Bunnies and Dogs playing?

[DragonGyrl]

So I just got my new bunny. we’ve had her for a week and a half or so. we’ve noticed she loves to tease our dogs, especially the younger one. but when they play chase, Yuki, (my bunny) will sometimes turn herself into a bunny pancake after playing a bit. she flattens out to try to hide, sometimes doing this next to a family member or under a piece of furniture. i have the dogs back off when she does it, but otherwise she seems fine. shell lay down and take a breather like normal.Is it really frightening her that much? 

[Dee]

I think it is frightening her, and for good reason. I would be concerned about the dogs playing chase with your bunny, as that is a natural urge and prey drive for dogs. No matter how harmless it seems, when the rabbit runs and the dog chases, their instincts tend to kick in. The dog is most likely thinking “catch dinner” and the bunny is thinking ” escape or be eaten”. Yuki flattening herself to the floor is probably self defense mechanism- she can’t escape in the enclosed surroundings, so she tries to make herself as invisible as possible.

I don’t mean to sound harsh, it’s just out of concern. There are so many incidents where perfectly sweet, well trained dogs suddenly attack or devour their non-predator companions. You are obviously a caring bunny and dog owner, and I’m sure you would be devastated if anything awful happened. I wouldn’t let the dogs and rabbit together for now. You will probably never be able to leave them unsupervised, so they really don’t need to learn to “get along” beyond the dogs getting using to seeing the bunny without chasing her. Even very small dogs can kill larger rabbits ?.

Sorry to be a downer, and I respect you for asking about this ☺. Getting information is the best way to go about giving our furry family members a wonderful, safe life.

[StachesMommy]

I’d agree that the bunny is most likely frightened. I would train the dogs not to chase or paw at the bunny. My sister’s very adorable, sweet dog killed a nest full of bunnies in my back yard I had no clue there was even a nest in my back yard! The craziest part is she had the nest right next to the main entrance. She was left in the yard unattended for 3 minutes and I came out to her holding a baby bunny in her mouth as if it was a chew toy. It was horrible and very sad. I was also told she killed my sister’s Russian hamster when they were left unattended for 2 minutes. She didn’t mean to eat it or anything from what I was told, she just played with it too harsh. She pretty much mauled the poor thing. Dogs sometimes just don’t understand that other small animals are fragile and some just have the hunting instinct. Lots of breeds were breed specifically for hunting. I am not saying your dog would do that, I am just sharing experiences that I’ve had with sweet, small dogs. My Chihuahua, who believes she is a rabbit lol, is never left unattended with my bunny. No matter how sweet they get along and cuddle I still don’t leave them alone together. You just never know. Good luck.

[skunklionshow]

We have had bunnies & cats for a long time and in the last year we added a dog to the mix.  I’m still not comfortable with the rabbits “playing” with the dog.  She is an excellent dog and listens very well, but I feel so much safer letting her sit next to their pen and interact in supervised & segregated manner.

[Hazel0283]

I think your rabbit is afraid and if your dogs has not been expose to smaller animals before I wouldn’t let your dogs play with your bunny unsupervised and be extra cautious.Is not really recommended your dog to chase your rabbit but It all goes down to the personality of the rabbit and how well you truly know your dog. Cause I know a person that has rabbits that love getting chase and you have to look for sign of the dog for any danger. Dog and rabbit needs to be introduced too.
My own experience my dog and rabbit are totally fine with each other but my dog lived with small pets since he was young. They are both left unsupervised since they are both free run

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