[sarah]

This might need to go in the Lab Chat section but I'm not sure so I'll put it here?

I really want a rabbit. or two.

But a friend of ours has one and when we take Milly there she is so utterly consumed by the creature that it's a bit difficult. She won't leave the rabbit hutch alone, she wants to play with it, it stresses the rabbit out and all her training falls on deaf ears.

So is there any point getting one? Has anyone successfully gotten a rabbit/guinea pig/ferret/hamster etc... with their dog? Obviously the rabbit hutch will be outside and Milly generally has free roam of the backyard while we are at work unless it is pouring rain and awful conditions and then she is left inside.

I worry that we'll come home from work and have a bit of a disaster on our hands. But I also think she's just interested in the rabbit because it's all new and different and maybe she'll 'get over' the excitement after awhile if it's around 24/7 ??

Yes? or am I just stupid to even consider it?

Your help is appreciated!

 

[Garth]

If you get one, DON'T leave the 2 of them unsupervised. When Jo was younger, I had a brown hen. I called her Henry She thought she was a dog & would be loose in the yard & the house with the dogs. The dogs got on really well with her until one day, I went to get her to put her in her pen because I was going out. I found her down the back yard with her head hanging off but still alive. I still don't know if Jo was just playing too rough (and YES he did play with her) or he really did attack her. I knew it was him because he had an incriminating feather hanging out of his mouth.

I rushed her to the vet & her stitched her head back on & she recovered. I thought the vet was joking when he said he could save her but he wasn't. I gave her to one of the vet nurses who already had chooks of her own & she lived happily ever after.

Jo was the most docile dog I ever owned so it just proves anything can happen.

 

[brody]

I agree - if your only way to set them up means they have access to each other (even through chicken wire) pass...
I have lived with (and loved) rabbits and dogs for years - but I take each new dog and introduce them to the rabbit(s) and my dogs cannot get to the rabbits except under DIRECT supervision ... period

 

[Allie]

I think Aim has a bunny.....Petals? Hopefully she'll see this.

Teddy loves rabbits....loves to kill them. I had guinea pigs for awhile and while he was OK left alone with them (they had a big open cage on top of a table) he constantly would sit in front of their cage and droooooooool....lol. He would have happily broken their necks. I think some dogs just have too high of a prey drive to ever get along well with "small and furry" pets. I could never leave Teddy alone in a yard with a rabbit hutch. It wouldn't be fair to either pet.

 

[sarah]

yes ok. You guys are all telling me what I guess I didn't want to hear lol. But I totally understand what you are saying. *sigh*

Do you think keeping the rabbit hutch in our garage would be a problem? Milly definitely has no access to our garage whatsoever during the day. The only thing I am concerned about is whether the rabbit needs alot of sunlight? Any ideas?

thanks again guys!! You always give awesome advice.

cheers
Sarah

 

[brody]

my bunnies are in the basement during the day when unsupervised - I have an x pen for them (well actually a huge dog run but it used to be an xpen) when I am around - the dogs that are good with bunnies come out with the bunnies and me - the dogs that aren't as reliable sit inside and STARE at us - in decent weather I try to get the bunnies out daily but when it's cold or miserable they stay in.

 

[sarah]

Hi Brody

We dont have the luxury of a basement in our home. Our house is very small and we would love to get another dog but there just is not any room. So I was hoping for a pet of much smaller size which is why a rabbit was appealing. Our garage is spacious and warm and our winter's here in Australia are not that harsh but we could have the rabbit inside at night time if required during the winter, that would not be too much of a problem.

What do your bunnies sleep in? I was thinking about having a hutch in the garage and buying a pen for exercise outside during the afternoon when I am at home. Do you think that sounds like an ok setup? I only want to get one if the setup meets their needs of course otherwise I'll forfeit the idea altogether.

cheers
Sarah

 

[kaznalf]

Alfie loves our ferret, he is constantly in his face but theirs no malice plus ferrets bite if he gets too much lol

 

[kelli]

omg.. tuck goes apeshit when he sees the wild bunners in the backyard.. i can't imagine bringing one into my house.

 

[IzzyLucyWillie]

Same here. My crew corners one in the back yard sometimes and it is crazy!

 

[Aim]

We successfully had a rabbit with Tucker. Allie is right- her name was Petals and she was a great little bun. She passed away last year.

But we never left them unsupervised. And when Petals was out of her cage, I would gate Tucker upstairs. We did try to let them out together a couple times, but Tucker's play bows scared the crap out of me around Petals. Rabbits can actually die of fright- so I was really scared that was going to happen. But they interacted through the cage and were both really gentle with each other that way. We didn't have a problem having her in the house with Tuck.

I think MicksMom also has a rabbit.

 

[Trickster]

If you could build a VERY secure hutch/run, so the dog could never get into it, sure it could work.

I'm lucky that I get to play with all the rabbits and guinea pigs at my work so I don't need to have them at home, even if I really love them. I couldn't anyway though because of the dogs. We had to have a Fort Knox style enclousure for our last rabbit because the dogs would have killed her in seconds if they had direct access to the hutch.

 

[Thunders Mom]

Not to burst your bubble, but I guess if the rabbit can't be outside in a hutch vs. in the garage, I wouldn't get. I had rabbits when I was younger and we actually litter boxed trained them so they could be in the house. No dogs at that time.

 

[jzgrlduff]

Why not let Milly in the house during the day when you're not home? It's safer for her anyway. Then you can have the rabbit, just don't let Mills out unsupervised.

 

[Emma the Lab]

I think it should work. Never tried it BUT I'm the kind of person that always think nothing is impossible and never give up. Lots of lots of training. Before you get a rabbit of your own. Teach Milly to behave around your friend's rabbit. Have her on a leash and tell her to lay down and relax in front of the cage. Give her treats and tell her she's a good girl when she does behave. I think this might will take some time, since she's so worked up around rabbits, BUT the important thing is to not give up. And when Milly's more relaxed around the bunny, you could get one of your own. I think Milly will see the rabbit as one of the family then.

I had Guinea pigs around Emma for many years... But that's another story