• 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.

Yorkies and rabbits? - UPDATE: CHANGE OF PLAN!

Amethyst

Amethyst

Warren Veteran
Hi everyone,

This at first may seem obvious, but is it possible or advisable to keep a Yorkshire Terrier if you have rabbits?

I know they were bred to chase and kill rats, but I'd have thought a rabbit would have been too big for it to tackle as prey. Am I wrong? Bearing in mind my rabbits would probably be bigger than the terrier!

Is this possible? Could it work? Many thanks,

AMETHYST
 
Hiya yeah it is possible for them to kill bunnies. It doesn't even have to be from a bite but the stress of being chased can be enough.

Terriers bite the rabbits neck either breaking it or causing enough damage for a long painful death.

It is a deep instinct too and one I think would be very hard to get rid of. If you have no choice then I would suggest keeping them totally separate. Also don't give your dog any squeaky toys, the squeak is roughly the same noise a destressed rabbit makes when frightened :cry:
 
Personally I would not keep ANY type of terrier whilst I have rabbits.
Their instinct is to chase. Even if they dont mean to kill, sadly that is often what happens :cry: :cry:
Janex
 
That's what I figured! Just wanted to check I wasn't making assumptions.

Thanks guys.

AMETHYST
 
a dog is what you make it!
if you had a yt puppy and it knew to not chase and bother the bun it should be fine. my pal has 2 rescue yt's and a rabbit. the male dog is scared of the chasing bun and her rabbit bud is firm friends with her female dog, so much so he humps her and sleeps in the same bed! :lol:
not all terriers chase and kill 8)
 
bizzy_vicki said:
a dog is what you make it!
if you had a yt puppy and it knew to not chase and bother the bun it should be fine. my pal has 2 rescue yt's and a rabbit. the male dog is scared of the chasing bun and her rabbit bud is firm friends with her female dog, so much so he humps her and sleeps in the same bed! :lol:
not all terriers chase and kill 8)
Click to expand...
I have to agree with you there. I have 4 terriers here (a westie, 2 JRT and a yorkie) and I am sure you all know the number of rabbits and pigs I have here. The dogs are all really good with them. I wouldnt trust our westie to be left with them but the others are all really well behaved. Our miniature Yorkie Tia is by far the best natured with them. She will even wash a hamster if given the chance :lol: Our westie and one of the JRT's were Irish pound dogs and at first were very hiperactive around the animals but given time and the right training they have learnt to accept and respect them :thumb:
 
My nan's first yorkie was very unterrier like, he wasn't bothered in the least by anything, hamster or rabbit.
In his later years, we looked after him for a bit and we had a free roaming bunny. Tramp (the dog) was a bit blind then. but didn't really bother with the bun except after almost bumping into him and thinking what's that? The rabbit didn't know what to make of him either and I'm sure he would've been fine with my rats too.

My nan's current yorkie is a true terrier, she's obsesive with my rats and the cat and I don't trust her with either :shock: but she ignores the rabbits completly. She was interested at first, staring at them through their run, but once they came up to say hi and ignored her, she wasn't bothered, even when they escaped the run when I didn't realse and let her out. She sort of ran at them, realised they were the rabbits and ignored them completely. She chases the wild ones given half a chance though.
 
you might find a cavalier king charles spaniel easier to come by in rescue than a papillon - bear in mind too that these are all very 'yappy' dogs, and the noise can frighten bunnies (and drive you crazy :lol: )

I think loppyju has a king charles or cavalier king charles spaniel - looks totally soppy, and you could also look around rescues for a small cross breed with spaniel type rather than terrier type maybe?

But papillons are cute :D If you can find one - I wouldn't go to a breeder after that awful thread on dalmatian puppies the other week, but it's up to you.
 
Oh no, I'd prefer not to go to a breeder purely because there are so many rescue dogs. Thanks for the advice on the Cavalier King Charles, the only thing is my mate used to have one and he was totally bonkers! A bit too looney for the bunnies I think, a Papillon seemed more sedate from the info I've read.

Obviously I have a LOT more research to do, so any more advice would really be appreciated!

