Getting Dog used to Bunny (Posting for a friend)

[LittlePuffyTail]

My friend was recently given a neutered lop for her family. She is having problems with the dog, however. He is rough with the bunny and she is worried he will get hurt. She was considering rehoming him but I said I would try to get some advice for her. The dog is a big dog but still a puppy. I have no experience in this area, so I thought you BBers might be willing to help her out. 

[Deleted User]

Oh gosh LPT – my Henry LOVES our 3 dog’s, but I’m the first to admit all our dog’s are old/er – the youngest being 8 when Henry was introduced to them. I’ve always been hesitant to encourage the dog/bunny relationship cause you ‘just don’t know’ even though I was 110% confident with my dog’s. When we had our heatwaves here in Oz during summer, I left Henry and the 3 dog’s alone together in the one room with the A/C on while we went out being fully confident I would come home to ‘Henry’ and 3 dog’s, ha ha hah!
I think if the owner is prepared to persevere till the dog reaches adulthood/gets past it’s puppy stage, they too could have the best relationship, but that could takes months and depending on the breed maybe years?
By the way, I’m not sure my dog’s even ‘like’ Henry anymore (he’s a bit needy/clingy), but I know they will walk away from him and never ever hurt him.
I don’t think it matters that the dog is big – bam has a big dog and she is exactly the same with her dog and bun’s as me, we just ‘know’ and ‘trust’ our dog’s regardless of size. I really think it’s the puppy stage? If your friend can be patient and get through it, it really is something that makes your heart melt everyday. I’ve had Henry for a year and I have 1000’s of doggy and Henry pic’s. When my uncle came for a visit he asked for the photo of him and my daughter – I sent it, along with 9 of Henry and the dog’s….. HA HA HA
In the meantime, I would hold the bunny close to my body and let the dog sniff, then if the dog (with a leash restrained by another) settles, let the bunny loose to leave your body if it choses too, and see how it goes from there? When the dog is good, praise him/her, if not pull back and go crook. But this may be something that needs to be done everyday for a long while????? Actually, I shouldn’t be giving advice – sorry LPT, I just don’t really know with ‘young’ dog’s. But it can be wonderful and I’d hate for the bun to be given up on……
PS – And CheriB is another who’s bun loves the dog!

[Sarita]

Has she taken him to obedience school? I think that would be a good idea.

[Elrohwen]

What is the living situation? Does the bunny have his own space or is the dog always around?

As the owner of a young rambunctious dog, I think the absolute best thing is management. Keep them separated enough that the dog can be calm, but hopefully see the bunny and get used to it. You don’t want the dog getting more and more excited, but it helps if he can still see the bunny occasionally, so it’s a tricky balance.

Obedience classes and time will help a lot. The dog needs to mature a bit and learn how to calm down and follow instructions. A good “leave it” and being able to stay on a mat (look up “mat work” and “relaxation protocol”) are the best places to start.

It’s not a quick fix with some dogs though. My own doesn’t want to hurt the bunnies, but I have no doubt that he would hurt them accidentally if allowed access to them. If the dog is not inherently calm by nature, it requires a lot of work, or the willingness to just keep them separate until the dog is more mature.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Thanks, guys. I will pass this all on to her. Not sure if the dog has had obedience. I know she doesn’t want to rehome the bun, she has 4 kids that are attached to him already. She asked me if I would take him, but you all know the vet bills I deal with, with a certain lop eared fellow, I can’t take in anymore. As far as I know, the bunny is kept in a cage. Not really sure if he has been loose for out time with the dog at all.

[Sarita]

I think when I read your initial post they were considering rehoming the dog not the rabbit – I guess it’s always the rabbit – I hope she can get this worked out.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Oh, sorry, should have made that more clear. Well, the dog was there first to be fair. I hope so too. She just doesn’t want the bunny to get hurt.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh oh I can help!!!

When we brought Mikey home he couldn’t’ have been more interested in the rabbits (as potential meals) and more excitable; and he didn’t listen to a thing we said-he’d really had no training.

We moved up these steps gradually, watching the rabbits and Mikey for signs of stress vs. signs of relaxing and showing interest. Once Mikey could relax enough to listen we were able to progress to the next steps.

1) the bunny room door stayed shut at all times. Mikey had no access. I put towels in the bunny beds and Mikeys’ bed, and swapped them to get them used to scents. At this point sound and smell are only contact. I would put a gate up when I went in to feed-the door is open at this point but gate blocks access-so Mikey can see them but can’t approach. In the beginning, he drooled, focused (on them, not me) and had red eyes. Very pushy and wanting in. As time went on he would sit, listen and stopped with the obsessive focus, time to move on.

2) Entering the rabbit room with a lower barrier (think NIC cubes zipped together) on a leash. We go in, do some tricks (to focus on me and not them) -sit, shake, etc, treats and out. Before he or they become over stimulated. No contact at this point. Keep going until he has more focus (on me) and is calm.

At the same point you work on obedience -sit, down, stay, relax etc. You also want to have the dog respond to your voice (like a horse!) -easy, gentle etc.

3) First contact is on a leash, rabbit approaches dog not the other way around. District dog with cues and expect response (I say sit, he sits, shake etc, while rabbits approach and sniff) -keep this up until both are calm.

From here you can start having the dog loose while being very vigilant to make sure he’s not trying to roll, or play boisterously. If the dog acts boisterous, loses focus (can’t sit/down/shake on command while around) then dog goes out, back up and work through the steps again.

I really never thought from his initial reactions that he could ever really be around them. He’s totally fine, they are totally fine. In fact we had the fire alarm go off (power outage) and he was frightened so he hopped into their pen with them. He seeks them out for comfort-very cute. (They weren’t impressed he tipped the food bowl, but they are very comfortable with him.

[MoxieMeadows]

Kokaneeandkahlua—-I’m totally going to try your tips! my family has dogs, but I’m only going to try with my personal dog for now. I’ll keep you updated!

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