Caged Rabbits + Dogs...?

[LadyBug]

(Background info in italics, feel free to skip!) Hi! Some of you may remember me, my name is Anna and I was quite active on this forum several years ago when I'd first gotten my holland lop Jamie before school took over my life!

Well, unfortunately, Jamie hasn't been seeing much of me either, and after much soul-searching I've been looking for a new home for him where he'll get more attention, because he's a lap-bunny and I've developed an allergy, in addition to being so busy the last few years with high school and now next fall, college. I want to make sure he goes to the best possible home, and so I'm vigorously screening everyone who has talked to me about him(I think I'm approaching number ten here!)

The actual question:
We have cats, but not dogs, and I'm wondering if bunnies are okay living with dogs, assuming they're not aggressive and do not continually harass the bun, in their cages with the dogs wandering past(ie, the buns caged/playpened in the house and the dogs loose but unable to reach/harm the bun.)

Any input would be greatly appreciated:big kiss:!

 

[missyscove]

When we first got rabbits we had 2 golden retrievers who were great with the rabbits. I'm now living with roommates and my rabbits and I keep my rabbits in my bedroom. One of my roommates has a dog and another fosters dogs. Picasso is great with the buns and just sits quietly while they hop around him. Some of the fosters have been okay with the dogs and others too excited by them, but I'd just close my bedroom door. The rabbits and the dogs are never left alone together with the rabbits out of their cage, but in general everybody gets along well.

 

[Pipsqueak]

It should be fine, I have one dog that is very sweet to the bunnies, I think he feels like it's a baby and he should be careful with it, the others mainly just ignore them.

 

[curiouscarrot]

It would depend on the bunny and the dogs, I think. I have just adopted 2 bunnies and my small dogs were interested in them when they arrived, but not overly so (ie trying to get at them, barking at them incessantly, etc). My dogs are not ones with strong chase/retrieving/hunting traits. They are used to other animals about and have been trained. The bunnies had also been exposed to dogs and cats at their first home so they weren't totally freaked out by the introductions. I can have the door down on the hutch and be feeding and patting the bunnies and the dogs don't try to do anything, they just wander about looking at other stuff, they are not focussed on the bunnies at all. Also, I'm on my own, so I can be assured that the hutch won't be inadvertently left open or kids letting the rabbits out to play without regard to the dogs. I know my dogs and I'm not worried. I've got 2 budgies inside and they've never shown them the slightest interest. I'd not consider letting a dog with a strong prey drive wander about unsupervised near a hutch with bunnies.

If I were you, I wouldn't exclude people with dogs, but screen them to suss out whether they are clueless or not, and whether their arrangements and circumstances are appropriate. You might need to approach it on a trial basis, so if the introductions indicate a problem, you have him back.

 

[Zeroshero]

Depends on the breed of dog, I think any sight hounds (greyhounds, whippets, afghans etc) would be a big no. They have been bred for extreme prey drive and It doesn't matter how docile they seem to be once they "turn on" they are quick and extremely strong. Depends also on how experienced the person is with rabbits and with their dog. If they are able to keep them separate it could work. I have a five lb Chihuahua she basically ignored Zero from the time I got him. They both ended up under my bed and she "corrected" Zero for sniffing her which is totally unacceptable. Thank goodness it was her and not a larger dog, but she still could have injured him.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

It depends on the breed and just how the dog is. I know some dogs love bunnies and play with them. And others try to harm them. It all depends on the dog. And like the above poster said, it depends on the breed too.

 

[PaGal]

It would depend on the dog as well as the owner.

My dog and bun like each other and get along. They are only allowed together with supervision though not because I feel my dog would attack my bun, he likes animals and see them as a friend to play with but simply because my dog is large and could hurt the bun if he got too playful.

 

[Lorelei]

My mother's Pomeranian gets along fine with Sugar, but then he barely outweighs the bunny by maybe a pound. We had a Whippet that was absolutely bombproof with small pets; you could put birds and hamsters right on her head and she didn't care. However, my Pekingese was not remotely safe...he tried to eat my pet mice, and I once had to pry a dwarf hamster out of his mouth (the hamster was soggy and shaken but otherwise fine). I have no idea how he would have been around a rabbit, since I got Sugar right after he died, but I would err on the side of not very good. My dog experience in general is limited to small-to-medium breeds, but I would take it on a case-by-case basis.

 

[LadyBug]

Thank you for all the replies!

Everyone I've spoken to has said they plan to keep the dogs away from Jamie/put them up if he's loose and keep them in separate rooms while they're gone. I was just worried about having him caged in a house with loose dogs since that's something I haven't done, and I've never had dogs, so I don't even have that frame of reference.

Thanks again for all the feedback, it's really helpful!

 

[curiouscarrot]

If you get some "possibles", get them to bring their dog over to your place so you can see how Jamie reacts and whether the dog concerned "tries to get him" or is just "he's new, that's interesting, but meh" and how disciplined the dog is with its owners. A dog that takes it in its stride and obeys commands would be less of a worry to me than an over-excited "mad" dog going crazy over the bunny whose owners have little control. As mentioned, it depends on the dog, Jamie and the people so I'd want to suss out as much as possible before letting him go.