Curious Bunny

[Elliriyanna]

Ok I didn’t know where else to put this. 

Last week I tried letting Tenzin explore the hall ( which did not go well but thats neither here nor there. My cat hopped over the barrier and was super curious about Tenzin but when he hopped over she hightailed it away from him terrified and even hissed before turning tail and taking off. No aggressive actions. 

Should I just let Tenzin check her out when possible? Or should I keep him away from the cat? 

My cat was raised with rodents and I can usually trust her with small animals in fact Tenzin is much bigger than what she is usually ” dealing with” but I do not want to stress either of them even though I know she is far more interested in avoidance than fighting. 

And what about introductions to my dog? They love each other through the bars Tenzin hops up and greets him. Ry is very gentle with him, However Ry is a terrier and terriers are triggered by movement he has never harmed anything and usually realizes what he has done right as he reaches the cat ( She likes to randomly dart across the house). Should I keep them separated by bars? Ry has separation anxiety and cant stand me even being in the bathroom so this can be hard when I am bonding with Tenzin. 

[Bam]

I don’t know anything about cats, but from what I’ve seen on the forums, cat’s and bunnies can get along very well. It’s not totally uncommon for the bunny to be the boss though.

I have a dog and I introduced my first bunny Bam to her very slowly. Now she’s not a terrier, she’s a German Shepherd, and she was 3 years old and had had obedience-training, so it wasn’t hard. I let her know that the bunny was “mine”, he was NOT to be messed with. She responds very well to a “NO”. This helped a lot. She still wants to chase wild rabbits and cats outside, but she has absolutely understood that indoor bunnies are a whole different thing. She will steal the bunnies’ food though when I’m not looking. Not hay though, thankfully.

It is movement that triggers most dogs, though, so I’d be very cautious when introducing dog and bunny. If the bunny runs, the dog’s instincts may take over. You could gently hold the bunny and allow them to sniff each other. I think it is good to de-sensitize them to one another, they should know that the presence of the other pet is perfectly normal, it’s family, part of the “flock”.

[Lee]

An idea that may help in case your Bun gets spooked and wants to take off, for initially greeting with your dog it may be best if you have Ry on a leash and have the leash tethered to something (a heavy piece of furniture etc), try to introduce them close enough that Ry doesn’t have to strain on the leash to see Tenzin, but this way if Tenzin needs space from Ry he can move away without being chased, and at the same time you can work on reinforcing Ry for calm behaviour. Hope this is helpful.
Sorry can’t really help with the cat, except to say that it is likely if you do it slowly, supervised and with lots of food treats for both parties it will probably go ok.

[Elliriyanna]

I got tenzin out last night to explore the hall and had the end blocked off with a small gate ( only a foot tall) ry of course walked over to see what was going on but a simple no and he just sat and watched. Tenzin hopped over to him to say hi.

After about half an hour ry started to panic. He still took the stay command but sat and cried. I ended up just calling him to me. He completely ignored tenzin and bolted into my lap ( his separation anxiety is bad) tenzin came over to check him out and then there was a lot of sniffing from both. But everyone was fine. Ry even sat by my side while tenzin sat right next to him eating his veggies. My biggest worry was Ry stealing his veggies. The dog has an odd obsession with greens. But he respected Tenzins space and let him eat in peace.

Emma ( the cat) jumped over it before I let ry in and wouldn’t even look at tenzin he hopped over and stood on his back legs sniffing her. She got scared and ran off.

I have pictures from everything.

I need a higher gate, but tenzin doesn’t jump it and ry only will on command. He actually locked himself in a room because he wouldn’t jump over the other barrier I set up ( same height) he jumped into the room because my boyfriend was in there but just sat and cried to be let back out lol.

Everyone is safe and comfortable with each other. At one point tenzin did get bored and hop off and ry followed but kept his distance. He never tried anything that worried me at all. Of course I work with children and bring my dog so I need to know his body language.

[Elliriyanna]

I hadn’t planned on intros last night but tenzin wasn’t ready to go back to his cage and Ry’s anxiety was getting bad which is never good. Thank goodness he is more whiney than destructive.

Btw i cant just put ry on a leash. He chokes himself. I have tried 5 harnesses and a headcollar. He cant choke on the headcollar but I don’t feel ok tying him to something with it on.

[Elliriyanna]

Hey … Can I have some Salad? 

ITS COMING TOWARD ME !!!! 

[LittlePuffyTail]

Awww…your babies are so cute.

[Elliriyanna]

Thanks

Luckily these are the only intro’s I needed to do. I see no reason to introduce him to my turtles lol ( they are aquatic)… Well I do have to do intro’s to Monty after the neuters. 

[Bam]

They really are so cute! The expression on that cat’s face!

You have a very polite dog. My dog never asks, she pushes the bunny away and gobbles down the salad =)

[Elliriyanna]

Lol thanks. Unfortunately and fortunately my dog is so good at the leave it command I have to physically hand him something and tell him “take” to release him from the leave it command lol. Its pretty funny.

Tenzin is great with everyone I love it I was worried he would stress once I allowed them to have physical contact with him.

Oh and best part of this … He hasn’t even had one poop during his out of cage time. He is a very clean bunny.

[Elliriyanna]

Btw I should mention he is only polite when I am in the room. If I forget and leave a plate in his reach or even a napkin that smells like food … He will eat it. And he has a sensitive stomach and food allergies. You can imagine how much fun that is …

[Author]

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