Dogs and rabbits - no judgment please!

[Zigzag]

Hello all,

I know a few people on the forum have a dog, and house rabbits, and I was wondering how this works?

We are in the very early stages of thinking about getting a dog, and are very aware that dogs and rabbits can’t be left alone together etc

I was just wondering how other rabbit and dog owners make this work?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks xx


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[InspectorMorse]

I have 6 Indoor Rabbits and a Dog. My indoor Rabbits are in large enclosures though, not free roaming. My dog came to me at 8 weeks of age so he was brought up amongst Rabbits. He is a breed type known to have a high prey drive ( Pomeranian x Poodle ) but he exhibits no chase behaviour around the Rabbit enclosures, they all ignore each other. However, he would most definitely chase a wild Rabbit if he encountered one on a walk. He hates cats and chases them a lot if they are stupid enough to come into his garden.

Having pet Rabbits and dogs can work as long as it is done responsibly and that the two species can never have direct contact with each other unless supervised ALL of the time.

 

[Zoobec]

When I had rabbits, they had their own room which the dogs and cat were not allowed in. The rabbits only came out of their room under supervision and never when the cat or dogs were in the house.

 

[Liz47]

What is your house rabbits set up like, ie one contained room or more free range?

I've grown up with dogs and was very keen to have my own. When I first moved out I lived in a flat and was ground floor so that would have been easier for a dog but I thought just one door separating the dog from the rabbits in the bedroom wouldn't be enough and my rabbits then didn't have much experience of dogs.

When I moved into a house the buns got their own room upstairs and we got a terrier who was kept downstairs all the time. Neither reacted to the others being upstairs/down.

We then got a German Spitz X poodle and he will chase cats/wildlife if he gets the chance. We kept the same set ups when moving house a few times but sometimes Jack comes.upstairs to sleep in our room and he pays no attention to the rabbit room door. When we had the rabbits outside in their run he would also pay no attention, he would occasionally go over and sniff and at the time we had confident rabbits who were not bothered by his presence. The dog is actually more interested in trying to eat rabbit poo and will ignore the bunnies! When we had problems with Bigwig fighting with our pair and because she was so destructive we had no other space upstairs so we moved her down to free range the kitchen. We separated Jack and her with a dog gate with attached puppy pen and also closed the door whenever we are not in the room. Jack paid no attention to Bigwig but she would binky around the gate when he was there and run over to see him :lol: She was a very confident bunny though, Jake is also used to dogs/Jack but I wouldn't let Fern see Jack and vice versa since I don't know how she'd react but I think she would be scared.

 

[Shimmer]

When I have rabbits in the house, they are in a different room that the dogs never go in. There is a babygate across the door at all times, and the door is kept shut when the rabbits are in. Mine only come inside for health / monitoring reasons, but it can be for up to a couple of months at a time. I wouldn't trust a dog and rabbit loose in the same space, although 2 of the 3 dogs are Ok with minimal supervision and puppy panels in the garden to keep the bunnies safe when free-ranging. The other dog knows no boundaries and has to be fully supervised.

Baby gates are not that good at keeping rabbits in as the gaps between the bars are too big, so they need modifying if they are to be relied on, eg smaller mesh fixed on the bunny side. Some dogs can also jump over baby gates - it's not that much of a challenge for a medium size dog (or smaller bouncy dog) if there's something interesting on the other side.

Dog crates can make a decent base for the rabbits. What keeps dogs in can also keep them out, but that doesn't allow for the dog pestering the bunny, which is very stressful.

 

[Zigzag]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for this, lots of useful tips, and good to know that there are lots of dog and rabbits owners. Also helpful to hear how you guys have set things up.

In our current flat, our rabbits are free range in the front room, and sometimes go into our side bedroom. We are hoping to move in the next few months, if everything doesn’t go wrong (!), into a 3 bed with a shared garden. I am wondering whether we can dedicate one room to the rabbits- that the dog wouldn’t have access to. Completely understand that dogs and rabbits can’t be left unsupervised.

My bunny zigzag was exposed to a dog and cat at ARC, but I must admit I’m not sure how Winnie would react. It’s just a thought at the moment…

 

[loobers25]

When I had rabbits, they had their own room which the dogs and cat were not allowed in. The rabbits only came out of their room under supervision and never when the cat or dogs were in the house.

Same set up here and it has always worked well.


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[Preitler]

I have two indoor rabbits, and I fostered 3 different dogs over the years, for days or weeks. Rabbits are free roam, and I take over the dogs at the gate, introduce them to the house, their place etc., completly ignoring the rabbits as part of the location. none of those dogs had any noticeable prey drive, were kinda stumped by the rabbits avoiding or ignoring them. That Collie got somewhat frustrated, but no problem whatsoever, she's smarter than she shows. My rabbits are about 4.5kg, and know who owns the place.

 

[tulsi]

I have 4 indoor rabbits (two m/f pairs) in their own room. There is a baby gate meshed with c and c grids and a door which I close at night.

My collie (rip) took no notice of them even though she is wired to respond to movement. My labrador (12) ignores them and my new poodle puppy is only interested in their room when I go in there.

None of the dogs react to the outdoor rabbits (cage aviary set up). Well Rusty (poodle) has sniffed Frosty through the mesh, Frosty came right up close and they were almost nose to nose!