Dogs and rabbits?

[wallice]

Hi

I have a Flemish Giant rabbit at the moment, but there is a good chance that when I move into a new place next year I can have a dog. I love to let my bunny run around for hours at a time, and I would need to find a dog that would be bunny friendly. I know all dogs are different, and I would have to make sure they would get along before I brought home a pooch from a shelter (and of course never leave them alone together once home), but are there any breeds of dog in particular that are rabbit friendly in your experiance? Being thatmy bun is already 12 lbs at 7 months, hes going to be able to handle a bit of dog around.

Any commets are greatly appreciated! And don't worry, I wouldn't bring a dog into my home that would be agressive towards my Wallice. He came first.

 

[Chickadee289]

I've seen lots of videos on youtube with golden retrievers or labs.
that said, any breed with a high pray drive should be considered carefully. Also, smaller does not mean more rabbit friendly. There are plenty of small terriers you'de ave a worse time with, that were bred to hunt rabbits.
Also, be sure to get a puppy, I'm all for adopting older dogs, but if your dog grows up with (and probably start off smaller than!) your flemmie you should be fine. I train dogs and currently am working on the relationship with my lionhad rabbit and my fast growing boxer... talk about a challenge. My pup is not aggressive at all, but plays super rough so she is being trained to ignore the rabbit. I'm confident in her "leave it" command she will not go after him. And I would NEVER leave them together.

 

[TinysMom]

My German Shepherd mix is really DUMB and wants to "play" with the rabbits all the time....I would not recommend a GS because of their hunting instincts.

I also have a border collie mix - very very smart - but she keeps wanting to round them up and herd them.

If it were me - I think I might want a dog that is smaller than the rabbit...I don't know.

So nice to see another flemmie owner on here!

 

[JeffS]

I saw an episode of the Dog Whisperer where a lady had a dog but wanted to get rabbits. He helped her teach the dog that rabbits are dominant. It was pretty awesome.

 

[jessicalovesjesse]

:yeahthat:
Saw it too, gotta say it was pretty incredible.

 

[Mika77]

Hi. I have a golden retriever mix and I had a border collie mix (she passed away last year). Both my dogs were excellence with bunnies and pets of all kinds. The retriever was a puppy when we got him and the collie was an adult. My buns are loose in the house and my dogs have never shown any aggression towards them. My mom has a dashound/beagle mix and she is also fine with the bunnies when she comes over. My uncle brought his rottie mix to visit and he was good too. All these dogs are older now so they are calm. A friend of my got a terrier puppy and that thing was a nightmare and I had to lock the bunnies in a room while he was over. My dog is over 12 years old now so we will be looking for a new dog in the future. It will most likely be an adult dog, probably 2-4 years old, by then they are more mellow and easy to deal with. I might go to the humane society but probably will try one of the rescue groups because they foster their dogs and know them well so they will be more likely to know which dog would be a good match for a house where bunnies and birds live free.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would avoid terriers and hounds. Terriers are bred to go down into holes and get the animal that live there. Hounds, especially sight hounds, are bred to chase and kill animals for rabbits to dear. Both groups are bred to kill small animals and are generally not good with small animals. That being said, some individuals can work, but it still takes lots of training.
Working bred retrievers, spaniels and pointers could also pose a problem. While not bred to kill, they are used for hunting birds like ducks and pheasants. . Some have been known to kill birds. Some of these breeds, if not specifically bred for hunting can be good with rabbits.
Herding breeds can be good with rabbits, but they will want to round them up and control them. Some of the breeds can be a bit rougher with livestock (like nipping them). If you don't allow the behaviours to go on and get one that has not been used for herding, you could be OK. These breeds are very high energy and need something to do or they can be destructive.
Toy breeds can vary on how good they are. They are know for having lots of personality, but are not apt to be able to seriously hurt a rabbit.
Working breeds can also very depending on what the breed was bred for. Guardian breeds (like great pyrenees) are bred and used to guard and protect live stock. If raise with the rabbits, it will think that the rabbit is family and will protect them. Newfoundland and St. Bernards are also good. Huskies may not be as good.


I would suggest that you get some good dog breed books and find some breeds that suit your lifestyle first. Go for basic things like energy level, size, grooming, temperament and purpose. Once you have narrowed it down a bit, do more in depth research on the breeds to see if they are suitable for you. You can then go to shelters or rescues with the breeds in mind and see what they have. They might be able to tell you if the dog is good with cats, rabbits and other small animals. A rescue might allow you to take a dog for a few days to see how it does.

When it comes to training, never let the dog get away with something you don't want it to do. Encourage it to be calm around the rabbit. Most rabbits cannot handle how dogs play, so the dog should not be allowed to play rough with the rabbit. The rabbit should also be taught to respect the dog.

 

[Konotashi]

We have 5 dogs, but there's only one that I will allow to freely interact with the rabbits. She also happens to be the biggest! She's a lab.

She sort of follows whoever is out, but doesn't do much. Eventually she gets bored and comes to lay next to me, but she doesn't get wound up at all, even when binkies are flying!

