New Member

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Hi there. I'm from Manitoba Canada .
First time bunny owner.
We got a 2 year old neutered male named Peter ( Peety).
He is a beautiful mini Rex.
I did a lot of research before making the decision to incorporate a rabbit into our family.
I am retired. My husband works full time and we have a 2 year old Standard Poodle.
I'm very much looking forward to reading everyone's posts.

 

[Blue eyes]

Welcome to the forum!

Cute bun! Would love to see more photos. (His fur doesn't look like rex fur in the photo.)

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Welcome to the forum!

Cute bun! Would love to see more photos. (His fur doesn't look like rex fur in the photo.)

Thankyou.

Yes, I was wondering about that.
When I researched the breed, in comparison, his fur didn't seem to match the descriptions.

We picked him up at a Humane

Society in our province.

I know he has the longer ears compared to other breeds.

He weighs about 4 lbs.

Any guesses as to his breeds?

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Thankyou.

Yes, I was wondering about that.
When I researched the breed, in comparison, his fur didn't seem to match the descriptions.

We picked him up at a Humane

Society in our province.

I know he has the longer ears compared to other breeds.

He weighs about 4 lbs.

Any guesses as to his breeds?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

See some N Dwarf in the face and ears and maybe some Lion in the back fur--definitely a mix and not a Rex--very cute though. All of ours have been rescues, so happy and healthy is our goal.

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

See some N Dwarf in the face and ears and maybe some Lion in the back fur--definitely a mix and not a Rex--very cute though. All of ours have been rescues, so happy and healthy is our goal.

Thankyou so much for this response.
I'm going to check this out!

 

[Jocee]

Hello and welcome

he's a cutie, he's almost the same colouration/torte colour as my Bun.
I think he definitely is a mix, I don't doubt he has some rex, as his ears do look like they have the rex gene, and like Nancy said it seems he has some N Dwarf look in his face and maybe in his ears.

When they are a mix and you have rescued/adopted them, sometimes its hard to know as rabbits sometimes can be difficult to distinguish their different genes when they are mixed.
Unlike dogs or cats even, rabbits are a bit more difficult.

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Hello and welcome

he's a cutie, he's almost the same colouration/torte colour as my Bun.
I think he definitely is a mix, I don't doubt he has some rex, as his ears do look like they have the rex gene, and like Nancy said it seems he has some N Dwarf look in his face and maybe in his ears.

When they are a mix and you have rescued/adopted them, sometimes its hard to know as rabbits sometimes can be difficult to distinguish their different genes when they are mixed.
Unlike dogs or cats even, rabbits are a bit more difficult.

Thanks so much for your feedback.

I am now going to send out an SOS.

Peter was good this morning.
I am doing clicker training with him

I gave him about 1/4 of a peeled banana over the course of about 20 minutes.

I was out for a few hours, Peter in his X pen when I go out.

When I got home I found him in his sand box...rabbit safe, and I thought he was sleeping as the minute he hears or sees me, he comes running.

He is not moving.
He is allowing me to pet him .

He is not vibrating or grinding his teeth.

I had ordered some Oxbow Critical Care and it arrived today.

As soon as my husband gets home I will attempt to pick him up a d palate his abdomen.

Also check for any obvious injuries.

I have been very diligent to ensure safe living quarters for him

I feel just sick thinking he is ill.

Any suggestions?

I have and will again Google.

Thankyou

 

[Blue eyes]

Best to start a new thread under Health & Wellness for this.

Has he had banana in the past? New foods should be introduced very slowly and only a little bit at a time.

If he has had banana before, one-fourth of a banana is still quite a bit of sugar all at once. Generally, no more than a 1" slice should be given on any given day. That's assuming he had already been slowly introduced to banana.

Here's some further info on treats in general:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/treats.html

In the meantime, try to get him to eat hay. Hay pushes everything through his gut if his tummy is upset from the sugar.

