Extremely frightned rabbit

[Luluznewz]

Alright, before I begin I want to say that the rabbit is not physically harmed and I COULD NOT FEEL WORSE! I have two rabbits who live with me at school. Its spring break, and I am visiting my parents. We have three dogs here. We are here very rarely. Because the weather has been so nice they were in their outdoor cage for the day. I was POSITIVE the door was closed. My mom checked it this morning and it was closed then too. Somehow in the space of a few hours it got opened. I think the rabbits figured out how to open it or the dogs pulled it open. The dogs had never bothered the cage before and there is a gate around it to keep them away.

However, somehow the door got opened and Zeppelin got out. I heard a rabbit squealing so I ran outside. It took me a second to realize the lower door was open. I figured out Zeppelin was gone and went around the corner of the house to find the dogs surrounding him. I screamed at them to back off and they all did. I ran and scoped him up. So there was some slobber on his neck and back, but no bite marks or blood. I took him inside and held him. His heart wasn’t going SUPER fast, but it was pumping pretty hard. I just put him back in the cage with lulu and locked all the dogs inside so they cant go near him. I gave them some veggies and hay and Zeppelin is nibbling at it, but not with his usual vigor. Im worried he’s going to die of fright. He doesn’t seem like hes near death or anything, but i'm sure it was a horrible experience. What should I do? Hes not directly injured, but I dont want him to have a heart attack. Do you guys think he will be okay? Is there anything a vet or I could do? Should I just watch him? I want to reiterate how terribly I feel. The doors are now tied and locked shut. I'm always so careful with the dogs. I dont know what happened. I'm going to figure out a way to better protect them.
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[Luluznewz]

note: I have no idea why all that script is on the bottom of the page. Sorry about that.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I don't have any experience with dogs, but just wanted to lend a bit of support. Crap happens in life. Your bun was not injured and you took precautions, that is what is important. *nose bonks for Zeppelin*

 

[Samara]

My dog sometimes gets overzealous when Gubb is binkying across the house. Troy slobbers on him and Gubb BOOKS it back into his pen (indoor). I usually have Troy go lie down upstairs for an hour or two to give Gubb a chance to cool back down.

I think what you did was the right thing; you came to his defense when you heard him, you got the "scary beasts" away from Zepp and you took him back "home" to his den and locked it. I would maybe throw a sheet or blanket over the enclosure for the rest of the day/night to give him some uber quiet time.

I think if he was going to die of fright that it would have happened already Just my opinion.

:hug:

 

[zebraprint]

I think you're out of the woods on Zepp being scared to death. As for the situation, you did everything right and you feel guilty you're just a good bunny parent. Stuff happens, that's just life.
Abby and I send relax vibes to both you an Zepp, what a day!

 

[LakeCondo]

It's just possible that the dogs were surrounding Zeppelin were doing so to keep him from running away. Are they a herding breed?

 

[Luluznewz]

Thanks for your support, everyone. Zeppelin is fine. He is almost back to his normal self. It took a day or two though.

None of the dogs have any kind of herding breed in them. They are boxer/shar-pei, a full boxer, and a chi/terrier. They arent really hunting breeds either though.

My mom told me that one of the dogs was acting funny and restless for a while, so she thought zeppelin was loose for a few hours This makes me think they werent planning on killing him intentionally. It was still horrifying though, I never planned on them meeting and dont want it to happen again.

 

[LakeCondo]

All's well that ends well.

 

[OreoTheBunny]

Yay! Good news to hear. Most dogs wouldn't think about doiing something for long periods of time. They would probably just do it. I think the dogs were just over exited about the rabbit being out. Are they fine now? Try to make sure that the dogs are not in the same place as the buns for a couple weeks so they forget about it.