To get a rabbit when I have a dog?

[Bunnyanddog]

NC as it’s fairly clear who I am if anyone knows me. We have a working cocker spaniel who has been castrated and is 5. He’s playful and completely non aggressive. I would like to get a rabbit, I’m just conscious that they can have heart attacks out of fear and I think it would be nice to let the rabbit free in the garden when we are out there, just want to know if anyone else has a rabbit and a dog and what type of dog/how to introduce and if it works?

we had many, many rabbits going up but our house had 2 separate gardens so the dogs (jack Russells) never mixed with them and anyway it’s quite different owning a pet as an adult who has all the responsibility, as opposed to a child who has all the fun 😃

One is a lion head cross and the other we believe to be a nz rabbit.
The dogs were kept away from their hutch/run for a while until the rabbits really settled in. They could see the dogs but were far enough away. Over time the dogs were allowed to get closer to them and after a fairly short period the dogs seemed to accept them as family. They then spent another 9/12 months in the garden together with the rabbits contained bit the dogs would always lie next to the rabbit run. After the rabbits escaped one day and we found them all uneventfully wandering round the garden together we realised they really were happy together and will now let them all out together at times

I had dogs first, got a big black rabbit from the rescue centre. The rabbit lived indoors just as one of the pets from the start, with initially an indoor cage which was used when I wasn't around. The rabbit learned to use the dog flap and came and went as he pleased.

Rabbits can be really territorial though, and if your dog is soft and gentle it's possible that an assertive rabbit could bully or even do some real damage to your dog. Mine would corner me and attack me when I had food, and had a real nasty bite on him. He was such a confident rabbit he'd attack anyone if he thought they had something tasty.

I had a gun dog breed as a child and we had two rabbits. During the day, the rabbits would have free roam of the garden. We were more bothered about Hawks and Foxes than the dog. Our male rabbit was not in the slightest bit phased, the dog would stick his head in the hutch first thing in the morning when we used to feed them. The female rabbit was a lot more timid but I think that's female rabbits in general? She used to spend a lot of time nesting in the bushes and the male rabbit literally skipping all over the garden.

Yeah, pet shop man is talking an embarrassing load of shite. No wonder so many rabbits are so badly looked after in the UK when this is the “advice” their owners receive.

As many others have said, you should only keep them in bonded pairs. A neutered bonded pair should not fight and the behaviour pet shop prat has observed is almost certainly due to a non neutered same sex pair being kept together. Keeping them in a small space also greatly increases the risk of fighting.

I have a group of three completely free ranging house rabbits. They are delightful pets but they are not a starter pet, not suitable for children and should not be taken on lightly as they have complex needs. They should never, ever be kept in a hutch, which is as cruel as keeping a dog in a crate 24/7.

I have no experience of keeping them with a dog but knowing what my three are like I cannot remotely imagine them finding life with a dog bearable. I think they’d be terrified all the time.

My friend has rabbits and a large dog (plus a menagerie of other creatures) it can be done but make sure your dog will be ok

My old neighbour had a pair of rabbits and two dogs. They always played out together in the garden for years, then one morning she heard a commotion and the dogs had killed both rabbits. Its not worth the risk.

I'm a vet, and I also own Working Cockers - 5 of them, all trained gundogs. Keeping a rabbit in the house or garden would absolutely not be fair to them or to the rabbit. The instinct to hunt and retrieve game animals and birds is an important part of the breed - it's what they were designed for.

I also echo what was said above; rabbits should be kept in pairs, and they are prey animals so having a predator species constantly in the vicinity is likely to be highly stressful for them. It's likely to also be extremely frustrating for the dog if it knows they are there and can't get to them. Rabbits are quite high maintenance pets, and they should not be kept with guinea pigs, it's likely to be at best stressful, at worst dangerous for the guinea pig (see link below).

From everything you've said I would avoid that pet shop, as the owner is very misinformed, plus you may not know for sure where he sources the animals from. Animals sold in pet shops are often poorly bred and reared in less than ideal conditions. There are reputable, knowledgeable small animal breeders and rescue organisations out there who are a better source of advice.

www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/rabbits/company/rabbitsandguineapigs

We have a pug and he is brilliant with our guinea pigs. He doesn't chase them, even though they are in a low-fenced enclosure that he could easily jump over - he doesn't try to jump it. We also had a rabbit stay with us for a week and he was super calm and friendly to the rabbit too. The rabbit was scared when she saw him initially, but quickly got used to having him in the house. I wouldn't leave them alone unsupervised though and the (indoor) rabbit had her own room.

I wouldn't risk it with a working cocker though.

I have a dog, but hate people wanting to adopt and the dogs are unsuitable to be homed with cats. I don't know how I would improve my dog to be around a cat or rabbit because I think instinctively he would rip them to shreds of they are on his land.

Just NO

Guys thanks so much for all the advice and opinions/sharing your experiences - really appreciate it!

I had a rescue Dalmatian, 3 cats and 2 large breed rescue rabbits (had other rabbits over the years too).

There are a lot of posters posting things as facts when they're really not facts and there are always exceptions.

We never used hutches or cages, our rabbits have always had a very large walk in gated enclosure in the garage (never used for a car), they would also often come into the house, and they had access to the enclosed garden too.

Ours could not have been better friends or better bonded. We helped with dozens of rescues and I did lots of work with the local vet and rescue. I'm absolutely aware of Rabbit body language (and other animal). The rabbits would actively seek out the dog/cats. The rabbits would lie next to them to sleep, they used to lick and groom them. Never any chasing from either side, in fact the only stamping/aggression I ever saw was between the rabbits when initially bonding them.

Certain dogs will always be a hard NO. But many will live alongside each other very happily with an experienced owner who has the time to put the effort in to bond them.

My dog was a damatian as well. We had to find the rabbit a new home after we found the puppy carrying him around on his mouth.

perhaps they would have become friends but looking at the distress of the rabbit we thought it was better not to risk it.

It is not that people are saying things as facts, they are talking about likelihood.