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Dogs and Rabbits?

mattyp

Warren Veteran
Although I am not planning on getting a dog for a few years to come until I can get a steady income and a bigger garden etc I often worry that dogs and rabbits may never mix. I have heard that if a dog is brought up from a puppy around rabbits they can become accustomed to them and not harm them (although they should never be left unsupervised ofc). The only thing is that after rescuing my two rabbits from rescue centres and seeing the amount of dogs in rescue that I would prefer to rescue a doggie rather than buy a puppy.

So basically my question is are there any breeds of dog that are less likely to attack small furries? or has anyone had any luck bonding a rescue dog to a rabbit?

Like I said getting a dog isn't going to happen for a long time for me, but I thought I might as well get as many years of research behind me before I do :D
 
I will always believe that it is irresponsible to get a predator animal when you already have prey animals. Your current animals need to come first. You can never truely trust dogs with rabbits.
 
I will always believe that it is irresponsible to get a predator animal when you already have prey animals. Your current animals need to come first. You can never truely trust dogs with rabbits.

This is silly IMO. The whole 'don't get predator animals if you've got prey'. How many people here have cats, dogs, and ferrets? Over half I'd say. Just don't keep them alone together and it should be fine.

I'm not sure what breeds what be best. I'd avoid terriers and large breeds though. I feel like large breeds could easily step on a bun on accident and with large breeds baby gates and other barriers won't do much good to keep them out of a room (if your rabbit if free ranging in it, say). With my small dogs I dont have to worry about them jumping the gate.
 
My dogs are both adults never seen rabbits before apart from wildies on walks. I would not leave rabbits and dogs unsupervised but can have both rabbits and dogs around free roaming, the dogs are trained and understand what 'leave it', means and the rabbits are the ones who run to the dogs. The dogs understand that the rabbits and other small animals are mine and that they are expected to behave in a calm manner around them, I think it is just a case of teaching dogs to have good manners and adapting this to any situation.

Not all dogs will have high prey drives, the good thing about an adult dog is you know what you have, with a pup it can develop a high prey drive at some point in the future.
 
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I will always believe that it is irresponsible to get a predator animal when you already have prey animals. Your current animals need to come first. You can never truely trust dogs with rabbits.

Seems a bit harsh considering there are a lot of RU members who own a wide variety of animals. And like I said they should never be left unsupervised, but it has been done successfully. When I was a kid I had guinnea pigs, rabbits, and a dog and the dog was very affectionate towards the smaller animals often licking them.
 
Just a matter of being very careful when introducing them to each other.
and never put bunny at risk.
I have a dog and a cat... both of which are brilliant with my bunnies.. (Never left unsupervised of course.)
My Bunnies are actually more interested in my dog.. than he is in them!:)
 
most rescues will do a "cat test" for their dogs, if a dog isn't cat safe it's definitely not going to be bunny safe! to be honest you can't quite stereotype breeds, it's completely hit and miss! some dogs are going to have a higher prey drive than others, regardless of breed.
 
Three rescue dogs, all adopted as adults,all fantastic with the rabbits, including the house rabbits....

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Just a matter of being very careful when introducing them to each other.
and never put bunny at risk.
I have a dog and a cat... both of which are brilliant with my bunnies.. (Never left unsupervised of course.)
My Bunnies are actually more interested in my dog.. than he is in them!:)

Haha thats classic. I can definitely see Marvin being very interested in other animals as I have never known such a cheeky explorer. I think i'd very much like to get a staffie in the future as I find them very friendly and amusing.
 
BB Mommy: Those pictures are adorable! Your house bunny is bigger than your one dog! Is it a maltese or something??
 
One of my friends has a chiwawa and another has a terrier of some kind. Both of them were bought as puppies and both now get on great with all of our rats. Neither dog has made a threatening move towards the rats yet.
 
That's Sally, she's a little poodle cross and smaller than most of my rabbits:D

She's adorable! She's probably more fearful of the rabbits lol!

Am glad that you've managed to get your staffies ok with your rabbits bluebunny!
 
if you get a cat friendly dog, then it will probebly be ok with your rabbits. aslong as you dont hide them away not letting the dog see them, then the dog will want them. Also you can get puppies from rescues. obv it may be harder to train a terrier than a labrador to be good with your rabbits.
 
My staffie is Fab with all my animals:D She loves my rabbits to bits and even lets my indoor chipmunk Alvin sit on her head:roll::lol:
 
Seems a bit harsh considering there are a lot of RU members who own a wide variety of animals. And like I said they should never be left unsupervised, but it has been done successfully. When I was a kid I had guinnea pigs, rabbits, and a dog and the dog was very affectionate towards the smaller animals often licking them.

Just because other people do it doesn't make it a good idea. Most people treat their rabbits like :censored:
 
there's some great advice on this in books such as the House Rabbit Handbook :wave: I personally would never leave a dog or cat unsupervised with rabbits but that's just me, I dont have a dog or cat at the minute so I guess I can never say never really
 
i do belive it depends on the behaviour of dog, some dogs switch when they hear a sqeek, its like its inbedded in them to chase, but other dogs are relaxed, i think its just about good observation and knowing your dogs behaviour :) aslong as the dog does not show any signs of aggression even when the other animal is in distress which can switch some dogs, but i have seen people on here with dogs and rabbits cuddled which is very cute :love: we have cats but they never go in the garden with the rabbits.. its caspers garden haha!
 
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I have two house rabbits and two cats. They all get on fantastically, I've had house bunnies for 10 years or so, and only recently got the cats - they'll be 1 yr old in a week. We deliberately got kittens so that they would grow up being used to the bunnies and learn from the start how they should act with them. We introduced them v gradually, and very sensibly, and now they're friends. They snuggle together, infact one bunny and one cat are currently sat in the bunnies cardboard box, both fast asleep. If either felt threatened then that just wouldn't happen. The cats lick the bunnies, and they often drink out of the water bowls together.

I think if introductions are done right then different species can get on harmoniously, although it does also depend on the personalities or breed of the cat/dog. For me the bunnies comes first as they've been here the longest, but I know them well enough to know if they are even the tiniest bit scared.

Eddie cat and Lavender bunny.
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Buxton cat and Darwin bunny.
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All four fluffies:
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