Rabbits can pass several diseases and parasites to dogs, though the risk level varies widely depending on whether your dog encounters wild rabbits, lives alongside a pet rabbit, or hunts and eats rabbits. The most significant concerns are tapeworms, certain bacterial infections, shared external parasites like fleas and ticks, and a lesser-known but real risk from a bacterium found in rabbit urine. Some commonly feared diseases, like rabies and certain intestinal parasites, are actually not a meaningful concern in rabbit-to-dog transmission.
Tapeworms From Eating Rabbits
The most direct disease risk comes when dogs eat rabbits, whether caught during a hunt or found dead. Rabbits serve as the intermediate host for a canine tapeworm called Taenia pisiformis. The lifecycle works like this: rabbits pick up tapeworm eggs from contaminated ground, and those eggs develop into an intermediate larval form inside the rabbit’s liver or abdominal cavity. When a dog eats an infected rabbit, the larvae mature into adult tapeworms in the dog’s intestines. This is a common finding in dogs that hunt or scavenge wild rabbits.
Signs of tapeworm infection in dogs include visible rice-like segments near the tail or in stool, scooting, and occasionally weight loss. A standard deworming treatment prescribed by a vet clears the infection, but reinfection happens easily if your dog keeps catching rabbits.
Tularemia: A Serious but Uncommon Threat
Tularemia is a bacterial infection caused by Francisella tularensis, and rabbits and hares are among its primary carriers. Dogs can contract it through direct skin contact with an infected rabbit, through bites from ticks or deer flies that fed on an infected animal, or by eating infected tissue. The disease is relatively rare in dogs compared to cats, but it does occur.
Infected dogs may develop fever, lethargy, swollen lymph nodes, and loss of appetite. Tularemia is also transmissible to humans, so a dog that has been mouthing or rolling on a sick rabbit poses a secondary risk to you as well. The American Veterinary Medical Association recommends keeping dogs away from live or dead wild rabbits, especially in areas where tularemia is known to circulate, and using veterinarian-recommended flea and tick preventives to reduce the chance of tick-borne transmission.
Leptospirosis Through Rabbit Urine
This one surprises many pet owners. Rabbits can act as long-term carriers of Leptospira bacteria, shedding the organisms in their urine for months or even years without showing symptoms. Dogs become infected by contacting urine-contaminated water, soil, or surfaces. Research published in Veterinary Sciences confirmed that pet rabbits can serve as maintenance hosts, meaning they harbor the bacteria chronically and silently spread it in their environment. One study found Leptospira DNA in roughly 13% of pet rabbits tested.
This is particularly relevant if your dog and rabbit share outdoor space, or if your rabbit roams freely in areas your dog also uses. Leptospirosis in dogs can cause kidney failure, liver damage, and in severe cases, death. A leptospirosis vaccine is available for dogs and is worth discussing with your vet if your dog has regular contact with rabbits or areas where rabbits live.
Shared Fleas, Ticks, and Mites
Rabbits and dogs share several external parasites that can jump between species. The common cat flea, which is actually the most frequent flea species on dogs too, readily infests rabbits. Beyond the itching, fleas carry their own risks: dogs and even children can contract tapeworms by accidentally swallowing a flea carrying tapeworm eggs. Fleas can also, rarely, transmit bacterial diseases like bartonellosis.
Ticks are another shared concern. Wild rabbits in particular can carry ticks that transmit Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and other serious infections to dogs. Even if your dog never touches a rabbit directly, spending time in the same habitat where wild rabbits live increases tick exposure.
A less familiar parasite is the Cheyletiella mite, sometimes called “walking dandruff.” These mites are generally host-specific, meaning rabbit mites prefer rabbits, but cross-infestation between rabbits, dogs, and cats does occur. In dogs, Cheyletiella causes intense itching and heavy flaking along the back. It’s diagnosed by finding the mites or their eggs on skin samples, and it responds well to treatment.
Pasteurella From Bites or Saliva
Most rabbits carry Pasteurella multocida bacteria in their nasal passages and mouths. It is the main cause of “snuffles” in rabbits. This bacterium is not rabbit-specific and can infect dogs, cats, and livestock. A rabbit bite or prolonged close facial contact could introduce Pasteurella to a dog, potentially causing skin infections, abscesses, or respiratory issues. The risk is highest when dogs and rabbits interact closely and unsupervised, especially if the rabbit feels threatened enough to bite.
Diseases That Are Not a Real Concern
Two common worries turn out to be largely unfounded. Rabies transmission from rabbits to dogs is so rare that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health classifies rabbit bites as “not reportable” for rabies risk. Squirrels, rabbits, and rodents are not considered meaningful rabies vectors.
Coccidia is the other frequent concern. Rabbit coccidia (primarily Eimeria species) are almost entirely host-specific, meaning the parasites that infect rabbits cannot establish infection in dogs. Dogs have their own coccidia species (Isospora), but these come from other dogs, not from rabbits. So if your dog eats rabbit droppings, coccidia is not the issue to worry about.
Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV2), which has been spreading among wild rabbit populations in recent years, does not infect dogs, other pets, livestock, or humans.
Reducing Risk for Dogs Around Rabbits
If your dog lives with a pet rabbit, keep their living areas clean and separate where possible. Rabbit urine is the primary concern indoors, given the leptospirosis risk, so avoid letting your dog access litter boxes or areas soaked with rabbit urine. Regular flea and tick prevention on both animals reduces the chance of parasites hopping between them, and it cuts the risk of secondary diseases those parasites carry.
For dogs that encounter wild rabbits, the priorities shift. Discourage your dog from catching, eating, or rolling on dead rabbits. Check for ticks after any outdoor excursion in rabbit habitat. If your dog does eat a wild rabbit, watch for signs of gastrointestinal distress, lethargy, or fever over the following one to two weeks, and let your vet know what happened. Cooking any wild game meat thoroughly before feeding it to a dog eliminates the tapeworm and tularemia risk from that route.
Keeping your dog current on vaccinations, including leptospirosis if your vet recommends it for your area, and maintaining year-round parasite prevention covers the majority of rabbit-related disease risks.