Introducing puppy and bunnies

[bunniekrissy]

My parents are bringing home their new puppy this Friday. It will be a 7 week old female Golden Retriever.

It is not essential that the dog and bunnies need to get along, because my bunnies are living in a large pen in the garage, and I am hoping to move out of my parents house with my rabbits in a few months anyway. However, if I want the dog to be safe around bunnies, should I try to socialize them right away? I have read some conflicting information. Some say that puppies are too rambunctious to even try but others say that if you don't get them used to each other early it will be more difficult. Also, does anyone know if Golden Retrievers are typically easier or more challenging matches with rabbits as dog breeds go?

Thanks!

Krista

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I think a Golden Retriever would be ok with rabbits, especially if she is going to grow up with them. It might be difficult getting the puppy to be calm around them, because puppies are rambunctious, but I have found that girl puppies aren't as rambunctious as boy puppies.

I would give it a few days to let the puppy settle down before you introduce her and the bunnies.

Good luck! And hopefully more people will give you some more adivce.

(P.S. Last night I had a dream that I got a female Golden Retriever puppy!! haha.)

Emily

 

[irishbunny]

I am getting a puppy in four weeks and I will defo be introducing them straight away, my opinion is if they know from as young as possible then it will be easier.

 

[hartleybun]

hi! i have a mum and daughter chocolate labrador as well as two buns - buns have got dogs wrapped round their rexy paws -i had the luxury of a pup growing up with bunnies hopping round her

you need to establish to the pup that you are the leader and what you say goes. for a first meeting i would have the puppy on the floor and the bun on your lap. i dont know if you have heard of cesar milan - the dog whisperer - but he has some great tips for interspecies relationships

during the first meeting i would have someone else on hand to remove the puppy if he gets too badly behaved or a bun shows signs of stress. keep the meeting short. and never never allow the puppy acess to the buns without supervision. if your bunnies arent used to dogs it could stress them out - i chose my rexes partly because the breeder had dogs.

i cant stress the need for supervision enough tho' and keep the meetings short and sweet. only you know your bunnies and can tell if they are upset. good luck

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

The key to getting the puppy to be good around the bunnies is to not allow any behaviour you don't want form the first second. If you don't want the puppy to be really excited and jumping up on the cage or person holding the rabbit, don't let it happen the first time. The same goes for anything in the first few days. If you don't want the puppy in a certain room or area, don't let in go in there at all.
Goldens can be bred for the show ring or for hunting purposes. The ones for show have been breed to look good and their ability to hunt is generally not a priority. These lines are generally what people go to for a family pet. The Hunting lines have been bred to participate in hunt tests and go hunting with someone. These lines have the instincts bred in and encouraged. Generally, these dogs are higher energy, need more stimutalion and are not the best to have around small animals and birds.

When you do the meetings, have the puppy on a leash and the bunny should be in a pen or cage that is secure. There should be someone with the bunny just in case. The puppy will need to be corrected for any behaviours you don't want or that can be unsafe in the future. The bunny may also need some correcting if they get too dominant or something.
I would avoid using treats or food for the puppy as it may associate the rabbits with food. Prasie when she is good and a correction whe she is bad is all she will need.
Puppies can be rambunctious, so I would not leave the puppy in the area of the rabbits unsupervised until she is at least 1 year old and well trained and can behave herself around the rabbits.

 

[jewelwillow]

I have 2 golden retrievers that are fine with my bunnies. The dogs were here first, but have always been outside pets. When I got my first rabbit, she was an inside rabbit. Initially I let the dogs inside, and put her in an inside cage, so they could interact safely. When they started ignoring her in the cage, I let them out together under close supervision. Then I could start to leave them alone together. It only took a few weeks before they would all sit together in the kitchen and ignore each other. I never had even one moment that I thought the dogs would hurt the rabbit. The younger dog was interested in the movements (as something to play with, not as prey) but with a stern tone, and a hand on the head, he never tried to go for the rabbit, he'd just lie down and sniff her with his tail wagging, waiting for her to come and visit with him.

With my 2 new rabbits, I got them as adults, and I can let the dogs in with them, and they've never shown one iota of interest in them. I was more worried that the rabbits would be scared of them, but the first time they met, the dog was too busy wagging his tail to even notice they were there, and the rabbits didn't even run. When the dog clocked one across the face with his tail, the rabbit retreated a bit, but didn't even run into its cage. The rabbits will come up and sniff the dogs and put their paws up on them, and the dogs just ignore them.

Golden retrievers will retrieve more than chase and kill. They'll get more enjoyment out of bringing you say the rabbits toy to show off to you than the rabbit itself. Mine wouldn't dream of chasing a bird, but if there's a dead one in the street, they want to pick it up and give it to you. They're really placid, and you can pretty much do anything to them and it won't annoy them, as long as they have someone to acknowledge them- they're always desperate to please. They are also very intelligent, so easy to train. They're like a big teddy bear. The only drawback is the hair (I love long haired dogs) They do shed a bit, but if you brush them weekly it's not that bad.

I'd say it would be easier for you having the rabbits already- the puppy can see that they are part of the family from the start, and that it will need to be gentle with them. At least there is less size difference so by the time the puppy grows up, it will have learnt to be gentle in it's interactions with the rabbits. It will want to play with them to start with, so just control the boisteresness so it doesn't scare the rabbits. Supervise them constantly to start with, but Goldens learn fast, they are very intelligent.- I can't see you haveing issues long term, it will just take a bit of training to start with- like any behaviour.

 

[bunniekrissy]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[missyscove]

We had a similar thread recently where we discovered that a lot of our members, myself included, have goldens that get along well with their buns. Our goldens were 10 years old when we got rabbits, but had been around a cat in their puppyhood.