• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

which breed of dog would best get on with rabbits?

wiggie

Alpha Buck
I know it depends on the dog but if you were going to get a puppy what breed would you go for to give it the best chance of getting on with the rabbits? (obviously not the only concern but a big one nevertheless)

We have been looking fo a rescue adult dog but every dog so far could not be rehomed to us because we have rabbits in a shed/run setup in the garden and so permanently on veiw to any dog.

Hence we are now thinking a puppy might be the way to go.....?
 
Thats odd that rescues wont allow you to rehome, if they rabbits are outside and the dog wont be with them alone ect.

I have a rescue terrier, he loves the buns. I dont think there is any particular dog, but obviously a sight hound or lurcher may not be the best as they might (if not bought up around little furries from pups) have a high prey drive.

Its down to what you want really :).
 
All dogs will have individual characters and is all cases you should never leave any dog unsupervised with a rabbit

but the breeds to avoid as a generalisation..and I know some members will give examples showing how great these breeds can be...are terriers and lurcher types

Adopting an adult dog that has already lived with small animals is probably a safer bet than getting a puppy :?
 
We had the exact same problem when we wanted to get a rescue dog. As soon as they heard the words "house rabbit" we were looked at us as if we were mentally unbalanced. :?

Most places just said that they would only be able to consider giving us a dog if they knew it had specifically lived with a house rabbit in the past, and even then they would be reluctant.

We did eventually manage to rehome our dog Izzie through bread rescue. They were happy to try as she had lived with cats and came and did a trial. So it is worth trying around different rescues, and the advantage of an adult dog is that you get a better idea of their temperament.

As said before though, there are breeds less likely to be accepting of rabbits (terriers and hounds mainly), but every dog is different.
 
I agree, breed isn't really the thing that matters, it's how they're brought up. My labrador is absolutely great with the guineas, even if one is loose he wouldn't touch it (I don't risk it though!), but he's sees the bunny as live food.

The puppy was brought up with pet rabbits that had the run of the garden, and she's fine with the bunny, but again - I wouldn't leave them unsupervised.

Dogs do realise that small furries are part of the family but all too sadly, many rabbits and guineas are killed by dogs every year.

Sophie
x
 
I do think it depends on the temperament and that is usually characterised by 'breeds', although Staffies are mental as puppies but, quite chilled out when past aged 8 or 9 same with greyhounds, I would never take the risk with any dog and a rabbit and I agree if your set on rescuing it might be better to get an older dog, although a pup will learn to accept them as part of the household/pack so it's 50-50 really. What type of dog are you thinking of getting?
 
Hi,
I do think it is the temperament of the dog, I have a nearly 4 year old labrador and he addors the rabbits, very protective over them. However my mum and dad have a labrador, retriever and labrador x collie they hate them and when they come down for the day, I have to be very careful not to let the dogs out of the house.

If you are to get a puppy, or a young dog you could train it to give the rabbits respect.

Hope that helps
Kell x
 
I know it depends on the dog but if you were going to get a puppy what breed would you go for to give it the best chance of getting on with the rabbits? (obviously not the only concern but a big one nevertheless)

We have been looking fo a rescue adult dog but every dog so far could not be rehomed to us because we have rabbits in a shed/run setup in the garden and so permanently on veiw to any dog.

Hence we are now thinking a puppy might be the way to go.....?

Springer Spaniel rescue wouldn't rehome to us because we had rabbits even though we had references from labrador rescue and our vets. we ended up adopting 2 springers from Ireland and would definately do it again. If you don't get any joy from rescues give me a pm and I will send you the link for Ireland and the rescue we used:D
 
We have a 6yr old golden retriever dog and 2 mini lops.
We have only had the rabbits since june last year and introduced our dog to the rabbits slowly over a few weeks.
He loves them and gives them kisses through the hutch and when they are in the run he likes to sit and watch them and lick them through the wire.:love:

I would never let them loose in the garden with him,even though I trust him not to hurt them.
He always goes to greet them,when he is let out in the garden.:love:
 
Thanks guys, The rescue had warned us off collies spaniels and working labradors as well as hounds and terriers.... not much left lol!

We would LOVE a spaniel of some sort but the temprement of the dog is more important than the breed. I grew up with a unique heinz 57 who was the sweetest and best dog ever and lived till nearly 19 years old!
 
I don't think anyone who has rabbits should get a dog. Accidents happen and then you end up with dead rabbits. Even if it is the nicest dog in the world and you are as careful as you can be, you can't be sure something bad won't happen. Search for threads on here about people who have had their rabbits killed by dogs.
 
