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Problem with a neighbours dog

Dem

Young Bun
Hi All,

I dont come on here very often and post as i dont think i have the experience of you all but i follow with interest. But now its my turn with a problem and i'm hoping you bunny experts will be able to help.

I have a mini lop who have a huge purpose built hutch in the garden which sadly i cant move, if i could i would be able to solve the issue quickly (i think). I gained new neighbours in early may who have a large dog. I didn't work out initially what the problem was but my rabbit would suddenly freak out run around the hutch like mad, thump continually and he would do it so loudly i could hear it in the house. I tried to calm him down but he wouldn't be distracted from whatever was causing his distress.

Then one day when i looked out of an upstairs window i noticed that the neighbours dog is right at the fence, trying to dig underneath and generally making it quite clear he wants to get at the rabbit. And i'm sure my rabbit is reacting to this. More recently the dog has started barking at the fence which is definitely upsetting my rabbit.

I have spoken really politely with the new neighbours who aren't interested. And its causing me anxiety thinking my rabbit is in a constant state of fight or flight because of this dog. Our old neighbour had a dog but it didn't react to my rabbit like this.

Short of demolishing his little paradise i cant get him away from the boundary.

Can i put a sonic repellent in my garden to keep it away from the fence or would this effect the rabbit or does anyone have any other suggestions to help?

Thanks for reading.
Dem
 
Sonic won't affect dog or rabbit.
You could try some dog off, which is a very foul smell that dogs hate. I'm not sure how it will affect bun though.

hopefully someone else will be along with more suggestions.

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I'm guessing the fence is not solid, it has gaps between panels? Otherwise the dog most likely wouldn't even know it's there. I'd just cover them if that's the case.

It's a tough one (having had problems with my neighbours) but just as you are saying the dog is bothering bun, they could say bun is bothering the dog to make it behave like this. Each animal is on each property, so you can't really tell them what to do on their own property unless it's causing a noise disturbance, just as they couldn't tell you to move bun cos it's bothering the dog. If it were my dog I'd preoccupy the dog since the obsessive digging/barking at the fence isn't healthy anyway, but they're in no way obliged to do this. If they're not being particularly helpful, other than continuing trying to talk to them you can't really do much I'm afraid. It's not their fault you can't move buns cage just the same as it's not your fault their dog has started paying attention to your bun through fence :(
 
Could you give the dog a wee spray with a misting bottle when it's getting its face under the fence on your side? Non harmful to the dog, but should discourage :)
 
What's the fence like between? If the dog can see through it then I'd try adding a solid barrier, as if he can't see the bunny he's less likely to react to it.

It looks like you can get ultrasonic dog repellers, which I think are a similar frequency to fox ones which some people use, but without trying it out it would be difficult to tell if it would effect your bunny too. You'd want one specifically for dogs, not the cat version.
 
I don't think there's much you can do other than go to the effort of moving your rabbit. If the dog is on their property and NOT coming onto yours then it's not really doing anything wrong. If it were my dog then I too would be blocking its access to that area as I wouldn't want it to become obsessed about what was on the other side of the fence. But if the owners don't care about the dog's welfare then they are going to be even less worried about your bun.

I get that it's stressing your bun but I think you have to take action on your own property in this instance unfortunately.
 
Shore up the fence and move bunny's hutch. Better still, get him a buddy and bring him inside to roam freely. Not a jot else you can do I'm afraid.
 
If it were my dog then I too would be blocking its access to that area as I wouldn't want it to become obsessed about what was on the other side of the fence. But if the owners don't care about the dog's welfare then they are going to be even less worried about your bun.

This was my thinking exactly. Its equally as stressful for the dog. :(
 
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