My rabbits are mad at me

[Snuggys Mom]

Some of you may have read my post about my dogs last month. They were fighting and I couldn't control it. Long story short, we ultimately had to re-home the aggressive female. It was an agonizing decision, but she is in a wonderful place now.

The two dogs lived outdoors, but now that Casey is alone, I decided to bring him indoors. He's really sweet and good in the house.

The rabbits thumped non-stop the first day or so. They seem to have calmed down now, but still get alarmed when he barks (not very often). He is a very gentle dog and pays no mind to the rabbits. I send him outside for their playtime so they will be more comfortable.

I keep his things (towel, rug, etc.) in the kitchen. The bunnies don't usually go in there, but naturally now they are curious, so they go in there and sniff his stuff. I think somebunny peed on his towel last night. I'm worried about a "marking war" now.

Is there anything else I could do to make the rabbits feel morecomfortable during this adjustment period?

Sorry for the long post!

Laura

 

[Pet_Bunny]

We keep our puppy in the spare rabbit cage while Pebbles gets free run on the floor. When ever Pebbles approaches the cage Desmond will bark, but that doesn't scare Pebbles at all. She will leave a few poops and pee a couple of times by the cage. :disgust:

Pebbles never thumped, but she prefers to be left alone and by herself.

Desmond (dog) is still too young to learn not to be so rough on Pebbles. And Pebbles will box Desmond on the nose with her paws to keep him away.

I just hope in time Desmond will settle down and not be so hyper in trying to chase Pebbles all the time. And for Pebbles to accept the dog when the novelty of having another animal in the house wears out.

Rainbows!

 

[jordiwes]

Awww Laura, I'm glad you found a good home for Callie. And I bet Casey is going to love it indoors!

As for your bunnies, I think they will get used to all of the smells and noises. Some extra pets and treats will probably go a long way.

I don't know if bunnies are as territorial around other animals as around other bunnies...

Sorry Laura, the only help I can give you is positive thoughts for everybunny!

 

[JimD]

Hi Laura!

We had the same problem when we brought Lilah home.

It took a couple of weeks for most of the buns to get used to the idea of her being around. We had our old lady dog Reya, but she NEVER bothered the buns. She would check on them once in a while to make sure they were okay, but she was soooo gentle and quiet that I don't think the buns knew she was there most of the time.

On the flip side, Lilah is a little ball of energy most of the time. The only buns that will most likely NEVER get used to Lilah are S'more & MooShu.Their kind ofspecial needs bunnies in this respect. S'more and her baby (MooShu) must have had a terrible time before we rescued them from the shelter. After two years I'm still the only one that they feel comfortable with.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Someone suggested putting Casey (the dog) in a pen in an area where the rabbits run. That way, they can investigate him on their own terms and not feel threatened.

 

[JimD]

Lilah gets short supervised visits in the bunnie room from time to time. All the bunnies must be in their cages and Tootsie has her pen in there.

Binkie and Tootsie seem to be the most interested in the pup. Lilah will lay down in front of their cage/pen and play "Noses" through the wire.

I think Tootsie would love to get out and play with Lilah, but I just don't want to take the chance of something happening.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Laura wrote:

Someone suggested putting Casey (the dog) in a pen in an area where the rabbits run.

I put Pebbles in Desmonds cage. :shock:

However, when I have the two together, I really have to watch them.
I don't think I could ever leave the two alone unsupervised.

Rainbows!

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Update:

Things have gone really well with Casey in the house. I started by putting him behind a baby gate when the bunnies were out. They would come up and sniff him and got used to him that way.

We then proceeded to closely supervised co-mingling sessions. Casey leaves them alone. I think he sees them as cats and he's afraid of cats (got slapped by my friend's cat a couple of months ago).

Snuggy was the last one to come around. I think she REALLY resented him being in her area, but she just ignores him now, like she does everyone else -SUCH a diva.

Baby was curious about Casey from the first day. She sneaks up behind him and sits on his tail! She wants to be friends with every fur kid she sees. She's my little diplomat.

 

[jordiwes]

Awwww! Baby.

I'm glad everybunny has come around. Any more thoughts on bonding Shadow with anybun?

 

[Snuggys Mom]

jordiwes wrote:

Any more thoughts on bonding Shadow with anybun?

Honestly, no. I've been lazy and I really don't want to deal with his spraying.

For now, I'm the only one Shadow has bonded with. He's my snuggle bun. He LOVES to lay on me and watch TV! He thumps at me every time I put him down.

Here's a pic of him with my husband:

 

[cottontails]

My bunny lives upstairs so he doesn't see my dog very often except for excerise time in the front garden which my dog likes to join in on!:bunnydance:

 

[cheryl]

Laura wrote:
For now, I'm the only one Shadow has bonded with. He's my snuggle bun. He LOVES to lay on me and watch TV! He thumps at me every time I put him down.

Here's a pic of him with my husband:

Aww,i just love Shadow,he has such a pretty..ummm..handsome wittle face:inlove:,and look at all that black fur! ohh and see he wants to shower you in lotsa bunny loving because you took him into a loving home and i guess he's just grateful



cheryl