AMETHYST
 
I think with your friends spaniel it was probably, like most popular breeds, badly bred - it's a shame but some unscrupulous people churn out the most popular breeds, and there are some really bad dogs around as a result - My mum did this with her golden retreiver, as she has £ signs always in her eyes - one of the pups had to be PTS for aggression! You would never normally think of goldies as an aggressive breed, but puppy farming produces all sorts of neurotic dogs sadly :(

I think your best bet is to look around rescues and small ads especially - loppyju (again!) got a gorgeous doberman pup recently from small ads - people get them and then find they can't handle the responsibility, so pass them on. It's worth taking your time to find the right dog, as they are such a major part of your family, and hopefully will live for nearly 20yrs with you - good luck!
 
I have both a house rabbit and a springer spaniel and they get on fine. We had Oren from a pup and she is rather a shy girl so lets the bunny run rings around her :lol: An article in a dog magazine I read reccomended spaniel type dogs as being good with cat's etc as they do not have such a high chase instinct, have you thought of cocker spaniels? They are soooo cute and apparently not as nutty as the springer! (what I originaly wanted but O/H got confused and we ended up seeing a litter of springer puppies instead :roll: ) Good luck with whatever you decide :D
 
Thank you!! I've wanted a dog for most of my life but when I got rabbits I thought I'd never be able to have one. Plus at the moment I don't have the time or space needed for a larger breed, so it'd have to be a very wee doggie!! Of course I have time to walk it every day and groom it, and I have enough money for insurance and vaccines/worming.

I'm definitely going to take my time, and make sure I know exactly what I'm doing before I make the final decision!

AMETHYST
 
funny you should say that, but I find keeping rabbits quite similar to dogs, but without the bad bits of barking and smelly poo - Maa reminds me so much of a spaniel puppy - she loves her 'walkies' and can't get enough stroking and fuss, comes when called (well OK she's deaf and half blind - I have to wave at her!) - she's been a real suprise to me and is different to the other rabbits, who are more 'rabbity' :)
 
Why don't you just speak to a rescue centre.Dogs are , after all, more individual than their breed and a decent rescue should be able to identify a dog they have with a suitable temperament. Also, I wouldn't go just by size. A lot of larger breeds are extremely docile and in my eperience smaller breeds are often more snappy and territorial. Also remember that mongrels can be alot less prone to health problems than some pure breeds.
 
Spacegirl said:
Why don't you just speak to a rescue centre.Dogs are , after all, more individual than their breed and a decent rescue should be able to identify a dog they have with a suitable temperament. Also, I wouldn't go just by size. A lot of larger breeds are extremely docile and in my eperience smaller breeds are often more snappy and territorial. Also remember that mongrels can be alot less prone to health problems than some pure breeds.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm speaking to a few rescue centres. It's not just the rabbits that are influencing my choice of small breed, it's the fact that we don't have enough space at the moment for any breed larger than a toy.

I'm not actually bothered about a breeds' appearance, more the temperament. It's hard to ask a question about the suitability of a particular dog when you don't specify a breed! :) I'm just trying to get an idea of which dog's general temperament would be a good thing to look for.

AMETHYST
 
I really do think it's all down to the individual dog. My sister has a Staffie cross (there are thousands of them in rescues too, they seem like the number one unwanted dog), and not only is she absolutely gorgeous, she is the soppiest and most friendly dog I have ever met. She will jump on anyone who comes in the room :lol: but when it comes to the rabbits, she wags her tail, sniffs them a bit and ignores them :lol: .

We used to have a Jack Russel, he was the tiniest thing and dead soppy with people, but hated any other animals :shock: .

At the end of the day, a dog is an individual personality like anything else I suppose.
 
You could try the Kennel Club Breed rescues if you are looking for a particular breed. We are always very careful if we home a dog to a house with small furries in - tend not to rehome terriers into those sort of homes or sight hounds. There are lotsa lovely cross breeds out there too, so don't forget those!!! :D
 
nicolar said:
You could try the Kennel Club Breed rescues if you are looking for a particular breed.
Click to expand...

Do you have a link? I can't seem to find the relevant bit on their website.

AMETHYST
 
Naaa what you want is a Dharma. She's too fat and lazy to bother with rabbits. :lol:

<forget the bit about her being huuuuuuge though>
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

rosaleen
Cecothrophs pellets and greens questions rabbits
2 3
Replies
42
Views
1K
rosaleen
rosaleen
D
Young bunny to old bonded pair
Replies
5
Views
445
dollyanna
D
D
Weight loss
Replies
9
Views
664
Zarla
Zarla
Back
Top