Aggressive Rabbit (dog smell)

Rose_414 · Feb 20, 2019

I have a close friend with two dogs. When I visit her house and return home, my rabbit runs off and stomps her foot multiple times. She doesn’t seem pleased at all and won’t go near me.

I had my mum over today who had just come from a house with a dog and she was extremely aggressive towards my Mum. She lunged at her multiple times with her tail in the air and basically chased her out the room!

Has anyone else had this? Is there anything I can do? I don’t want her to feel another animal is invading her territory but i want to be able to invite people who own a dog over to my home!

Thanks in advance.

Blue eyes · Feb 20, 2019

How old is she and how long have you had her?

JBun · Feb 21, 2019

Rabbits are very sensitive to smell and if your rabbit isn't used to dogs or dog smells, then it's natural for her to react defensively, as the smell would make her nervous or maybe even scared.

You could try seeing if you can distract her with her favorite healthy treats, veggies, or greens, and maybe that will be enough to train her to associate dog smell with something good(treats). But if that doesn't work, really all you can do is change clothes and wash hands after being around a dog. You may even need to shower/bath first as well.

You could also work on desensitizing her to dog smell. Which would involve exposing your rabbit to the smell so your bun gets used to it and no longer sees it as a threat. You may be able to accomplish this by getting some blankets or towels with the dogs smell on them and keeping them in or near your rabbits area, or you may need to do it slowly a little at a time. Then your rabbit can get used to the smell and realize it's no threat to her. But this could also elicit a negative reaction such as fear, increased aggression, loss of litter training, and/or increased marking behavior. I don't really have experience with this so you will want to do some research on how to go about best doing this. You also want to make sure the dog isn't a carrier of any parasites that you might be transferring to your rabbit.

And if your rabbit isn't spayed, spaying her could possibly help, but it may not help much or at all as well.

Blue eyes · Feb 22, 2019

Are you absolutely sure it has to do with the dogs or could it be that she's turning hormonal and is reacting aggressively period? Is it just coincidence? Maybe it has nothing to do with dogs but she is just protesting because you left. Maybe she is jealous of visitors.

.... just a possible thought which is why I asked if she's spayed.

Preitler · Feb 22, 2019

Hm, none of my rabbits ever cared about dog, cat, or whatever smell at all, actually, the only smells they seem to care about come from other rabbits.

Even if it's the smell that upsets her - they learn very quickly if it's a real threat or not, I would try to combine the smell, or a dog (that behaves, and doesn't show interest in the rabbit) with treats. It's not like the smell is ingrained as evil in their genes.
I would consider Blue Eyes theory quite plausible too. Here, spring is around the corner, and they definitly are affected by that.

Rose_414 · Feb 28, 2019

She is nearly 3 years old and is spayed- still has a very sassy personality.

Thank you they are all good points. There is a definite link between my friends dogs and her reaction. I get it every time. However I do know others that have dogs which don’t seem to bother her so much.

JBun · Feb 28, 2019

Maybe she just doesn't like the smell of those particular dogs. That can happen with rabbits. They can just take a disliking to one particular animal, or even person for that matter.