Our other four however, can't be left with either of them. Aiden, one of our French bulldogs, is okay with Salem, but he does get over excited very easily. I'd never let Salem out of my arms with him around. Yoda would probably just play with him to death, since he's a spaz (2nd French bulldog), and our other two, Schatzi (mini schnauzer) and Shelbye (mini schnauzer/black lab/pit bull mix) would eat him in a heartbeat. But we trained them to hunt small animals.

 

[bunnybunbunb]

Dillan runs freely with all three inside dogs and cat. The cat is scared of her, the biggest dog(60lbs) loves licking her, the smallest just ignores her and the other is ok as long as they do not get near her. Mousse also runs freely with them. Keebler and the new boy is a no, they are smaller and the cat "likes" small things - likes to "play" with them.

Personally, I would adopt an older dog if it clicks. Try and find a dog in a foster home with other animals. Although you can train puppies to be ok around other animals it can be tough. No only are you running after them every 10 minutes cleaning up poop/pee/stuff they chew/stoping them from chewing/ect, you want to add in animal training? Then you have to keep Seperation Anxiety from happening - which my Chiron has and it is horrible to deal with. There is just so many things to deal with when getting a puppy, they are not always small, cute and clean *wink*

Just go into the shelter and tell them what you are looking for, they should know the dogs' personalities. They would probably also be willing to let you bring in you bunny for meetings?

 

[hartleybun]

i have two buns - otter rexes and two dogs - mother and daughter choc lab. mum, brandy, was very maternal from day one which helped with the decision to breed. she's the only dog i've ever had that i have done so with. buns and pups met from day one - under supervision of us and brandy. they soon learnt that the buns were part of our pack.

my buns' breeder has dogs and kids which meant they had grown up with barking and noise.

i would also recommend the dog whisperer for teaching you how to be pack leader! pup, whiskey is nearly three and gets on well with the buns. i have divided the garden giving the bunnies their own dog-free lawn for nibbling.

supervision is the key when introducing a dog to you bun, i think. we had wanted bunnies for years but for me it was having the right dog and finding the right breeder. i also dog sit a jack russell who never meets the bunnies! they are locked in their bunnery whilst she visits.

kudos to you for considering your bunny before getting a dog! good luck! feel free to pm me

 

[fuzz16]

well i had an akita who did good, an aussie/german sheperd mix who followed but very rarely chsed. it has to do with training as well.

but my great dane lab is great with them. shell lay next to my flemish and chew on her toys but if i get her riled up she tries to play with him.

 

[wallice]

Wow!
Thanks so much everyone for all the replies and all the useful tips. I wont be able to get a dog until next summer when I move into a new place that has a fenced in yard (though I'm very excited about the idea now and might explode before then). I can do a lot of research in that time, and I've applied to volunteer at two animal shelters, so hopefully one will need me, and I can maybe get to know a dog well myself. I have always grown up with German Shepherds, some of which have been very crazy and huge, so I know that as a breed, they wouldn't be good as their prey drive is very high. So I do have experiance with controlling large difficult dogs, just not a whole lot of experiance with other breeds. Don't worry, I watch the Dog Whisperer all the time, so I will totally be th pack leader

Thanks again to everyone!

 

[HopsandLops]

I have to add, my Saint Bernards are the greatest with the rabbits, not that we leave them along together a lot. The female I adopted as an adult and yes it took a bit to get her where she wouldn't drool all over them and Atlas came to our home at the age of 3 months. Atlas still has lots of puppy energy so he doens't get lots of play time and we have to correct him some with pawing them.

I would go with a large breed, maybe not as large as a Saint, but large. They tend to be puppy-ish the shortest amount of time, most of the time, and become more calm quicker in my opinion. I don't know about a lab though, they can be some of the greatest dogs, but some are bad apples! My Aunt had one up to about a year, that even at 10 years old still would chase, jump, paw, etc. even after 4 trainers! As far as a puppy, I am not sure about that either, just my opinion though! I would look for a great dog that is about 2-3 years old, on the clamer side, and of course a good listen and smart! The adult in my opinion would learn quicker, be calmer, and wouldn't have puppy energy or puppy teeth!

I would look for more layed back breeds like either the larger working class dogs (Saints, Newfies, GSDs, etc.) or more of the med. non sporting class of dogs (Chow, Keeshond, etc.). I would try and stay away from anything with the word Terrier or Houng in it, like everyone else is saying! You may want to look at St. Poodles too, great dogs, low shed!

 

[Double N]

We have two German Shepherds, and although no bunnies, we do have 4 cats and two small parrots.

Our shepherds were taught from day one in the house "NO RUNNING", period. Never run in the house. I don't care if that cat runs in and spring boards off of your body, you do not get up or move. And belive me...those cats race all over the place and they do use the shepherds are trampolines to get up to the couch, chair, desk....anything!

So what we have are two big, hairy babies. They lick the little dogs and cats all the time.

They completely ignore the parrots because we have told them to. When the parrots are out, they do walk around on the ground, even though they are flighted. And these are little parrots, not big macaws.

It's all in training!