Rabbits and dogs

[thegooch69]

My girlfriend just bought a puppy Daschund. He is very cute, but Daschunds are very much alpha dogs who try to control the pact and are very nippy. They were actually bred to hunt and fight wheesels.

I have no intention of bringing her around my rabbits at all. I am curious though if dogs and rabbits could ever co-exist together in some fashion? Would a rabbit be scared by the sight or sound of a dog?

 

[tundrakatiebean]

Rabbits and dogs CAN co-exist, but you should ALWAYS be in the room and be watching them. I know I can trust one of my dogs with Wash because he is so laid back, but I know my other dog would try to eat him if I left them alone. It's all about the safety of your rabbit, so if you don't think that your dog is trustworthy with small animals don't leave them alone. IF you want to introduce them you should have the dog on a leash and the rabbit out of reach of the dog.

This is my dog Duke with Wash (see how much duke cares)

 

[thegooch69]

aww very cute picture. I think maybe when my girlfriends dog gets a bit older I might introduce them. The dog isn't very laid back just yet, still very energetic. For now I am keeping them out of sight of each other just to be safe.

 

[Xila]

I think it's more than possible for rabbits and dogs to get along, but it's up to the dog's personality, really... not necessarily the breed.

I have an American Eskimo Spitz, Desi, who is quite shy, and prefers not to be around BunBun...
BunBun doesn't mind her; he sees her as "white noise" and prefers to think of her as either a step ladder or a launch pad. XDD

And I have a Bearded Collie, Maggie, who is old and rather laid back; she will only growl at BunBun is he is really getting on her nerves. (IE; climbing on her)

he gets the hint and moves on.

And I used to have a mixed breed dog, Puppy(who passed away in October- RIP), who used to be a cattle dog- I couldn't let them in the same room! Puppy would practically take his head off! o-o

EDIT: Maybe their past has to do something with it, too? Desi has lived with animals her whole life, and Maggie is used to them as well, and puppy was a cattle dog; she used to kill chickens and small rodents... Perhaps how they grow up affects how they are in the future?

(No BunBun was harmed in the finding of this data.)

 

[Bassetluv]

I do have a dog living with me, along with my two rabbits and two cats. When I first brought Anna, my adopted bunny, home from the Humane Society she actually didn't react at all to Kaya (the dog); she would approach Kaya and sniff her curiously, then go on her way. But she was terrified of the cats even though they ignored her completely. My other rabbit (Yofi) could have cared less about the cats or the dog when I brought him home. It all depends upon the rabbit as to what might or might not scare them.

With my dog, I could never trust her 100% with the rabbits. She's absolutely great with them when they are running around in the yard outdoors; if some sound frightens one of them and they bolt, she just ignores them. She's tried in the past to play with the bunnies, but gives up when she realizes they don't like to throw balls for her. And she even protected them once against a cat that was stalking them from the other side of the fence. But in the house it's a different story. She is never allowed to be alone with the rabbits - especially Yofi - when inside. She becomes very jealous of them and will growl terribly when they come near her. Yofi, of course, thinks this is great fun and will try and provoke her to no end...but even though Kaya knows she is absolutely not allowed to touch the bunnies, all it would take is one momentary lapse of this rule for a tragedy to occur. Kaya and Fritz, my younger cat of 12, are best of buddies. Fritz rubs himself against Kaya's chest and Kaya will lick him on the head. Yet a couple of years ago during a family get-together, my sister brought her dog over. Even though Lassie's been to my house many times, for some reason she decided that day that it would be fun to chase Fritz, who had just walked into the living room. Fritz became upset and ran toward the door, and Kaya, seeing the excitement, joined in the chase. Fritz became cornered and in the meleé the 'pack mentality' took over, and the two dogs began a serious attack on him. Luckily I managed to get to the door and open it so Fritz could escape serious injury. The scariest thing about this incident was that it happened so suddenly - without warning - and it happened in a matter of seconds.

Anyway, even with the most docile of dogs, I would tend to be cautious; instinct may only be a 'trigger' away.

