Dog – rabbit bonding

[charliesmom]

 Hey guys!

 

So I put in my application to adopt the little bunny I posted about the other day! Now we’ll wait and see! 

 

My question is about how you all bonded your rabbit with any of your dogs. One of the reasons I’m getting (hopefully) the little guy (10wks) is so that my small toy poodle isn’t as afraid of him as he might be of a larger rabbit. I rescued my dog from a rescue group and he was fostered with 6 large breed dogs so I know he isn’t truly “afraid” of larger animals, but I want him to be friends with the new bunny, not run away from him, etc. 

 

I am of course going to do slow supervised intros and then work my way up in time allowed for them to be together, but does anyone have anything that they did extra special that worked? I really want them to be buds and not just two pets that share the same home. 

 

My dog does love other dogs and cats so I don’t forsee a problem with another pet, but he is going to the shelter with me when I meet the baby bun so I can feel out how he will react (to some extent). 

Thanks!

[KatnipCrzy]

My dogs (Australian Shepherds) are fine with my bunnies- but I would not say that they are “bonded”.  The dogs are more interested in the tasty treats the bunnies leave behind than much else.  Though they do cuddle and nuzzle the bunnies- and sometimes try to lick the insides of the bunnies ears.

Their play style is so different that they do not have many behaviors in common.  My bunnies have no sense of personal space when it comes to the dogs and cats- they step on them, stand right next to them, jump over them, etc.

The one pet that seems to relate most with the bunnies is my youngest cat, Pixel.  She will let the bunnies chase her and then will chase them.  My 3 bunnies now seem fine with that, but it used to scare Penny, so I would stop Pixel from trying to play with Penny.

 

[SophieBun]

I have two yorkies-Nala and Brisa. When I first brought Sophie home, I let them sniff each other through gates and then through Sophie’s cage. When I released Sophie to the rest of the house, she acted like a queen and didn’t care for the dogs really. She even drinks from their water bowl and digs in their beds. Sometimes they stop and sniff each other. Only Brisa gets near Sophie because Nala is afraid of her. Sophie bit them both cause she wanted them to move. She still does, so when Nala sees her coming she runs away lol. I try not to let them be too close to each other because I’m scared Sophie will bite them again, but other than that they get along fine. They are extremely mellow and friendly dogs, so that helped a lot. I think if you introduce them slowly they will be okay. Your dog is probably gonna be really curious about your bun and try to smell its butt lol mine did! They still don’t understand what type of animal Sophie is haha

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

My boyfriend’s dog got to live with Chubs for about 3 weeks this summer while I was traveling and kc was visiting home and that was pretty interesting! Indy is going on 15 so she’s pretty laid back anywho but she does chase rabbits outside so I was a little weary. I’m not sure if it’s because Chubs was inside, because he had down ears, or what but she never once bugged him. She knew where “his room” was and would often lay outside the door waiting for him to make an appearance. She would always look for him when entering/exiting any room down stairs (since he had free run some of the time). And she would watch him very intently if he was out, maybe sniff him, and she liked to eat his pellets or poos if she got the chance. Haha. But she was harmless (although I’m not sure I would have left them alone together for a while yet). I think it depends very much on the dog and their personality! It’s actually the bunny who can have a bigger problem with the dog in some cases. Chubs liked to thump at things that smelled like Indy and does the same thing when our friend’s puppy visits (on a leash). He also mostly ignores the dog and tries to avoid it…so it really depends on your bunny and your dog!

[charliesmom]

Thank you all. I have a feeling it will work out just fine! I submitted my app and now the waiting game begins! I will keep you posted and put up lots of pics, don’t worry!

[MooBunnay]

Its definitely a good idea to start with very slow introductions so that you can see how each animal behaves with the other. I will be interested to see how things go because I am hoping that my husband and I will be adopting a dog soon!

[BinkyBunny]

It is definitely all about the individual personalities. I haven’t ever had a dog (except when I was a kid) so I can’t offer anything from personal experience, but there is a good article from the House Rabbit Society about Dog & Bunny Introductions:

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

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