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Dogs & Bunnies?

PixieRabbit

Mama Doe
As some of you have seen I'm getting a puppy next Tuesday, and once settled in my house will be getting her a slightly more mature male companion. I don't want the dogs to affect the rabbits lifestyle, and merely my own.

How do I go about introducing the puppy to the buns? Should I make sure she wears a muzzle and harness?

What about the more mature dog? I'll be keeping rabbits inside until my shed is built in new home (insulated with electric heater ;)) So, would it be safer to wait until Shed before mature dog or?

I'm just very nervous, my last dog, Piper the Jack Russel, was great with small animals, and never tried to eat the hamsters or budgie once. She'd only just steal our dinner off our plates :roll: :lol:
 
I'm no expert but in both cases I'd put the dog on a lead and let them look at the rabbits in the run, see how much interest they show and go from there.

I probably wouldn't the muzzle the dog until I felt I had reason to, because I don't think I'd like it if I were a dog. Being restrained can also make some dogs more on edge and likely to respond badly.

Once the dog is thoroughly used to being around the rabbits in the run and isn't responding then I'd try letting the rabbits run around in the open. At the same time I'd pay lots of attention to the dog and make sure you could restrain it if it tried to move or if the rabbits got too close. This is where the adult dog would be trickier - GSDs are large, strong dogs, do you feel thoroughly able to restrain one?

Again, I'm really no expert on this so someone else may come along with better advice but this is how I'll probably go about it myself when I get my rescue dog (hopefully soon!).
 
I wouldn't use the muzzle if the bunnies are caged. Keep the dog on the leash and as soon as any excitement is shown (other than calm interest), ask the dog to sit and reward when calm. It will soon learn that being calm around the bunnies is the appropriate behaviour.

As it's a big dog I would never put them together but I do know others who have had success with big dogs plus free range bunnies. :)

Good luck!

AMETHYST
 
I wouldn't use the muzzle if the bunnies are caged. Keep the dog on the leash and as soon as any excitement is shown (other than calm interest), ask the dog to sit and reward when calm. It will soon learn that being calm around the bunnies is the appropriate behaviour.

As it's a big dog I would never put them together but I do know others who have had success with big dogs plus free range bunnies. :)

Good luck!

AMETHYST

This is the exact reason I was after a puppy, because I can easily restrain and teach her the commands etc. whilst getting her used to them. Sort of multi tasking where as I'd never be able to trust an adult GSD and I don't want to lead a lifestyle where I can't trust my pets.

Thanks for advice I don't want to buy a muzzle so quite relieved I don't have to now.
 
With a puppy I take it in the garden with the bunnies free range, I drop food on the floor around the puppy at let it eat it. When it notices the bunnies I click and treat, generally the bunnies will come up for a sniff as they are used to dogs. The general theory is to make the bunnies boring and you interesting.

With older dog it takes longer but is just the same I start with them on a lead quite far away and click and treat as they look at the bunnies. If the dog gets over excited I move them away to calm down. i repeat it getting closer and closer over time. I think the best thing to do is not make a big deal of the bunnies.
 
I had buns before getting my Roxy ( staffy she was 9 wk old) i partitioned the garden off using the metal play panels (sold at P@H) i had loads of these that allowed lots of space for each aniaml but allowed them to sniff each other through the bars, i then had to teach my dog that she was lower in the pack tham the rabbits and guinea pigs, this meant feeding her last, something that i still do now, also if she went too close near the rabbits i squirt her with the hose pipe ( it was summer). Now i have a staffy that i can trust free range with my rabbits. She loves my new rabbit Nell:love:
Pic of Nell and Roxy

IMGP1260-1.jpg
 
With my springer spaniel who was trained to chase bunnies i kind of desensitised him to them.

At first he was obsessed with them and would salivate and shake whenever he was near them. I kept him far away from them at first then took him out on the lead when they were inside the runs. The key is to stop them BEFORE they have actually tried to get to them. If his body language even hinted at that i'd say NO sharply and turn and put him back inside. I did this several times through the day every day and he soon got the message. I did catch him once trying to claw at the run bars. A quick squirt of the hose beside him (not on him) stopped that behaviour in its tracks and he is fantastic now.
He is happy to sit beside them and doesnt get worked up. He also shares the house with two housebuns with no problems. If a dog who is trained to go after them can get to that stage then im sure you have nothing to worry about :D
 
Have a look at the association of pet dog trainers website for some tips on dog training.

Do you have a link please?

And thank you all for your advice, I'll definitely use the feeding last idea since in my kitchen theres an attached dinning room bit, that's actually being converted into a bunny room until my shed is built :oops: :lol: So she'll see them being fed first.

I'm getting puppy/baby gates on the stairs and between the living room to kitchen, I'm guessing give is 6 months and she'll be a way over them? :roll: :lol:
 
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