 

[Maukin]

This ia a topic near and dear to me, as it was a trusted dog that killed. albeit accidently, my beloved first Flemish boy, Maukin.

First off, Dachshunds are trained to hunt badgers, not weasels. Their name actually is translated "badgerdog"...

The most well trained dog is still a predator. Their instincts are ingrained and though they may not mean it, they can hurt or badly scare our rabbit friends. Maukin had gotten out of his enclosure in the yard. My German Shepard has been trained to "catch and keep" usually with the command "git it". He took it upon himself to "catch and keep" Maukin. Unfortunately, being kept from getting away by a 95 lb dog was too much for my poor boy's heart. Myrlyn was so ashamed that he did not go near the spot in the yard where he held Maukin for a week. This was a dog that would hold baby birds between his big paws and bark until I came out to see what was going on. He never meant to hurt Maukin, but our canine friends are not meant to know the fragility of rabbits beyond hunting them.

The moral of this sad story is to never leave your canine friends alone with your rabbit friends. Even the most trusted dog can scare a bunny to death, if not outrightly hurt it.

 

[missyscove]

I have two 11-year-old Golden Retrievers. They are incredibly laid back and will let the rabbits jump all over them. Nonetheless, I would never leave the dogs and the rabbits alone together.

 

[JadeIcing]

I agree with everything. In my case I leave my buns and dog alone all the time. My dog and Elvis actually sleep together now that he is free range.

I can not stress TRAINING! I think it is major regardless of other animals.

My fave picture

More here.

Jades Animals

 

[Mom of Joy and Love]

Joy, our first bun, met Zeus, one of our Keeshonden, when she was just a couple of months old. There's always been a cage separating them but she is very interested in him. Forgot and left the bunny room open a few days ago (the buns were shut in their condo) while Zeus had access. Found them noise to noise totaly happy with Joy trying to find a way out of the condo to get closer to him.
All three of my Kees plus three fosters were out in the yard when a baby suirrel fell out of a tree. I could only grap so many dogs at a time and was terrified that pack dynamics would be the end of the baby. All the dogs wanted to do was sniff the baby, never touched it though they regularly chase suirrels for fun.

[align=center]Photo of Zeus
[/align]

 

[gentle giants]

I think Maukin has a good point. Even the most well-intentioned dogs, especially if it's a large dog, can kill by accident. I have had dogs that I would trust with my rabbits, as a matter of fact my first collie and my first rabbit were best buds. However, the dog I have now, while he is very sweet and gentle, would want to play with a rabbit. Without the slightest intention of hurting it, he would get overexcited and might hurt it or send it into shock.

I think it all boils down to-supervise! At all times, supervise. Since your roomates dog is still jsut a puppy and prone to excitability, I think it is very wise of you to keep them separate. If you could introduce them in a safe way, like you holding your rabbit and your roomate holding the pup, that might be a good idea. That way the pup will know the rabbit is family, and if a door is accidentaly left open or some such, the pup will be less likely to do damage.

 

[okiron]

I plan on getting a Shiba Inu once we have a house and Errik wants a wolf hybrid. Both are animals we've had since childhood so we know what to expect. If they're with the buns since childhood, they'll get accustomed to leave them alone and coexist but I would never leave them unsupervised. I don't even plan on having them in the same rooms. Both are very primitive animals with more wild instincts than tame. I don't expect animals to be anything more than animals.

But as my buns go, my roommate has a german shepherd/chow mix that comes into our room randomly so the buns are used to dogs. Lumi even lets Buddie give her a bath.

 

[thegooch69]

I decided to invite my girlfriends dog, Presley, over for a sleep over last night. Reeses never even got a chance to see her as I kept them both out of sight at all times. Presley and Roxy(my other rabbit) stayed in the same room together for the most part. Roxy stayed in her designated play pen for the entire time.

Roxy got alittle startled at first from the sight of the Presley and a few of her barks. She isn't very sociable yet to begin with anyways. I decided just to drap a few towels over her pen to block off any view and after awhile Roxy relaxed. Presley didn't even seem to notice Roxy either and was too busy trying to get all of our attention. Presley slept in bed with us all night and that's pretty much it.

