Rabbits and dogs

[Sweetie]

BertNErnie wrote:

my 2 dogs are abit weiry of the bunnies but i dont trust them to leave them in the room without supervision just in case you never know what might happen and it only needs to happen once.

I agree with this! I have my mom's older cat because the three dogs she and my brother has, killed her other one. See my above post for story about it.

 

[Kizza]

Just to be 100% safe I wouldn't leave them alone together, for a couple of reasons.

As moquimarbl said, you can have them living happily together for a long time then one day it could change for no apparent reason. This happened to my beloved Snowy with my mini foxy. Nikki (my foxy) didn't intend to, but caused her death by chasing and harassing Snowy until her heart gave out from the stress.

Due to the breed of your dogs I wouldn't leave them alone with your bunny, because they are both bred for hunting small animals and it is in their nature, and they are very curious animals. What we think is nothing to worry about might in fact be extremely stressful for bun, and bunnies don't tolerate stress very well.

Also there's no telling what goes on behind closed doors when you aren't there to discipline your dog. So just to be on the safe side I wouldn't do it personally.

Sorry to sound all gloomy about it. Nikki is ok with Rocky she seems to avoid him and not worry too much about him but Rocky is a curious little boy and he might approach her when she doesn't like it, and in that situation she would snap so I just keep them separate

 

[LaylaLop]

I keep my pets all in my room, but my dog and rabbit are never out together without me around. I have a dog x-pen I attach to Layla's cage and she gets to roam around in that and I can leave the room and whatnot and know she isn't getting into cords or at risk of my dog thinking she'd make a good snack. I'd say the predator/prey drives are basic instincts and sometimes you can't fight nature. My dog is well behaved when I'm around, but without me there he'd more likely than not chase her and possibly kill her.

 

[Krissa]

I have an Australian shepherd and I trust her 100% with my rabbits. I also have 3 cats who I trust supervised with my rabbits. When I am not home the rabbits are in their pens.

On that note - you answered your own question - you don't trust your dogs. If there is doubt, don't do it. You know your dogs. I have spent years in obedience training with my dog and as a result I know her and her temperament well. I also did not just throw everyone together at one.

Oh, and Aussies are not bred for hunting. They are a herding breed. They may herd the rabbit, which can scare them, but they are not out to kill the rabbit instinctively. I have noticed that Aussies tend to play with their feet - as in they like to move things with their paws. This can be dangerous to thin bunny skin.