bunnies and puppies

[Casper]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question for you, hopefully you can help.  We have a 2 yr old bunny and we just bought a 7 week old puppy.  What is the best way to introduce them and get them comfortable around eachother. They are both the same size and the dog doesn’t get bigger then 15 pounds. The puppy doesn’t even notice the bunny but the bunny notices him and runs away.

If anyone can help that would be great.

Thanks

[bunnytowne]

Be careful.  The puppy could get too exuberant and playful and accidentally hurt the bunny.  Bunnies bones are very fragile.  The only thing i can suggest is supervise and never let them alone together.  Once puppy is adult it may be ok for them to be together unsupervised.

I dont’ know what else to say.  Maybe someone else who has had more experience will come on and give some advice.

[Scarlet_Rose]

I would first introduce them by placing the puppy in an x-pen, wire dog crate or carrier and let Casper come up to the puppy to investigate.  It is true that dogs that are very young do tend to get too exuberant and excited when introduced to a rabbit which is a bit more fragile than a tennis ball or chew toy they are used to.  But, as with any animal this may not be the case, so start out safe and judge how your dog is going to behave and do not let them have unsupervised time together.  It is receommended by the HRS that the dog be trained and respond to voice commands before your dog is allowed free run with the rabbit.  There are some good articles on introducing fido into the rabbit family here:

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

Scroll down to “House Rabbits and Other Animals”

http://www.rabbit.org/care/living-with-a-house-rabbit.html

Personally, I would keep them separated by a baby gate so they can get used to each other and no nipping between the two can happen and then after your pup has had some formal training and responds to voice commands, start giving them some supervised time together little by little in increments until you feel that the gate can be taken down.  As for behavior of the rabbit, Mimz can tell you about Mimzy and Bogart her dog.  She had a bit of trouble from her spunky Mimzy climbing on and peeing on Bogart (dominance) so the issues can come from either side.  A puppy nose is just as delicate as a rabbit nose and either can nip.

[Beka27]

not to undermine you Scarlet… ;o) but Bogart’s mama is actually babybunsmum. she has Baby and Pinky and they both love to climb on (and sometimes mark) the dog… Mimz has a couple dogs but as far as i know they are always separate from the bunnies.

i absolutely agree with Scarlet Rose. i’d wait to do any introductions until the puppy is much older and is trained. those small dogs are hard b/c a lot of the time people won’t bother to train them b/c they are small, so they figure if they get into something you can just move them, but it’s very important that the dog be able to leave the bunny alone upon command. also, as the dog matures you will learn his personality, that will give you better indications of if they will be able to be together at any point in the future.

what kind of dog did you get? another thing to keep in mind is some smaller breeds of dog (like terriers and some hounds) are bred for the purpose of hunting wild rabbits. it’s not saying it’s impossible with those breeds, you will just have to be more diligent…

[Sarita]

I think it’s Baby Bunny’s Mom who has Bogart and the Baby pee’s on him.

I would definitely keep puppy and bunny separated. Your puppy will need to be older and have gone to obedience school before you introduce them and then they may always have to be supervised. I would tell your trainer too your situation with the rabbit so he/she can give you tips on how to introduce them.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Yeh, you could do ‘meeting through a gate’ or something so they aren’t strangers but I’d wait until puppy grows up, the energy they have is incredible and that could really scare a bunny.

[LaurenM]

I am new to posting, but have had an excellent experience introducing my rabbit to my older Golden Retriever. That being said, Cody (the dog) was two years old, and had gone through puppy class, basic obedience, and “college” before I got my rabbit. I definitely think its much easier to introduce a new rabbit to a mature dog, then the other way around.
I think one of the most important concepts your puppy needs to learn is “leave it” before introducing him to your bun face-to-face. Cody didn’t learn this until after puppy class and well into basic obedience, so be prepared to have patience! Remember- puppies play with their mouths, and that can be a hard instinct to overcome! Different dogs have different prey drives, and those dogs with high prey drives may never be trustworthy with bunnies.
For now, I think your best bet is to let them meet through a baby gate, so the puppy gets used to seeing your bun hopping and binkying around, and the bunny gets used to seeing the pup.
Just have patience, and you really can make it work! (see my pics under “introducing leo”) for proof! 🙂
Good luck with the pup!

[jerseygirl]

Here’s some links to previous discussions that may help also.

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/forumid/2/tpage/1/view/Topic/postid/70121/Default.aspx

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/forumid/6/tpage/1/view/topic/postid/73360/Default.aspx#73391

[Casper]

Thank you all so much for your help. Right now Casper and then puppy are seperated by a gate and Casper is getting used to Brady being around. He is still a bit scared and runs away by sudden movement. But he has been up to the gate many times smelling brady. Although we make sure that brady isn’t right at the gate.

We have decided to wait until we are done all the dog training and the puppy has calmed down to introduce them

Thanks again it was a great help!!

[KatnipCrzy]

It is a good idea to continue as you are- and let the bunny approach the puppy on his own.  That way he will learn there is nothing to be frightened of- as opposed to having to cope when he is fearful (that will only teach him to escape away from the puppy).

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