Baby gas drops would be my first go-to before critical care. You can give him some baby gas drops just to make his tummy feel better. That may get him to eat hay then.

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Best to start a new thread under Health & Wellness for this.

Has he had banana in the past? New foods should be introduced very slowly and only a little bit at a time.

If he has had banana before, one-fourth of a banana is still quite a bit of sugar all at once. Generally, no more than a 1" slice should be given on any given day. That's assuming he had already been slowly introduced to banana.

Here's some further info on treats in general:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/treats.html

In the meantime, try to get him to eat hay. Hay pushes everything through his gut if his tummy is upset from the sugar.

Baby gas drops would be my first go-to before critical care. You can give him some baby gas drops just to make his tummy feel better. That may get him to eat hay then.

Thank you SO SO much.
Yes, he has had banana before.
No tummy gurgling or tight, hard abdomen.

The baby drops I bought were alcohol free. Just fennel and bicarbonate.
Then I read it is Simethecone they need so did not give.

Syringed some water and critical care but it was so thick.
Ended up smearing all over his face.

However after a whole we made him do some hopping to return to his home and then started washing his face.

It is over a 2 hour drive to the nearest rabbit vet but will do in the morning.

Thanks so very much for your response.

Donna

 

[LassieBunBun]

Welcome to the forum! He is so stinkin' cute!

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Welcome to the forum! He is so stinkin' cute!

Peety and Hiro are peacefully coexisting. However not physically in contact. Fingers crossed that in time they will be friends.

 

[So Sad]

Peety and Hiro are peacefully coexisting. However not physically in contact. Fingers crossed that in time they will be friends.

How do you begin introducing bunny to dog? I have a 10 lb greyhuahua. Thanks

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

I followed the steps given on rabbit forums.
We do no not have a sight hound thankfully.
We got this amazing dog when he was 10 weeks old.
From the very beginning we taught him that deer "are good. No bark" we live in an amazing hamlet in Manitoba where the deer come through our property every evening.

We kept reinforcing the "No Bark " policy.

When we got our rabbit we set up his living quarters in our living room because thats where we spend the majority of our time.

the very first time we let our dog in the room, we had him on his leash.
we walked him to the pen and had him " lie down. Stay. No bark"

He was super excited, his body vibrating so we immediately walked him to the other side of the room.
We continued leading the dog over to the pen and getting him to lay down.

After a few days he would approach the pen on his own and immediately lay down. The bunny was very curious and did not show any signs of fear.
Eventually they would come nose to nose
through the pen.

We repeatedly said " Peety is good. No bark"

The dog saw me sitting in the pen with the rabbit a few times each day. I always was calm and spoke in a gentle manner to the rabbit.
The first time we let the rabbit free roam, my husband sat on the couch with the dog, petting him while we quietly watched the rabbit explore.
Now our rabbit free roams whenever we are there to supervise. We have never and will never leave the room while both animals are loose. The rabbit desperately wants to make physical contact with the dog but our dog is nervous of the rabbit.
When the dog was still a puppy, my dad's mini pinscher went after him and it has left Hiro very wary of little dogs.

It took weeks for this to happen. I think the dogs breed plays a big role in it.

Are they sight hound or smell hound, retrievers etc.
A greyhound cross could be very tricky.

good luck

How do you begin introducing bunny to dog? I have a 10 lb greyhuahua. Thanks

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Early days of the introduction

 

[So Sad]

I followed the steps given on rabbit forums.
We do no not have a sight hound thankfully.
We got this amazing dog when he was 10 weeks old.
From the very beginning we taught him that deer "are good. No bark" we live in an amazing hamlet in Manitoba where the deer come through our property every evening.

We kept reinforcing the "No Bark " policy.

When we got our rabbit we set up his living quarters in our living room because thats where we spend the majority of our time.

the very first time we let our dog in the room, we had him on his leash.
we walked him to the pen and had him " lie down. Stay. No bark"

He was super excited, his body vibrating so we immediately walked him to the other side of the room.
We continued leading the dog over to the pen and getting him to lay down.

