BlackVelvet
New Member
Two days ago I adopted a very sweet and mellow lop rabbit (age unknown) from a friend of a friend.
I have a dog at home - a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She is not aggressive whatsoever but has a mixed prey drive. I say mixed because she REALLY loves to chase squirrels and other animals sometimes, but at other times, will not even *notice* various animals on our walks (even if theyre right in her line of vision or right next to her). But she is overall a friendly and nice dog - very good/sweet with other dogs and small children. I think the issue is that shes simply too curious/excited/energetic...and possibly just jealous.
When we brought the bunny home, he was sitting happily on my brothers girlfriends lap. My dog was sitting on my lap and took a good few minutes to even notice that the bunny was there. Once she did, she started whining a bit. I brought her over to the rabbit and she sniffed the rabbit gently. The bunny didnt like that and simply hopped right off my brothers girlfriends lap - he didnt run away. That set off my dog and she started barking. We removed both animals from the situation and I proceeded to put a blanket over the bunnys cage. My dog slept in the same room as the bunny last night, she didnt even realize the bunny was still in the house. I let the bunny out with the door closed to get a bit of exercise for a few hours. Once again, my dog was elsewhere in the house and didnt notice.
The trouble began this morning when my dad suggested we try another round of introductions. Things seemed better. The bunny stayed calm, my dog stayed calm, but then my dog began getting overly excited again, so I thought Id simply put the bunny back in his cage with the blanket. But this time my dog didnt let it go and continued to look for the rabbit and realized it was in the covered cage. She began barking nonstop. I tried switching the cage from the top of my desk to the top of my dresser. It worked for a bit, but she realized again, would not stop barking and whining and trying to get to the rabbit. We finally had to put the bunny in the garage to get her to stop looking for it. (Don't worry, we'll bring the bun back in the house and in a different room once she forgets about it again, which it looks like she already has.)
I am dismayed at how this turned out. I dont want to give up the bunny but am unsure if my dog will ever accept it. We had a Cavalier before who coexisted beautifully with our guinea pig at the time, but our current Cavalier just isn't cooperating quite as we'd hoped.
But given that she wasnt outright aggressive (she was overall gentle with the rabbit, just got excited at one point), is there hope for her accepting the bunny eventually? I understand that we could never leave them together unsupervised; I just simply mean having the rabbit in his cage without my dog going nutty. I am willing to hire a trainer if it would help. Also obviously willing to find the bunny a loving, more compatible home if it comes to that as well. Advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
I have a dog at home - a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She is not aggressive whatsoever but has a mixed prey drive. I say mixed because she REALLY loves to chase squirrels and other animals sometimes, but at other times, will not even *notice* various animals on our walks (even if theyre right in her line of vision or right next to her). But she is overall a friendly and nice dog - very good/sweet with other dogs and small children. I think the issue is that shes simply too curious/excited/energetic...and possibly just jealous.
When we brought the bunny home, he was sitting happily on my brothers girlfriends lap. My dog was sitting on my lap and took a good few minutes to even notice that the bunny was there. Once she did, she started whining a bit. I brought her over to the rabbit and she sniffed the rabbit gently. The bunny didnt like that and simply hopped right off my brothers girlfriends lap - he didnt run away. That set off my dog and she started barking. We removed both animals from the situation and I proceeded to put a blanket over the bunnys cage. My dog slept in the same room as the bunny last night, she didnt even realize the bunny was still in the house. I let the bunny out with the door closed to get a bit of exercise for a few hours. Once again, my dog was elsewhere in the house and didnt notice.
The trouble began this morning when my dad suggested we try another round of introductions. Things seemed better. The bunny stayed calm, my dog stayed calm, but then my dog began getting overly excited again, so I thought Id simply put the bunny back in his cage with the blanket. But this time my dog didnt let it go and continued to look for the rabbit and realized it was in the covered cage. She began barking nonstop. I tried switching the cage from the top of my desk to the top of my dresser. It worked for a bit, but she realized again, would not stop barking and whining and trying to get to the rabbit. We finally had to put the bunny in the garage to get her to stop looking for it. (Don't worry, we'll bring the bun back in the house and in a different room once she forgets about it again, which it looks like she already has.)
I am dismayed at how this turned out. I dont want to give up the bunny but am unsure if my dog will ever accept it. We had a Cavalier before who coexisted beautifully with our guinea pig at the time, but our current Cavalier just isn't cooperating quite as we'd hoped.
But given that she wasnt outright aggressive (she was overall gentle with the rabbit, just got excited at one point), is there hope for her accepting the bunny eventually? I understand that we could never leave them together unsupervised; I just simply mean having the rabbit in his cage without my dog going nutty. I am willing to hire a trainer if it would help. Also obviously willing to find the bunny a loving, more compatible home if it comes to that as well. Advice would be appreciated. Thank you!