My dog isn’t peacefully coexisting with my new rabbit – please help!

[BlackVelvet]

Two days ago I adopted a very sweet and mellow lop rabbit (age unknown).

I have a dog at home – a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She is not aggressive whatsoever but has a mixed prey drive. I say “mixed” because she REALLY loves to chase squirrels and other animals, but at other times, will not even *notice* various animals on our walks (even if they’re right in her line of vision or right next to her). But she is overall a friendly and nice dog – very good with other dogs and small children. I think the issue is that she’s simply too curious/excited/energetic.

When we brought the bunny home, he was sitting happily on my brother’s girlfriend’s lap. My dog was sitting on my lap and took a good few minutes to even *notice* that the bunny was there. Once she did, she started whining a bit. I brought her over to the rabbit and she sniffed the rabbit gently. The bunny didn’t like that and simply hopped right off my brother’s girlfriend’s lap – he didn’t run away. That set off my dog and she started barking. We removed both animals from the situation and I proceeded to put a blanket over the bunny’s cage. My dog slept in the same room as the bunny last night, she didn’t even realize the bunny was still in the house. I let the bunny out with the door closed to get a bit of exercise for a few hours. Once again, my dog was elsewhere in the house and didn’t notice.

The trouble began this morning when my dad suggested we try another round of introductions. Things seemed better. The bunny stayed calm, my dog stayed calm, but then my dog began getting overly excited again (whining at the rabbit), so I thought I’d simply put the bunny back in his cage with the blanket. But this time my dog didn’t let it go and continued to look for the rabbit and realized it was in the covered cage. She began barking nonstop. I tried switching the cage from the top of my desk to the top of my dresser. It worked for a bit, but she realized again, would not stop barking and whining and trying to get to the rabbit. We finally had to put the bunny in the garage to get her to stop looking for it.

I am dismayed at how this turned out. I don’t want to give up the bunny but am unsure if my dog will ever accept it. We had a Cavalier before who coexisted beautifully with our guinea pig at the time, but our current Cavalier just seems much more hyper.. 

But given that she wasn’t outright aggressive (she was overall gentle with the rabbit, mostly curious sniffing, just got excited at one point), is there hope for her accepting the bunny eventually? I understand that we could never leave them together unsupervised; I just simply mean having the rabbit in his cage without my dog going nutty. I am willing to hire a trainer if it would help. Advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

[sarahthegemini]

Erm, you’ve had your bun for two days and you’re already considering giving her up? I don’t mean to be rude but did you really expect your dog to simply coexist peacefully right from the start? You should really put bun in a room that dog isn’t allowed in so she has a chance to settle and not be completely terrified. She could very well have a heart attack.

Having a dog and rabbit coexist takes more work than simply putting rabbit in the house near the dog and hoping for the best.

[Deleted User]

I agree. They are prey and predator and you can’t just introduce and hope for the best. Did you do any research at all on bunnies and dogs? Dogs are naturally a lot more hyper than a bunny. And he can very well kill your bunny with a heart attack and all that stress. Not to be rude, but it’s incredibly unfair to the new bunny to do that, and then to put her in a garage and think about giving her up.

[Rain]

Did you check to make sure that the bunny isn’t having diarrehea or mushy poops or anything? They should be round, hard brown spheres. Coming to a new home itself is stressful for a rabbit but dealing with the excitement and stress of another large creature is double the amount. I think for about a week or so you should keep both animals seperate, like different rooms if you can, and to let the bunny get used to the area. It might be too much for her if its so fast and all at once. Once she realizes she’s in a safe place with safe people, then she won’t be as scared when she sees the dog. I think after a couple weeks you can let the two sniff each other some more, but if the dog gets excited again, you might want to seperate them. Time the sessions to see how long things go well for. I’ve heard that dogs and rabbits actually get along well most of the time. I think if you just let it go gradually and slowly, things will turn out well and they can coexist.

[Deleted User]

It takes more than a few weeks. It’s very much like bonding bunnies. Some people take months doing sessions between baby gates for a a month, then 10 minute play sessions and gradually building. In the Lounge section one of the members has a whole thread on bunny-dog introductions and the proper way to go about making them coexist.

[Rain]

Yes, sorry, that’s right. Much more than weeks. It takes at least a year for them to truly trust each other. Rabbits are prey creatures. In the wild, everything wants to eat them, so they are naturally anxious. Your bunny can die of heartattack very easily if scared by your dog, like sarahthegemini said above. Rabbits can also get GI stasis, in which their gut slows down and stops working, and they stop eating their hay and food. Numerous deadly things can happen to a bunny from stress. If your dog has any type of prey drive then it is dangerous for the bunny. Although it is a lot of hard work and takes a lot of time and patience, you do have to make some accomadations for this rabbit. Before you start bonding the two animals, you have to bond yourself with the rabbit. She can’t trust the dog without trusting you first.

[Rain]

Yes, sorry, that’s right. Much more than weeks. It takes at least a year for them to truly trust each other. Rabbits are prey creatures. In the wild, everything wants to eat them, so they are naturally anxious. Your bunny can die of heartattack very easily if scared by your dog, like sarahthegemini said above. Rabbits can also get GI stasis, in which their gut slows down and stops working, and they stop eating their hay and food. Numerous deadly things can happen to a bunny from stress. If your dog has any type of prey drive then it is dangerous for the bunny. Although it is a lot of hard work and takes a lot of time and patience, you do have to make some accomadations for this rabbit. Before you start bonding the two animals, you have to bond yourself with the rabbit. She can’t trust the dog without trusting you first.

[BlackVelvet]

OP here. Thanks everyone for your replies!

To clarify some things:

–I’ve wanted a bunny for quite some time, but was going to socialize/train my dog more beforehand, and prepare more adequately for it. This bunny fell into my lap a bit prematurely (so to speak) because his owners were moving out of state, and it was either me or the shelter. I’ve done a bit of online research regarding dogs and rabbits living together, but the ultimate consensus was “it depends on the rabbit and on the dog” – I came here to sort of gauge my dog’s initial reaction(s) and see where to go from there. I wasn’t sure if it was hopeless, promising, or too soon to tell. I don’t want to give up the rabbit! I was saying that as an absolute last resort if my dog simply will not coexist with the rabbit.

-Our garage is technically a garage from the exterior, and we call it the garage, but it’s actually a converted office. We don’t keep our cars in it, just desks, a computer, and a tad bit of storage. It’s nicely lit, good temperature, and not a crammed dark space. Just to give a visual to those envisioning something more depressing. 

Thanks again to everyone. I will definitely take the advice given and will do all I can to create the best possible home for this sweet bunny!

[Author]

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