Bunnies and pitbull? dunno if this is the right place

[starshinepunk]

So in my excitement for bringing home now two baby buns I completely forgot how they might react to our dog, a red nose pitbull. He’s very friendly with other animals and we have never had issues with him chasing cats or anything. (We even had a kitten we had found under our car that he immeadiately became best buddies with until we found it a home they were always cuddling and playing. You have mot seen funny until you see a tiny kitten chasing a full grown pitt around the house). So I’m not so much concerned with my dog being aggressive to the bunnies but if the bunnies will be terrified of him and scare them to death. I know to keep him out of the room for at least the first couple days. Then slowly introduce them supervised with the buns in the cage then when the buns seem ok and comfortable hold my dog on a leash while letting the buns explore a room. Hades (my dog) is very well trained and knows commands like sit, stay, kennel, leave it, no, gentle, lie down, fetch, shake, etc. Any advice or anything else I should know or consider?

[Sarita]

I think you have a good plan! It’s hard to know how the rabbits will react to your dog though…but I think as long as you go with your plan they will be fine with him.

[starshinepunk]

Do you think taking him to the shelter might help or bringing a blanket or pillow with his smell when I go visit might help prepare them?

[Sarita]

I don’t think so…I think shelters are so overwhelming – for both the rabbits and it might be for Hades as well.

I will say that the first few days your new rabbits are going to probably be in sensory overload in their new home too so keep that in mind when you bring them home – coming from a shelter they will either be overwhelmed or more relaxed – it can go both ways.

[starshinepunk]

Thanks!!! We are going to have them in our bedroom where its quiet so they can adjust. Hades wont meet them till I feel theyve been settled for a few days and intro them slowly

[JackRabbit]

Our dog accidently went upstairs one day (1st and only encounter). We dont know if the dog (black lab) actually went in the buns’ room but she did bark outside another room. Scared the bunnies really bad. Marlee thumped every few minutes for at least an hour. Moshi (who rarely ever thumps) was thumping too. Kieko was racing around her condo. That was quite some time ago and all 3 still startle unless we announce ourselves before going in the buns’ room.

Take the introduction very slow and (if at all possible) try to keep the dog from barking near the bunnies until they are used to him. You can get a pretty good feel about how they may react by watching them when they hear him bark in other parts of the house. Glad your dog is good with other animals. Good luck! Hope they become best buds!

[starshinepunk]

Wow yeah that’s something I’ll definately have to keep in mind. Hades rarely barks even when he’s outside. But I hadn’t thought of that thanks for the heads up.

[Veronika]

My mom had a Pit named Hades

Like what the others are saying, introduce them slowly, and maybe borrow something from each animal and swap it so they can get a whiff of each other’s scents?

When I introduced my bun to my Papillon-mix, they clicked instantly, but I can’t say the same for all other new dog/bunny friends.

[Stickerbunny]

If the buns are coming from a shelter that has dogs, they might already be used to them. Powder was in the humane society for a year and when we brought him home, the only thing the neighbors dogs barking did was make him twitch an ear, since he had heard dogs the whole time at the shelter. Stickers was nervous about dog barking for a few weeks, being new to being around it. Just take it slow like you plan and if the buns seem nervous, keep the dog out of their room until they adjust.

[Elrohwen]

I would be prepared for them to be pretty frightened, but you should be able to work through it. When we got our puppy, the buns were very afraid and it didn’t help to introduce them to a few other dogs beforehand. We just did a lot of training. Mine understand the clicker, so it helped to click and give a treat every time they got closer to the dog, but it’s not necessary. Basically, I sat outside the pen with the dog, while my husband sat inside with treats for the rabbits. He just fed them lots of pellets and other high value treats, gradually moving closer to the dog. They were able to leave and hide if they wanted, but would get treats if they came back.

It took maybe a month, but now they are completely unafraid of the dog, even if he’s jumping around and barking and being crazy. They run right up to the pen and stick their noses through. They do not like other dogs though so they seem very specific about that. They thumped and ran away from my dog’s sister, who looks pretty much exactly like him (though of course she smells different).

Just take it slow and realize that some fear initially is totally normal (they are prey animals after all) but you can probably work through it in a couple weeks if you take it slow.

[starshinepunk]

The buns do come from a shelter with dogs. And according the director dogs are walked through the bunnies room frequently and said when dogs sniff the cage the ignore them or hardly react at all. We’ll just have to wait and see thanks for the advice I’ll try it all.

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