft tall fence around your garden. The fence should be at least 12 inches under the ground as rabbits can dig into your garden.
You can also use a plant guard to protect your plants but fences are more fruitful in the long run.
Repellent plants:
Some repellent plants can be used to deter rabbits effectively. Planting onion plants around your garden can protect the plants inside. Rabbits hate the smell of onion and onion plants.
Some other plants can help to repel rabbits without harming your dog. Plant penstemon, lavender, hyssop, sages, common butterfly bush, gaillardia to repel rabbits effectively.
Some of those plants can be a nice addition to your flower garden too.
Cat/dog litter:
Rabbits will avoid any place that has any clue of predators. Just spreading your cat litter or dog hair around the garden can scare off the rabbits.
Some people train their dogs to urinate near the garden, it may also help to deter the bunnies.
Blood and bones:
Dry blood and bones can be used as a rabbit repellent. Spread dry blood around your garden. Careful with the bone though, make sure your dog is not interested in the bone.
The smell of blood and bone will repel rabbits effectively as they will find the place dangerous.
Does dog hair, poop, or urine keep rabbits away?
Yes, dog hair, poop, or urine will keep rabbits away in most cases. Dog poop, urine, or hair will trick the rabbits into thinking the predator is nearby.
Most people got a good result after doing this, but it didn’t work for some people. Fox urine is commercially used to repel rabbits and it works like magic.
But the effects of dogs’ urine and poop to repel rabbits are less studied. You can still try this method as it does not require too much extra effort. Is doing so healthy? Mostly yes. The poop and urine will be degraded by the microorganism of the soil and increase the fertility of the soil.
Are rabbits bad for dogs?
Yes, rabbits can be harmful to dogs. Some dogs can eat rabbit poop because they like the smell and taste of it.
Such behavior is usually harmless but can be risky on rare occasions. If you find rabbit poop in your yard, discard them before playing with the dog.
Rabbits poop can have parasites that can cause sickness and diarrhea. That sickness should be treated in time or it can cause kidney and liver problems.
Some dogs are not interested in rabbits. But some can chase the rabbit and even eat the whole rabbit after catching it. It may cause parasite infection in dogs.
If your dog has eaten rabbit, visit your veteran doctor. He may recommend tapeworm deworming to your dog.
Final thoughts
Rabbit repellents are safe for the dog but not when the dog is around while spraying. The spray may get into the dog’s eyes and noses. Ultrasonic dog repellent can also cause discomfort to your dog and pets. Commercial repellents work best and homemade rabbit repellents also work just fine.