Sorry Tim but I disagree

I run a rescue and have always had dogs
You just have to be careful
the bunny accomodation must be secure

NEVER leave a dog unattended with a rabbit however much you think "your dog wouldn't hurt a fly"

Just use common sense

other wise you should also have the rule never have small pets with children..the same rules as above apply
 
NEVER leave a dog unattended with a rabbit however much you think "your dog wouldn't hurt a fly"

I think that's absolutely the golden rule. My dog is elderly (lurcher) and just ignores the bunnies, but I would never risk leaving them unattended.

Daisy once leapt off the sofa and landed on him :shock: He just yelped and ran away but Daisy definitely scared herself! It made me think how easy it would've been for the dog to snap at her out of fright/surprise, even with me there, so I never let her climb on him or anything - just not worth the risk.

Jester has a sensible dog policy and just keeps out of his way, whereas Daisy sometimes views him as a climbing frame :roll: :lol:
 
I was concerned when my sister said she was getting a lurcher type dog, but he totally ignores her rabbits. Obviously he's never left unattended with them but none the less he really surprised me. He is from a rescue and they didn't have a problem with rehoming him to a household with rabbits.
 
How many different rescues have you looked at?
Are you prepared to travel? as there is one rescue who have got a load of cocker spaniels/cavaliers in.

In my first post, I mentioned that its odd because, when we were looking for a dog, the first rescue wouldnt let us have one at all because of Mopsy.
The second rescue (which was the same organisation) pacifically asked outdoor or indoor rabbits. As she was outdoors, they didnt see any problem with it. Luckily, Andy came along, and because Mops wasnt scared of him at all he was fine with her. They used to sniff and lick each other through the bars.Also, when she died, he obviously thought I was keeping her in the shed. It wasnt until he went in the shed and had a good smell about that he stopped getting excited wanting to see her. :(.
It may be that you will have to do abit of training with the dog to show him that the buns arent something to be chased, but more watch from a distance :lol:. As said also, I would never leave my two alone with Andy.
 
We had a few rescues that wouldn't rehome to use but there are alot that do.
I don'tthink its mainly the breed but the temprement of the individual dog.
Weve had all types of dogs atm we have a staffy and a greyhound and they are so gentle, infact our greyhound who did race in Ireland doesn't bat an eyelid at our rabbits.

I don't think people who have rabbits shouldn't have dogs. Weve had dogsd and rabbits before I was born and never had an incident its all about the appropiate care, just like you would with babies/children and animals :wave:
 
I agree with others, try different rescues, some people are not so "open minded" to realise bunnies can be house pets just like cats n dogs, and get along together. I have 3 shih tzus, who love my bunnies (Izzy & Phoebe are 3 1/2 and had never seen a bunny before, whereas penny grew up with bunnies) all 3 of mine just want to sit with and lick the buns & are fascinated by them. They are only together when supervised tho.
Again it depends on the temperament of the dog, my sister had a rhodesian ridgeback that was introduced to my first bunnies at about 6 months old, he was scared of them !! :lol:, but also fascinated by them & would watch them and want to play with them, but obviously only under supervision, in fact Daisymay my 3 leeged bunny who was blind in one eye used to love running up to him & jumping on his back when he was lying down, it was so funny :lol::lol:
 
Ive got 2 staffies who have always lived with rabbits including house rabbits:) They sleep with Lyric on the sofa at night and She even jumped on Mildred the other night and started digging her:lol: Mildred just looked up to say what are you doing,You have to put a lot of time into introducing them,As pups i always kept mine on the lead so they would learn not to chase,now the dogs just completely ignore them except for sometimes cleaning the rabbits ears:)
 
Ive got 2 staffies who have always lived with rabbits including house rabbits:) They sleep with Lyric on the sofa at night and She even jumped on Mildred the other night and started digging her:lol: Mildred just looked up to say what are you doing,You have to put a lot of time into introducing them,As pups i always kept mine on the lead so they would learn not to chase,now the dogs just completely ignore them except for sometimes cleaning the rabbits ears:)

:lol::lol::lol: I think the owners have something to do with it aswell which I mean as a compliment, I think maybe the size of the bunny helps aswell :lol::lol:
 
:lol::lol::lol: I think the owners have something to do with it aswell which I mean as a compliment, I think maybe the size of the bunny helps aswell :lol::lol:

Well when i got Claude and Miffy they were only babies so tiny,the dogs were great:) There even good with the guniea pigs when they free range;)
 
Back
Top