Not quite bonding, but rabbit to dog?

[Sam and Lady's Human]

 In a few months, we’ll be moving and getting my dog back, (she’s currently with my parents). For those of you with both a house bunny and a dog, how did you get them used to each other safely?

 

[Elrohwen]

I don’t have a dog (yet) but plan to get one in the next year so I’ve been doing a lot of research (I’ve also worked with a lot of dogs in the past).

I think the best thing is to go slow and only advance if the dog is calm. Start with the rabbit in a cage and the dog on a leash. Walk the dog up to the cage and if the dog barks or acts overly excited, walk away until he’s calm again. Do this until you can walk the dog right up to the rabbit cage with no reaction and the dog can sit there calmly. Next do this with the dog off the leash, then with the bunny out and the dog on the leash, then with both out, and never leave them together unsupervised.

I hope this helps!

[LoveChaCha]

I looked up this once, as in the future, my boyfriend may want to get a dog. I wish that I had bookmarked that site because it was really helpful.

What one couple did and advised was, switching scents, via a little puff of fur (from shedding, of course!) or a toy that smells like one another, and see the reaction of the animal.

[Stickerbunny]

A really, really good command to teach a dog that is going to be around a prey species is “leave it” – a dog that knows that command will leave off chasing if something triggers their chase instinct, which sometimes can happen with a prey animal around. Also good for a dog to know anyway, as if you take them for a walk or something, you don’t want them to randomly eat trash or animal droppings out and about!

[gen]

I’m in the process of this now. I just came back from a veterinary volunteer trip and brought home a living souvenir He’s the calmest and laziest dog UNTIL he sees bunnies. When we are on our walks he’ll try to bolt, bark, and go crazy! I have two little bunnies myself and was quite nervous how the introductions would go. I’m not an expert by any means, but here’s my experience and what I’ve done so far….

So first and foremost I wanted to make sure the bunnies were a positive experience. Loaded with treats and with Jack on a leash I took him into the living room and just sat with him. My bunnies were safely confined in their covered playpen. He was interested, but there was no lunging and no barking. I let him look at them, but kept him a good 2-3 ft away from the pens. My one bunny Max was a little stressed by the dog at first, but then resorted to ignoring him and going about his business. After a few minutes, Jack let out a bark. I calmly scooped him up (he’s not little though, a good 60 lbs) and took him back to my bedroom to let him relax for a while. We did the same thing later again that evening, and as long as Jack was quiet and just looking at the bunnies, he was allowed to stay out and watch them.

At first Jack was EXTREMELY interested in them – trying to get him to eat his food, go into my bedroom, and in/out of the apartment calmly was tricky. However, I never lost my patience and continued just keeping him on a leash if he was out of my bedroom. He’s still interested in them, but a few days of this routine and he now goes in and out of the apartment without insisting or trying to watch them for a while first. I have a heavy futon in my living room and I connect the leash to the futon leg and let him just hang in the living room while I go about cleaning, cooking, etc. I never leave him in the living room unsupervised, but I think before too long he will be at the point where he can be out with the bunnies in their pens as long as I’m around. He’s finally resorted to his ‘normal’ self around the bunnies – napping and just being a goofball so I definitely think there is hope.

It sure is stressful though! My biggest piece of advice to you would be to take things slowly, keep your dog on a leash, keep the experiences positive, and if your dog becomes hyper/barks/stresses out your buns/etc., then simply remove him/her from the situation and try again later. My boy still gets really excited about outdoor buns, but is a lot calmer about my inside pet bunnies. I’ll never let them all run around the apartment together, as I’ve heard too many horror stories of dogs that seemingly were great with rabbits but then had little bunny for a snack or chased them. but if I can get him to the point where he can have free range in my apartment with my bunnies in their pen while I’m around, then I’ll be content with that.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Thank you everyone!

[meow1]

I have a dog (Sophie)and a house bunny(Sunny) that get along just fine. I think it is very very crucial to first KNOW your dog-I’m able to watch Sophie and know if she’s about to take a bad action-things like that. I think it’s also important for the dog to know some basic commands, such as lay down, stay, no or leave it.

The first day I brought Sunny home, he was in his carrier, and I just let Sophie smell him through the carrier and I told her she was good. I did this to let her know that there is another animal in the house that is ALLOWED to be here, and supposed to be here. After that, I always made Sophie lay down and stay, while Sunny explored on his own.

It was up to Sunny to meet Sophie for the first official time, here is the video. It’s real bad quality, but you can see that it went well, somewhere around 0:29 seconds in.

I trust that Sophie won’t intentionally hurt Sunny, but I do have to be very careful of accidents, since Sophie is so big, she could step on Sunny and crush him. Her claws are also massive and could really hurt him. Sunny is not afraid of her though. Sophie sometimes will get up to eat the stray poos, and when she puts her head down, Sunny lunges at her face. This could be a potential problem in case Sophie snaps back.

Bottom line is just to know the animals, watch them closely and allow them to meet on their own time. Good luck.

I’m very lucky to have a non-hyper dog! She usually just lays there

[avarismom1]

What breed is your dog? Be very careful with any dog that has even the tiniest prey drive.
Go slowly, keep your bun safe.
Make sure your dog has a fail safe “leave it”
Do set set your dog up to fail – ie turning your back or not being in complete control of the situation for even a second.

I have 2 Shiba Inu’s they are a hunting breed – one didn’t read that page in the handbook however. Still knowing that it is their nature to kill small animals I will never ever trust them together – jsut too much that could go wrong you know? So far both of them have no interest in the buns and if Niko starts to stare at them for too long a simple soft leave it and he walks away.

On the flip side my sister has a Doberman who LOVES their bunny. They cuddle and share a bed. Dobermans were bred for protection – so she thinks it’s her job to keep Skittles safe. My dogs think it is their job to provide me with dinner.

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