you should take care of the pet you have at the moment. Once you do that, then you can adopt. If you bring a dog into the house, you’ll never get cookie neutered

I agree with Fujoe. You know you need to get Cookie fixed and you shouldnt put it off for another animal. Cookie will be a much happier bun once he is fixed. You have also said you have had trouble raising $ to get him fixed. So if you get another dog that will delay Cookies surgery which really isnt fair to him.

Im a big advocate that if you cant afford to take animals to the vet then you really should reconsider getting additional animals. Rabbits can be very costly all by themselves but adding another animal may some day require you to make a decision between the two of them again regarding vet care. Its not fair to either of them.

Hi! I agree with the above two – introducing two animals is already hard, you should probably make it as eassy on yourself as possible, and the best way to start I would think is by making sure that Cookie is neutered and won’t be acting up at the same time you are trying to get a dog trained!

I agree with Fujoe that you should take care of Cookie’s neuter first. I also believe strongly that the pet that was there first needs to be top priority , which also means ensuring the new dog will not displace Cookie or make him feel threatened.

I also agree with Hedi, if you can’t afford the vet bills, don’t bring home another pet.

As I recall, weren’t you unsure on whether you wanted to spend the $$ on the neuter? The amount you’ll spend for the dog + dog’s food, vet, and other stuff will be WAY more than you spend on the bunny, so that’s something to consider. Dog vet bills can get pretty pricey as they have even more complicated health issues & more preventative health stuff than rabbits.

I attempted to post this response yesterday…but my ‘puter isn’t working and it kept shutting down on me.  Here’s my response:

I agree w/ the other posts and I’d like to give you my 2 cents as an animal lover.  I would spay/neuter cookie first (sorry I can’t remember boy or girl).  I too struggled w/ the financial commitment to an "elective" surgery.  Initially I felt it was elective b/c she was the only bun in my house.  I really didn’t think it was a priority to shell out several hundred bunks to get her fixed if there was no chance of her getting pregnant in my home.  However, I also NEVER would have thought once about not fixing my cats!  This was a financial commitment/priority I made when I got each of my cats.  I never considered not getting them fixed.  I really needed to dwell on the reasons I was so reluctant to get Jessi fixed.

I feel that by not making it a priority, I was only perpetrating the myth that bunnies are "throw away" pets.  Even if Jessi’s lifespan was 1/2 that of my cats, I needed to make the same commitment to her and give her ever chance necessary for a good happy life.  Yes, I kivetched about the money.  But, I still ate out on occassion, purchased the rare dunkin donuts iced coffee, and splurged on premium ice cream.  I realized that if the spay was a priority I had to be willing to make sacrifices in order to have the money.  B/c the spay wasn’t considered an emergency, I just wasn’t willing to do what I had to do.

Eventually, I was completely swayed by Binky Bunny’s members and dreamed of her improved litterbox skills.  The litterbox thing was a big priority for me!  As a firm believer that spaying/neutering increases the life expectancy of your pets and completely cuts the risk of reproductive organ cancers…I wouldn’t think twice about it again.

I was willing to run to the vet if my cats "looked off", but I was willing to pass on my bunny’s care.  Not anymore!  I put Jessi on the back burner and wrongly picked one species over another.  I could never choose b/t my cats, so why should I have to pick b/t my pets. 

August will be a bad vet month for me…b/t Jessi’s red pee, paying for Leo’s neuter, and getting Max’s toe amputated and having to get a new job asap….well I’m going to be swamped.  However, I keep my credit card open and love my babies!  Please don’t pick b/t the species, they all deserve equal love!  Even though it’s not an emergency, the spay/neuter "elective" option still needs to be a priority for the health of your pet!

Good Luck!

Exactly, before committing to thousands of dollars for a dog, take baby steps and get your rabbit neutered for $200

Cookie, what do mean you’re not really sure he’ll feel better? Do you mean after the surgery or ??  There definitely will be some healing time, but it usually is only a few days or so.  Males typically heal faster than females.    I’m not sure if I understand your correlation between him not feeling better and you getting a dog.   Maybe you can clarify so I can better respond.

