Any hope for bunnies and dog?

[bunbunlovers]

Before adopting the buns, I already had a dog. He is a cavalier king Charles spaniel, and he’s about 25 pounds. He’s really sweet and is fine around my hamster. A few times he has accidentally gotten into the room where the buns were getting playtime. The first time they just kinda looked at each other. The second time the buns freaked and ran off and started thumping. They did this again the third time. My dog didn’t react except by watching them. Is there any hope of the two ever being able to be in the same room together?

[BinkyBunny]

It all depends on the dog and the rabbit. There are definitely some members here that have dogs and they do not cause a threat or issue with their bunny, but even with the calmest dog and an easy going bunny, supervision will always be a must when they are together. 

Here is a good article about dogs and rabbits: 

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/dogs.html

http://rabbit.org/power-plays/

http://rabbit.org/do-rabbits-get-along-with-other-pets/

[Deleted User]

Hi bunbunlovevers! I’m sure anyone who reads the forums regularly will be bored with my posts about my Henry ‘top dog’ and his ‘gang’ (3 dogs) (sorry everyone). My Henry was bought home as a baby and introduced to a Maltese, Shih Tsu and Lhasa Apso aged between 7 and 12 years. He was free range from day one with the Maltese being his mother/guard, growling if the other dogs even looked at him (and cleaning him – yuck!). Today, 6 months later – they eat together, sleep together (except bed time), hang out. My dogs are so ‘over him’, they go outside (via the doggy door) to get a breather from him, ha hah.
But yes – please take care! When my dogs lick him, I wonder if they are tasting him???? LOL!
My bun has never thumped ever. (though I can’t say the same about my dogs???? Poor babies…. lol).
Henry plays tag with my Maltese, he cheats though, goes where she can’t tag him, and when she gives up, he tags her again (cheater!). “I” trust my dogs 110% with Henry, and until you are positive you trust your boy the same, just take super care. All the best, Henry’s mum.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Definitely there is hope-it sounds like your dog is willing but your rabbits are uneasy-and for good reason!
Try giving your rabbits things that belong to or smell like your dog to get them used to his smell-like a blanket or toy, and feed them when you give this to them, so they associate good things with the smell, and get used to the smell.
Once you’ve done that, you can allow them to meet, with your dog on a leash and controlled. So you can get a partner, leash the dog and allow your rabbits in to see him. Stay vigilant and watch how they react and how your dog reacts; do quick short sessions and build up.
You may need to work on your dog-depending on the commands he has-sit, stay, quiet etc, if his training isn’t up to snuff, do training sessions on the side to teach him to quiet when excited, sit, down etc.

As you progress, you may be tempted to drop your guard, but don’t. Remember, you never leave children unattended with dogs, so you never leave your rabbits unattended with your dog-no matter how good they are, you just never know.
Keep us posted on your progress!

[bunbunlovers]

Thanks guys!! My dog can do the basics, sit, down, stay, etc. He does have a tendency to bark when he gets excited though. Do you think this will be a big problem? The buns are used to hearing him from a room over but never up close.

[Bam]

You could try clicker-training him. It is the dog you need to train of course, because dogs are much more willing to listen and obey their humans than rabbits are. He needs to know that the bunnies are part of the pack, not prey. They are family-members and must be respected. Gentle grooming is ok, but no unfriendliness can be accepted.

I have a German Shepherd and she’s very good with my bunnies, the exception being that she steals their carrots and cabbage whenever I look away. I think Bam was afraid of her in the beginning , because he kept very still under a table for a whole year when I first got him, although it was probably not just because of her, he was probably not used to free-roaming.

If your dog is adult, the chances are much better than with a puppy or a young dog. Young dogs are like young people, their impulse-control isn’t fully developed and they do stupid, random things right out of the blue.

I supervised Bam and my dog the first few months before I left them alone togeather and I’ve always made sure there are plenty of places my bunnies can escape to where the dog absolutely can’t reach them IF any type of incident should occur when I’m not around. My second rabbit isn’t afraid of much and kind of street-smart, so I’m not as worried about him as I was about Bam. But availability of safe refuges are a necessity always, I think.

[bunbunlovers]

Yeah, my dog is 4 so impulsive decisions shouldn’t be a problem haha. I hope it all works out

[Deleted User]

OMG Bam – your dog pinches the carrot and cabbage??? Hilarious! When I have meat and veg leftovers I mix it for the dogs to eat, but they still manage to get every last bit of the meat and gravy, and yep, you guessed it – leave every last scrap of the vegies! Can’t wait to tell my hubby that one! Cheers.

[Bam]

AndHenry, before I had rabbits, my dog wasn’t the least bit interested in veggies. But it seems that the bunnies so eagerly eating cabbage and broccoli and carrots has made her feel that this type of food is actually a very valuable resource. It’s like when you have a spoilt dog that refuses its food, if you bring in another dog, both dogs will eat.

But it is kind of troublesome though, because she will steal literally every piece of cabbage or carrot I give the bunnies if I don’t guard them closely. She’ll eat their pellets too, but I always hand-feed those. She won’t touch hay though. I’m very happy about that!

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Bam, I’m having the same issue with Brevin, the puppy, stealing my bunnies evening salads. We joke he thinks he’s a bunny. Because of this the buns enclosure is getting moved to the spare bedroom since the bedroom is “no go zone” for him :p

But yes, depending on both the dog and the rabbit, they can peacefully coexist together. I have two dogs and two buns who live peacefully together with no issues. It may take your rabbit some time to realize that the dog isn’t threatening where he won’t feel the need to thump and hide.

[CheriB603]

My dog (a terrier, bred to hunt rodents, though mine thinks she was bred to eat biscuits), has had several buns come into her life and is best buds with all of them. They lie in the sun in front of the door together, and when someone outside DARES to come within a mile of our house, my dog launches into her very (un)scary high pitched terrier bark and my bun doesn’t even bother to open his eyes anymore. Now my CAT, on the other hand, likes to pounce at the bun who simply thumps at her and the cat backs off. I think just giving them more and more supervised time together will get them used to eachother pretty quickly – especially if your dog is already pretty calm.
Once they’re pals, it’s really cute to see them all hang out together! Have fun!

[Elrohwen]

It really depends on the dog and the rabbits, but you sound like you have a pretty easy case on your hands.

I would get some yummy treats and sit with the rabbits where they can see the dog, but she can’t get them (behind a pen or baby gate). Just associate lots of positive things with seeing the dog.

Your dog sounds like the perfect candidate for getting along with the bunnies, so most of the work will be getting the bunnies to like her.

My two were terrified when we brought our pup home, but after a couple weeks of training they *love* him. He’s still way too energetic to be with them, so training the bunnies was much easier than training the dog in our case.

[bunbunlovers]

Thanks guys!!

[Author]

Messages