Rabbits and dogs..

My fiance and I are thinking about getting our first puppy together but we are concerned about the dog getting along with the rabbits. I know it has a lot to do with training them as puppies but I know that certain breeds are bred to hunt rabbits. Basically, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the "best" breed of dog to have around my buns.

We've had a couple of threads on this sort of thing before and I know that a number of us (myself and Haley come to mind) have golden retrievers and rabbits.
When we got rabbits we had two, 10 year old goldens that were raised with a cat, and they haven't ever shown any interest in the rabbits.

This is a video my brother took of Timmy "massaging" Missy

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj5t1yUrj0Y[/ame]

As you said, it IS how you raise them, but some dogs just.. get along with them right away.

I have a pitbull/shepherd/chow, Lady,and she's a natural mother, so you just tell her "look at the baby!" and she licks the animal all over and treats it like a baby, whether it be newborn kittens, rats, or my buns.

Kiba on the other, is a Shiba Inu. Shiba Inu's are one of the oldest dog breeds out there, so they are primative, and hard to train unless you know about them. He wants to eat my buns so bad. We had them in a carrier with us when a huge storm hit last night, and he was wagging his tail and trying to hunt them through the carrier.

Look at the breed's background, and see if you can get them young, so you can raise them carefully and supervised with the buns (careful introductions) and such.

Just keep away from the small-game hunters, and the ones that tend to be very prey-driven. I've heard collies (rough or smooth) are good breeds with rabbits, since they are not hunting dogs.

I would also say the age of the dog does matter. When I had my three rabbits I would not trust my young dog, an Australian Shepherd with them at all. She was too wild, not vicious but she played too rough. She is 3 now and I am kitten sitting and her age has made a huge difference - I trust her with the kitten completely. Actually I was a little worried the kitten may hurt my dog lol.

Puppies play rough, they run and chew (sometimes on you or your pets). Puppies do not always know they are hurting others and get carried away easily. Have you considered an older dog? You would be able to see their personality and possibly arrange time to allow it to meet your bunnies to check everyone's reactions. I know you will miss the puppy cuteness, but after owning a puppy of my own I will get an young adult dog next time and skip the puppy crazies.

As far as breeds go, I would avoid a breed that is bred to hunt. This includes hounds, terriers, retrievers, spaniels and pointers. It is also a good idea to avoid breeders who use their dogs in hunt tests as the instincts of the breed are used. If you did want one of these breeds (like a golden retriever or a lab), go for a show breeder as those dogs aren't bred to work. A rescue can also be good, but you have to look at each dog as an individual and how it would react to a rabbit. You can train most of these dogs to not go after a rabbit, but they will still want to do it, so you can't leave them around a rabbit.

You need to find a breed that suits your life style. While there are some dogs that would be great with rabbits, they might not fit what you are looking for in a dog. A herding breed could be suitable, but they are very active. Working group dogs tend to be quite big.
I would love to get a Newfoundland dog, but I know that a giant, shedding, drooling dog is not for everyone. They would be good with rabbits and kids, but not the breed for everyone.
Try taking one (or several) of the dog breed quizzes to see what might be suitable for you. Then do research on the breeds and see which one you like.

If you decide to go for a rescue dog, you need to choose carefully. Many rescues don't know much about the history of the dog, so they usually won't know if the dog has been around rabbits or how it may react. You can ask if the dog is used to cats as that can be an indicator. If you can, see if it is possible to take the dog home for a few days to see if it gets along with your rabbits. Fostering a dog for a rescue can also work if you are up for it.