Can my dog get Hookworms and Whipworms from Rabbit feces?

A fecal exam by my Vet recently found Hookworms and Whipworms in my 15 month old Basset Hound. He takes Heartguard Plus monthly and we don't miss a dosage. The vet says they can still be suseptable to these worms, and pic it up a number of places. I have rabbits that come into my backyard and leave their droppings and I think my dog likes to eat them. Could this cause the outbreak?

If he's been on Heartgard Plus consistently, Merial (as far as I know) has a guarantee regarding the treatment/control of hookworms & roundworms. I've only seen that coccidia is the most common intestinal parasite for rabbits.

Not positive on the rabbit issue, however here is how they are transmitted. Hookworm eggs pass with the feces and hatch within 12 - 18 hours on moist ground. The newly hatched larva then become free-living organisms which thrive in moist soil or on damp grass awns. Another interesting thing is that the larva can live for many weeks without food. These free-living larva are able to penetrate the intact skin of dogs or cats passing by or as a pet lies on the ground the heat excites the larva and they go right through the thin skin of the ventral abdomen. Picture this! You take your dog on a walk in a park where Hookworm infested dogs have deficated. As your pet passes through the wet grass an infective juvenile Hookworm brushes onto the paw. The larva easily penetrate the skin and follow a blood vessel to the lungs. From there the worm is coughed up and swallowed to mature in the intestine