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can a dog and rabbit live together...

jasonbunny

Warren Scout
odd question but i have been put in a bit of a situation. My parents are having to give up their jane russel, due to a house move, and have asked me if i will have her. She is a lovely wee thing, very calm and going on 5 years old. I know my kids (2 and 3 years) would love her etc. But i cant bear the thought of anything happening to my rabbit. Jason has been with us about 6 months now and is my first ever rabbit, he is spoilt rotten and very much loved. He has full run of the lounge all day long, only ever being shut in when we go to bed, in his cage. On one hand i feel bad for my parents, they would love peggy to go to me because they would still see her, on the other i want to say no because i am too worried that she might turn out to be a rabbit hater, and i have NO experience whatsoever of rabbits and dogs together.

So..anyone whom does, what would you suggest, any help very much appreciated!
 
My dog is brilliant. He's a herding dog so just chases them ( these chase back ) and he rounds them up. BUT jack russells are naturally ratters so you'll have to see how he responds to jason.
 
Hello I have Holly who is a Lab/Collie cross and she puts up with all the bunnies that come to stay with us as well as Dixie and Lupin. She is exceptional she looks after them and always checks on them. I have been lucky with Holly after all she has had to share her bed with Bonny, her water bowl with Dolly, Lupin running under her paws as she walks in the garden. Over all she shares her life with Bunnies.
 
it all dpeends on the dog itself and its temprement.yoru best bet woudl be to try introducing teh dog to teh rabbit under close supervisiona nd seeing how he reacts, as nooen can pre-empt this.

also what kidn of rabbit is jason? i don't knwo how true it is a shave never mixed dogs and rabbits myself, but larger ratbbits are said to be more compatible with dogs better than smaller ones.

would you have seperate rooms to keep teh dog and rabbit in when you are not around or woudl you be keeping them in teh same room?
 
our dog ralph does... hes a collie cross as far as i know and has never been mean to them, he does seem to guard his food tho so thats something to watch :)
 
Could the dog be kept outside?

You should never leave rabbits and dogs unsupervised in the same room and personally I wouldn't let them lose at the same time without a muzzle on the dog.
 
my dog Taz - border terrier - is fine with my buns but they are all outside buns and he is never left alone with them. i wouldnt like to have a house bun with him in the house and he has been brought up with the buns. i think maybe a trial run to see how they get on and how the dog acts around your bun. good luck with whatever you decide. x
 
Hi, I have a Jack Russel. We've had so many different critters over the years that she has come to accept the presence of furries and scalies and they her, but it took some patience, some training and I never let them mix free and unattended.

Each time there has been a new addition I've introduced them at a safe distance, and used food as a reward for my russel when she stays relatively calm along with the phrase "be nice", in her case that means not to much whining or struggling to get at them! As someone said russels are ratters so instinctively they are drawn to anything fast and furry. It usually took a few days to reach an acceptance stage, at first she would be on duty and checking out the new critters cage/hutch/tank along with the occassional whine or bark, then she realized they were staying and settled down.

I would think a lot will depend on what your mum's dog has been used to, is she used to sharing her space and being around other critters? I have found that even really calm dogs can have a personality change when suddenly confronted with an unknown new furry. Also it can be very stressful for the furry, as they are prey animals.

Would it be possible to try an initial short meeting to see what happens, bunny in his hutch and the russel on a lead? And if that goes reasonably well try longer, then without her lead and see if she tries to get into the hutch or is happy to just be around it. Personally I wouldn't leave them with the run of the house together unattended, the consequences could be too awful, but if bun has the run of the lounge and the russel has the run of the rest of the house and they are both happy with that it could work. It could be a lot of work to get to that point though and take quite some time! The change of surroundings and carers for Peggy will be stressful for her and she could take a while to settle down. If the house move is imminent it might be a case of having to accept she'll need to be rehomed elsewhere.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Could the dog be kept outside?

You should never leave rabbits and dogs unsupervised in the same room and personally I wouldn't let them lose at the same time without a muzzle on the dog.

I think thats a bit unfair :? I really dont think a dog should be kept outside because of a house bunny... If that is the only option then it is probably best not to have a dog at all...

I agree that i would never leave a dog and rabbit in the same room as each other without supervision but a rabbit is more suited to the outdoors than a dog who needs much more interaction and the need to be around people than a rabbit would do...
Could you give your bun a friend and they will be more than happy with hanging out with one of their own and then maybe you can give them a part of the lounge or a room in the house so you then feel less guilty about bringing the dog in?
 
little update here!

In the end we didnt take the jack russel, my parents managed to keep her. However it set us thinking about maybe having our own dog, and after a lot of debating we decided to give it a go, knowing that if the rabbit and the dog really didnt get on, we would not have to give either away but one might have to live more outside than inside!

The dog we got is an 8 month old female called oats, a rescue dog, whom spent the first 6 months of her life muzzled and shut in a dining room. Her collar had got so tight it had cut into her neck when she was eventually resuced and the muzzle left a band around her mouth. She was muzzled because she chewed not because she was violent.

She is a staffie cross, that i am sure of, but with what i am not so certain, either lab and/or collie. The rabbit was NOT impressed at first and i was petrified we had made a really big mistake...but one week down the line this is the result:



sorry the picture is a bit rubbish it was taken with my camera phone! They adore each other and spend a lot of time bumping noses. I had to do quite a bit of training to get Oats to understand Jason was not a toy and i would never leave them alone together, but i think we have been very lucky. In fact jason seems to thnk he is the dominant rabbit lol and shows off to oats, binkying about her!
 
Could the dog be kept outside?

You should never leave rabbits and dogs unsupervised in the same room and personally I wouldn't let them lose at the same time without a muzzle on the dog.

Could the Rabbit? I think they are better suited to being outside!
 
Hey! Well done you. I've always had dogs and rabbits together and IMO, the rabbits usually end up being the boss! But as others have said, it very much depends on the character of the dog. Because I had rabbits before I had dogs, the dogs have been brought up from puppies knowing that the rabbits were 'off limits'. My old GSD was scared of the bunnies and of my current two, one collie spends hours hoovering up any bunny poo that she can find and the other wants to herd them.

But never rest on your laurels, however much you trust your dog. They are still a dog at the end of the day and have natural instincts. Unfortunately, they don't understand that it's OK to chase the squirrels in the park but it's not OK to chase the small furry thing at home. I don't let mine chase anything - that way, there's no confusion. It's up to you to make sure your bunny is safe, which I'm sure you'll do. As you can see from the photo below, mine usually end up hiding under the table when the rabbits come indoors!
30032008206.jpg
 
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yes i will never leave the dog and the rabbit alone together. They are continuing to get on very well together, so much so that jason is back to doing his binkys and generally rioting about my lounge (the other day he was up on the windowsill) :D
 
Yay a rescue doggy! :love:

My dog knew that the rabbits outdoors were for catching and the rabbits indoors ( well outside) were not. Same with cats, friends dogs who live with cas get on well and know they are part of their "pack"... Yet any strange cat they will give chase... They just know ;)
But they all still keep an eye on them...:)
 
m dog bentley has lived with our rabbit harvey all his life and absolutely loved him. harvey died a couple of weeks ago and bentley is still pining for him. he sits where he is buried and just cries. it pitiful! bentley is a big staffie and people always laughed when they saw them together! bentley is 6 and harvey was 7 . glad things have worked for you. think we may have to get bentley another friend!
 
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