Introducing dog to rabbits

[Amys Animals]

 I have had Rascal and Valentine for over a year now…Marley since February 2013 but Marley is still not home from being bonded.  D= Not my point, anyway.  It would really make my life easier if my dog can get along with my rabbits.  I have never had my dog be in contact with my rabbits because I just don’t want to risk anything happening to the bunnies.  My dog is a 55lb shar pei/lab mix.  She’s been known to kill birds and oppossum.  I would like to try and introduce the rabbits to the dog but in a very SAFE way.  Does anyone have any tips?  Would it just be a good idea to keep them separate since Lucy has been known to kill things…I mean she IS a dog afterall.  I see several bunny owners whose dogs get along with their bunnies. I know each case is different but I have never tried to introduce the bunnies to the dog.  The dog is good with the cats, too.  She’s a very well behaved dog overall.  

 

How could I go about introducing the rabbits to the dog with out them being in danger?

[luvbunz]

Like you said, each case is different. If your dog has already shown signs of aggression towards smaller animals, killed a bird(s) and opossum in the past I think it’s safe to say it is and would not be a good idea.
I suggest keeping them separate for the safety of your bunnies, it’s not worth the risk.

Now had your dog never killed other animals in the past I would have said yes, go for it.
The breed and size really doesn’t matter as does the personality of the dog and how it’s been raised. How the introductions are handled. There are many pictures and videos of ppl who have massive sized dogs and bunnies whom get along great together.

Sorry if it’s not the opinion you were looking for.

[Sonn]

I have 4 dogs that live with my rabbits. My oldest dog has never killed anything and thinks anything smaller than her is her baby. My two 10 year old dogs are avid hunters if anything outside moves they pounce. They have killed many small animals outside and a few rather large animals. And my youngest dog likes to chase small animals outside but if they turn back to him he high tails it back inside.

I do not trust any of my dogs with my rabbits alone ever. But my dogs are trained enough that if I tell them no or leave it they obey immediately. I am not afraid to let my rabbits out with my dogs. It took them quite awhile to accept the rabbits as part of the family instead a toy or something to chase. But after introducing them slowly for a long time they now treat them more like another dog than a rabbit. Before my bunny Pacey passed away he would run to the door with the dogs when someone was at the door. And if they barked he was right there with them even though he couldn’t bark.

Each dog is different. Some dogs will never ever be safe to put around rabbits. But some dogs who do kill small animals can accept pet rabbits as part of their family and not prey. It takes time and patience for it to work with some dogs.

But no matter what never leave them alone even if it is just to run into the next room or back.

I didn’t really do anything special. I made sure all of my dogs were refreshed on their leave it command and their “attention” command (basically if they get hyper I tell them attention and they look at me and calm down immediately). I had a strong leash and harness for first time introductions. And I went very slowly no rushing the rabbits into meeting the dog or letting the dog go bonkers when he/she seen the rabbit.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I agree 100% with Sonn. Both my dogs are hunters. They will chase rabbits out in the field any day and I’m sure if they could get ahold of one they would do a number on it. They have gotten ahold of a raccoon once too. Terrible experience but as soon as I ran up and told them to leave it they stopped and I had to put the poor thing out of its misery :/

With that said, my dogs are excellent around both my bunnies. Everyone has seen pictures of Bear and the bunny sleeping together.

It’s only natural for your dog to get curious about a bunny when he first sees it but that should turn to old news and they just kinda ignore the thing because they know they can’t do that. Dogs are people pleaders for the most part. They strive to make their leaders as happy as possible.

Allow him to see your bunnies through the cage and see how he reacts. If he is curious and sniffing and crying to get at them tell him to SIT! If he listens that means he knows what you say goes and you have a good chance at teaching him to accept the rabbits. If he is all KILL KILL KILL and you have to manually drag the dog away from the bunnies cage then it would be best to leave it how things are and play it safe. You basically play it by ear on how you feel about your dogs reaction to the bunnies, really.

Offer the safe introduction and come back and tell us how your dog reacted when he saw the bunnies in their cage. Have your dog on a leash when you let him in your room to look at your rabbits. But make sure you try to get him to listen with your stern voice. When he listens, offer him a treat. If he seems alright take him in there everyday to visit them. One day he won’t even pay them mind because they are old news. But for now, only have introductions through the cage until he seems bored with your rabbits

[Julezypie]

I have three pugs and the females have been mothers before. Woo, the good momma, took to Fiona right away but was very curious. Woo started treating Fiona like a baby pug. General Tsao, the dad pug, just ignored her and Keika kept running away from her. My pugs are very well behaved, and a few times they have attempted to run after her, (like if she zips across the living room), they have stopped the moment I said something. Now Fiona cuddles with them and uses their heads to jump up onto and off of the couch.

With that said, I never leave them alone. Fiona was interested in their food while Woo was eating and she did snap at her. Thankfully, I was right there and grabbed Woo before anything more happened. No matter what, I would monitor your dog and bunnies at all times especially since she has shown aggression before.

[Amys Animals]

Thanks! So when I took her into the bunny room she was nervous and started panting and shaking. We stayed in there a couple minutes. The rabbits were a lot more curious about her than she was of them. After that I set up the rabbits in the living room in an x-pen and brought my dog (on a leash) into the room. She was very good at first. She layed next to me just observing the rabbits. After a while she started whimpering. I moved to a closer section and tightened the leash around my hand. It was going very well until Rascal decided to come close to Lucy. Lucy then started to growl so I got up and took her outside. I don’t know if she can be around the bunnies because I just remembered that she doesn’t like other animals being too close to her. Even with the cats if they get too close she will start to growl a little but she has never done anything horrible. She is an only dog and doesn’t like other dogs in her space either. We did have another dog with her but she passed away a couple years ago. Unfortunately at the time Lucy was an outside dog and our other dog was inside so Lucy did have her space. I had to convince my dad to let Lucy come inside. It was a couple years before he let her inside, but I am thankful she is inside now. Anyway, that was off topic. Like I was saying she doesn’t like animals in her space and gets growly if they do. With the bunnies they might be curious and want to hop on her and stuff and she won’t like that. I guess it’s best to keep them separate.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Ok in this situation it’s a good idea to keep it separate. She is respecting the bunnies space but we can’t train a bunny to respect her space. She’s a good dog still but bunnies are curious little boogers and won’t respect Lucy. Poor girl lol

[meow1]

I think it really depends on the dog. My Sophie (great dane) would try to attack any cats outside, but when I brought a new kitten home she was SO good with him and they grew to be good friends. Likewise, when I brought my baby bunny home, the very first thing I did as I was walking into the house was to let Sophie smell the bunny through his carrier, (just so she knew there was “something” new here and that this “something” was allowed to be here), after that, they kind of introduced themselves in the living room: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EToRp8wabEk They got along just fine ever since. You just have to be absolutely certain that your dog understands and will obey your commands . If not, I would work on that FIRST before attempting any more introductions. My dog was territorial over her bed, and just recently a puppy came over and came on her bed and she growled and got up real fast, but she didn’t mind if the bunny got on her bed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5l8KncsXPg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dje-vagupjs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5KnJvfiRHo

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