Posted By Miss Bun Bun on 3/05/2018 5:44 PM

So I don’t expect them to best friends, but my boyfriend has a large dog- Shepard height who is a rambunctious 2 year old pup and I have a juvenile bunny. They live in the same apartment. Both are crate trained and both have free run of the apartment under supervision. They somewhat co-exist but obviously it could be a lot better. I don’t ever leave them alone together and would probably not ever. But does anyone have experience with having to build a co-existing home with large dogs and buns? His rambunctiousness does frighten Buns… either that or she just doesn’t want to put up with craziness lol and winds up loafing in her pen.
even though I keep her pen open from about 5pm to usually 12-2am. She comes out and plays a bit and I encourage her to by sitting by her pen and play with her when she comes out, or groom her or give cuddles to her, but then usually winds up loafing in her pen for a lot of this time by choice.

It seems that your dog is causing a lot of stress for your rabbit. They are prey animals, and have weak hearts. She could become so frightened by a sudden movement from your dog that she could actually have a heartattack and die. I’ve seen it happen to a neighbor’s bunny when I was younger. The dog just came and leapt towards the rabbit and it completely froze over and died. They are very fragile creatures. The frequent loafing and sleeping could be signs that this fear and stress is taking its toll on your bunny, causing it to feel tired and become lethargic. How is its hay consumption and poops? Stressful situations like these can often cause rabbits to go through GI Stasis, so you want to make sure that her health is good.

With two different species, it takes at least six months for the rabbit to realize that the predator isn’t actually a predator (remember, dogs are natural predators to rabbits) . You have to keep them completely seperated this entire time, like keep one in a pen or room or stretch out the X Pen so that it gates them off from each other. If the dog continues to be rambunctious and excited towards the rabbit, then it may be best to not keep them near each other at all for the safety of both animals. With dogs, cats, and rabbits, you should never ever take your eye off of them when they are near each other. They are after all animals, and their instincts can  make them do anything to each other. 

Bam has a gorgeous German shepherd in her apartment/house so hopefully she’ll have some good advice for you!

Personally, I am currently living with my mum who has a German shepherd (Violet) but we keep her completely separate from the bunnies (the dog, not my mum). Rabbits live upstairs and dog lives downstairs (we have gates in place) Violet is far too hyper to be around the rabbits.

Sounds like you guys are working things out.

We have a Siberian Husky (6 yrs) and a Tennessee Mountain Cur (3 yrs) and my Flemish (8 months) gives zero f****. 

She’s a big sturdy bunny so she’s chill anyway. Prior to her spay she had a major crush on the Husky. When she tried to get snugly he would softly howl at us, begging for help. She’s been living with them since she was 8 weeks old. We introduced her to the dogs leashed and and used baby gates and exercise pens as boundaries. The novelty was over when she started jumping her fence and totally ignoring them and they ignored her in return. It was great to see them all crashed out on the living room rug together for the first time. Now she thinks we are her warren/vassals.

All that aside, I manage their time together and I don’t leave her out at night or if I leave the house but other than that, she’s free range. We bunny proofed within an inch of our lives.The worst thing I’ve seen is that the boys will sometimes take her treats! that is infuriating. Like any self respecting dog likes cilantro or bananas. My experience is that large dogs are more relaxed than small ones. They don’t bark as much or have a bone to pick with everyone- something to prove. My dachshund was the one who chewed up the vet. 

Zoe has plenty of hidey holes where she can lay low and avoid the dogs. If she’s over it she can go in her crate or behind the couch or under the desk. I keep an eye on everyone because it wouldn’t take much for them to hurt her- even without meaning to.

So I guess it depends on the animals. If both of your pets are young I would imagine they can all be trained to respect each other. Go slow and take some basic precautions but cohabitation’s working really well for us.