I'll try to introduce them all more formally once Presley is older. I was glad to see that everyone pretty much mind their own business and didn't have any problems.

 

[Tofu_pup]

Before my dog died, she had the opportunity to be around my buns(supervised) countless times. I introduced them gradually to let them get comfortable. My dog ended up being fond of them at times and trying to groom/nuzzle them. Most of them time, the rabbits pursued her with too much vigor and scared her. My dog was an australian cattle dog.

 

[Ringer]

I had a bad experience with a dog, two dogs. I was away during and after a hurricane hit our area. My son was in charge of the bunnies, his a male named Joker and mine, female Ringer. They were on the porch after the storm. My son's girlfriend came over with her two boxers. They decided to go and try to find dogfood and a meal for themselves. They thought the dogs would be alright in the house. While they were gone the dogs nudged the sliding glass door open and attacked the rabbits in their cages. They got to Joker and mauled him. He wasdead when my son returned and Ringer's cage had been overturned and her foot had been bitten. Luckily they never got her cage open. Poor Joker was not so lucky. Awful

Ringer had to go to the vet for cleaning and antibiotics but she recovered. She never would stay in a cage again and she is mortally petrified of dogs. One came to the window one day and she freaked out completely. Any barking terrorizes her also. What she witnessed was horrible.

NO dogs and bunnies together please.

We could have easily lost Ringer too from fright. She has always been my brave sweet girl. It was weeks before she really calmed down.

 

[JadeIcing]

I understand your fear you have every reason to feel that way, but I just can not agree. My mom has two bunnies and 3 dogs. They all live just fine.

That is why everyone here stresses supervision. Those dogs should not have been left alone if they didn't know how they would react to the rabbits. Or the rabbits to them.

Just so everyone is aware. My dog weighs exactly 5lbs. Same as my biggest bunny. She has never even attempted to bite someone playing or other wise. The breeder she came from also started traing her from very little. I continued when she came to me.

 

[Ringer]

Well all I can relate to is my own experience. EvenIf you are right there a dog can lose control. It takes seconds. Maybe if the dog and rabbit have always been together it might be safe if you are right there, but never trust that all will be ok if you leave the room or go out for a few minutes. The scene can change suddenly. I would rather be safe than sorry. I have seen what can happen. My son was devastated.

 

[JadeIcing]

Ringer wrote:

Well all I can relate to is my own experience. EvenIf you are right there a dog can lose control. It takes seconds. Maybe if the dog and rabbit have always been together it might be safe if you are right there, but never trust that all will be ok if you leave the room or go out for a few minutes. The scene can change suddenly. I would rather be safe than sorry. I have seen what can happen. My son was devastated.

Very true I would never leave my buns alone with another dog I don't know. Also all new bunnies are not allowed alone with the dog till we are secure they are ok. The rescue I foster for brings bunnies to see how they are with her because she is so well behaved with them.

I watched my dog stand by my head-tilt bun the entire time he was sick. We had to bring her food to her because she didn't leave him. Her bed. peepee pad were right next to him.Once he started to explore she followed him to let us know where he was. She would support him if he started to roll.

I also saw her befriend the bunnies that we could not reach. Than giving us the chance to gain there trust.

Maybe I am lucky and have a a special dog.

 

[NZminilops]

Your dog is about the same size as a bunny anyway Alicia , so they'd probably be more likely to beat her up!


I'm a bit scared of dogs myself, but I trust my cat with my rabbits, and people often tell me off for that. I think it's a situation that needs to be dealt with individually - some dogs are ok with buns, some aren't, we need to be good judges of that for our own buns.

 

[nicolevins]

tundrakatiebean, Duke looks like he is going to KILL your bunny What a vicous face he has

 

[nicolevins]

My rottweiler puppy protecting the bunnies <33

He likes to lick them but the bunnies hate it, lol

Dog & Rabbits can get along in most cases