After a few days he would approach the pen on his own and immediately lay down. The bunny was very curious and did not show any signs of fear.
Eventually they would come nose to nose
through the pen.

We repeatedly said " Peety is good. No bark"

The dog saw me sitting in the pen with the rabbit a few times each day. I always was calm and spoke in a gentle manner to the rabbit.
The first time we let the rabbit free roam, my husband sat on the couch with the dog, petting him while we quietly watched the rabbit explore.
Now our rabbit free roams whenever we are there to supervise. We have never and will never leave the room while both animals are loose. The rabbit desperately wants to make physical contact with the dog but our dog is nervous of the rabbit.
When the dog was still a puppy, my dad's mini pinscher went after him and it has left Hiro very wary of little dogs.

It took weeks for this to happen. I think the dogs breed plays a big role in it.

Are they sight hound or smell hound, retrievers etc.
A greyhound cross could be very tricky.

good luck

I followed the steps given on rabbit forums.
We do no not have a sight hound thankfully.
We got this amazing dog when he was 10 weeks old.
From the very beginning we taught him that deer "are good. No bark" we live in an amazing hamlet in Manitoba where the deer come through our property every evening.

We kept reinforcing the "No Bark " policy.

When we got our rabbit we set up his living quarters in our living room because thats where we spend the majority of our time.

the very first time we let our dog in the room, we had him on his leash.
we walked him to the pen and had him " lie down. Stay. No bark"

He was super excited, his body vibrating so we immediately walked him to the other side of the room.
We continued leading the dog over to the pen and getting him to lay down.

After a few days he would approach the pen on his own and immediately lay down. The bunny was very curious and did not show any signs of fear.
Eventually they would come nose to nose
through the pen.

We repeatedly said " Peety is good. No bark"

The dog saw me sitting in the pen with the rabbit a few times each day. I always was calm and spoke in a gentle manner to the rabbit.
The first time we let the rabbit free roam, my husband sat on the couch with the dog, petting him while we quietly watched the rabbit explore.
Now our rabbit free roams whenever we are there to supervise. We have never and will never leave the room while both animals are loose. The rabbit desperately wants to make physical contact with the dog but our dog is nervous of the rabbit.
When the dog was still a puppy, my dad's mini pinscher went after him and it has left Hiro very wary of little dogs.

It took weeks for this to happen. I think the dogs breed plays a big role in it.

Are they sight hound or smell hound, retrievers etc.
A greyhound cross could be very tricky.

good luck

Wow! Your reply is so thourough. Thanks so much. I bunny sat for a week. Unfortunately the owner didn't allow me to take it out of the cage even if my dog wasn't there. My dog and the bunny kept sniffing each other through the cage but sometimes my dog barked at it. I think he was jealous. Sounds like it is not a good idea to have a bunny and sight dog together?

 

[So Sad]

Peety and Hiro are peacefully coexisting. However not physically in contact. Fingers crossed that in time they will be friends.

Adorable!

 

[So Sad]

Early days of the introduction

Adorable!

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Wow! Your reply is so thourough. Thanks so much. I bunny sat for a week. Unfortunately the owner didn't allow me to take it out of the cage even if my dog wasn't there. My dog and the bunny kept sniffing each other through the cage but sometimes my dog barked at it. I think he was jealous. Sounds like it is not a good idea to have a bunny and sight dog together?

I'm sure there are far more knowledgeable people out there.
I personally would be very cautious as when bunnies are free they zoom around at lightning speed! Lol.
It could very well trigger the dogs natural proclivity to chase.

Maybe Google 'pet rabbits and sight hound dogs'?

Good luck

 

[Blue eyes]

@New2RabbitsDonna63 , you had some good instincts for introducing your poodle to your rabbit.

For further info on dogs & rabbits (either for you or for @So Sad), check out the following...
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/rabbits-with-dogs.html