Any surgery or procedure will take at least a day or two for a bunny to recover from at the very least, just like in humans.  Luckily for the boy bunnies, they spring back a bit faster than the girls do. Is this your reason for indecision on having it done or not? I think you will be well rewarded in the end when your bunny loves on you and is more affectionate and less destructive after being snipped.  Without it, they can be awful little heathens and it makes life with them more difficult. 

Hmm, maybe someone who lives closer can offer a solution to that? I saw your other post and I know there are members here that live a bit closer.  You may also want to try calling/contacting the Chicago HRS and asking them if they know of any low-cost spay/neuter clinics that perform them on rabbits. It may save you some leg work. I know it is a costly thing to have done, but consider the damage to personal proprty & not to mention the headaches not doing it would cause. It can be a nightmare and pays off and I am also optimistic and think that something will surely present itself where you are able to have it done.

Okay, so I completely understand wanting to find a reasonable surgery price with a rabbit savvy vet. And to go back to your first question, surgery first or get a dog, now I definitely think you should do the surgery first. I’m not sure what your budget is but once you get a dog, you will have even less money to save/spend. So it would be better to tackle one expense at a time otherwise it may never get done, and if you bring in another animal, your rabbit may really show some territory marking due to the fact the surgery wasn’t done.

UPDATE:  I just found this – Rebecca’s Buns (Rabbit Rescue) Woodridge (630) 533-0601
She may be able to guide you to a rabbit savvy vet or low cost spay/neuter clinic that’s safe for rabbits.

if you can’t afford to neuter cookie, then you can’t afford to get a dog. as cruel as that sounds it’s true. I spent $350 on Fujoe’s neuter in the city (Chicago), and it took me over 6 months before I got another animal into my house. You really need to take care of one animal at a time. And though Fujoe was feeling better in a day or two, I would NEVER have brought another a animal in the house in a such short time. I was a few more weeks to a month before his hormones died down. Though Fujoe never sprayed, if I remember correctly, cookie does spray. He’s  going to spray right after the surgery-ask wendy about pepper and frisco. What if he decides to spray the new dog? Take some time- you’ve been out of the country. Please, wait a while before bringing another animal into the house and into cookie’s territory.

no offence cookie but it seems as though we are going in circles. well even if your parents are getting the dog, i think the same situation applies (you are under 18 i presume) and i recomend that YOUR FAMILY (better term to use in this case) should wait to take care of this one pet before you decide to get another. with a dog in the house it will be more chaotic even if it is just your parent’s dog, it wont matter because when you bring in a new pet into your house, it is like a family member not a thing. and with human nature you tend to favor something new over something old. the same goes with friends thats why many prefer to build stronger bonds with the friends they already have than to have new ones because the quality of your friendship dimiishes. so i strongly suggest that you talk to your parents before they actually go out there to get another “family member” (aka pet)

will use me as an example. i made sure that my bunnies were fine before i got “bun bun”. in my case. we are getting more room in the house with my brother going away. as for my parents each having pets of their own (mom has hamsters and father has fish) i have to consider them my siblings (the hamsters get better treatment than i do!) and each has their own place they can call their room or part of their room and i made sure i can afford everything. i now have a new job and i am making 2 dollars more than u used to and i can work more hours as well. i have backup money as well and i have people who can help out if i need it.

and if the case is your parents dont want to spend all that money on him. i think you should sit down and have a real conversation with them and show them the facts. like a persuasion report you would give in your speech class. =) i didnt have to do that with my parents because they didnt go to school here and dont understand lots of things here so if i present alot of stuff i read on the internet or in books, they will listen and tell me i am responsible for everything. but then again i am over 18. as for before i had to bring the evidence…. =P hopefully all i said is helpful.

oh, and i would like to add that you also got to keep in mind that hormones dont go away in a day. or a couple of days. you wont know how your cookie will do with another animal in the house. take emo and mochi for example mochi is super duper friendly to everyone. and emo isnt. she doesnt like to get close to anyone without food. but when i brought “bun bun” in emo loved him. they started grooming each other and cuddling instantly. as for mochi…. oh boy did she put up a little fight. =/ she humped emo for like 5 minutes and wont get off as long as “Bun Bun” was there. it took about 10-15 min before they could get along better. she even almost niped bun bun before that. now if bun bun was a dog, what do you think would have happened? =( so of course i dont want to see that happening to cookie. that would make me sad.