Bunny and dog

[Asha :)]

I really want to be able to have my bunny and dog in the same area. When asha is in her cage my dog holly is fine and doesn’t bother her. But the dog is very playful and seems to want to play with asha when they are together. Then she tends to bark and it scares asha so she runs and hides. But then comes out for more looking for the dog. She also like pounced at the dog face and made a weird grunting noise when she did it.

Does this mean she hates her? We left then
Together once and both slept heaps well and really tired so I’m assuming they were really playing and jumping around.
And then by the end of the night they were sleeping kinda next to each other

[Mandyyy]

Does your dog know the “leave it” command or is a good listener?
When I first introduced my Pit Bull Philly to my rabbits, I had him leashed and muzzled. He was tested with cats and dogs but I wasn’t sure about him with small animals (it was also the first time I introduced him to my rats loose). I’m a dog trainer for abused dogs and pits, so I knew the warning signs and what to look for.

I let him see them, but I made sure I could be able to control him while these animals were lose (as in verbal control, not just on the leash). When I train I use hotdogs. So I make sure I can control him if I was to drop the leash (muzzle still on). Once I was sure I dropped the leash. Then I had him sit, and made sure he can see them. He left them alone and only on my command he was allowed to go up to them. If he sniffed them and licked them I would give him a treat. If he got too frisky then I would remove him from the situation. Then once I was confident enough I took off the muzzle.

If he still got frisky a few times I would call him back to me and make him sit and calm down before allowing him to go back to his animal friend.

I hope I helped.

Ps: You have to remember, not all dogs will accept small animals. Some dogs just have a higher pray drive then others. Believe it or not, it doesnt matter breed, or if they were once poorly raised (since I have a hound and a Pit bull, both dogs were abused and are excellent with small animals). I’m a huge believer in that animals are individuals, and you’ll have to keep that in mind for your own dog and bunnies.

[Monkeybun]

If your dog has any stuffed squeaky toys that it plays with, do be careful. Doggy could get into “play mode” and be a little TOO playful with your bun. Definitely go slow. Asha charging and grunting is a definite “Do not want” from her, so it may take some time tog et them used to each other, and for your dog to learn to play nice.

[LBJ10]

Every dog is different. My dog absolutely loves the rabbits, so I feel bad for her when they pretty much ignore her. She loved our chinchillas and would play with them. They loved this chasing game that they played with her. I think she thinks the rabbits are just weird looking chinchillas, but they have little interest in her. I would suggest being careful with you dog, make sure she doesn’t get overly excited. I like Mandyyy’s suggestions.

[Asha :)]

She’s not a very good listener. She a sheep dog and seems to always be running around and just gets overly excited. It irritates me and she barks a lot

[bunnyfriend]

Be very very careful. My dog has never ever chased or shown any interest like that in other animals. She lets the cats sleep on her and she came and got us when the guinea pigs got loose one time. It’s going to take some time. I wouldn’t say it means Asha hates dogs, she’s probably scared which is natural. She can learn to trust.

[Mandyyy]

Before introducing her to the rabbit or making a situation that involves her with the rabbit, I would train her like crazy. Make her a good listener. Some dogs are harder to train because their pray drive are to high, they get distracted easily, or they just don’t feel like listening. I would really try to get her to listen to you. It’s dangerous to have a dog that over reacts with a small animal, and even more so if that dog doesnt listen well. Always have treats ready too. Hotdogs work great (or for vegetarian dogs, carrots), so try some positive training with your dog.

Clicker training may work too. Once you see her do something good with the bunny you click and then treat her. Clicker training is good for shier dogs, or dogs that are learning something where you’d need to reward them as soon as they do something right (like be nice to Bunny).

[Asha :)]

She has tried to be trained by many people and it just doesn’t seem to work
So maybe I should just not let them with each other. Only when she’s in the cage away from the dog. Most of the time
The dog is in the house. Only At night or when
We go out is when the dog is in the garage. Where asha is. It’s fine when asha is in the cage,
It’s only when she’s out and running around that the dog seems to want to chase her

[Mandyyy]

Dogs like the chase factor. That can be trained out of her.
In my eyes, no dog is untrainable. I work with “hard to adopt”, Bully breeds, abused/neglected, and bad mannered dogs. I so far haven’t met a dog I couldn’t train (knock on wood).
Some dogs it’s just harder, like you have to find out what they will work for the best (treats, toys, a special type of toy, another type f fun thing) training/teaching dogs new things should also be fun for your dog. My Pit bull, I was told that he is food motivated, come to find out he’d rather work for some play and his tennis balls. He’ll do stuff for treats too, but he’s not as interested as with his tennis ball. Like people very dog learns differently.

But if you tried everything and he still wants to chase her, then I would keep them separate when she’s running around.

[BunMumTiff]

My dog Hunter loved to be out with Oreo my black and white lop. Hunter was 2 or 3 and Oreo was a rescue. I could be with them and they would just run around. After Oreo passed we decided no bunnies for a bit. We just recently got one and to be honest I would not trust hunter with this new bun. He just wants to chase and play and with him being a Jack Russell it is very common (where I never trained him him not to) that he would want to hunt. So we dont. it all depends you just need to know your animals I think.

[KytKattin]

My dog and rabbit are about the same size, so I don’t really worry about them. However, that is also because my dog is more interested in eating hay than chasing a rabbit. If she showed any signs of even wanting to play, I would not leave them unsupervised. Remember, when dogs play they are practicing hunting. Every time, not just sometimes. That being said, it does depend on the rabbit’s personality. Obviously, your girl doesn’t like that level of energy, so I would avoid having them together.

[Lazee]

I have a boxer a super playful dog to start with but even though he is very good with my girls and not a mean bone in his body I still don’t leave them alone.  but the girls don’t fear him at all, they hop under, over and sniff his bod and lay next to him.  when he does follow them around wit his noise up their butts they don’t flench. BUT Maxwell  listens to my demands very well. I’ve always used the word gentle and he knows it means to go slow. when I treat them I treat him, so he sees it as a win win situation.

[Mandyyy]

Any dog size can hurt an animal, and even a human. That you have to remember. My Pit Bull and my hound LOVE the bunnies, my mom’s GSD does too. The pit is the most interested in being Nava’s friend, and my hound just likes sleeping with her (they nap a lot, it’s really cute). I honestly would leave Dharma alone with Nava because she pretty much ignores her until Nava comes up to her for kisses or cuddling, but I suggest you not do that with most dogs (even good ones)

I love seeing your boxer with the bunnies! They are both so cute!

[Tipsy Bunny]

I know my rabbit doesnt necessarily like it when the dogs are by her territory, but when I put her and the French Bulldog together in the bathroom for bonding sessions, everything is on good terms. We have even gotten to the point where Tipsy will lay down and sleep while Pearl the Frenchie licks her ears!! Too cute!! Just watch any signs of unhappiness in your rabbit like grunting, slapping, ears back, eyes wide, etc. Youll know when to back your dog off.

[Pandorachik]

Well. You ALWAYS need to be careful about all animals together. Like I kno someone who had a I think lab (?) But he loved a bun but hurt it oce because it may have gotten to close or made the dog feel like it was trying to hurt it (?) I dont now. But you should be careful BTW Lazee: That pic is too cute!!!

[Mandyyy]

Dharma and Nava.


They have been napping together a lot lately.

Philly and Nava.

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