# anyone with dogs/cats and rabbits



## nixie1990 (Jan 28, 2012)

Hi
for anyone with other pets such as cats and dogs, have you made any extra precautions/altered your cage to make your rabbits more safe?
Just wondering if there is anything i can do to make a cage more dog proof?


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## LakeCondo (Jan 28, 2012)

What you need to do depends on the dog or cat. If it's laid back, the dog or cat might need to be protected from the rabbit. If the dog is a hunting dog or the cat is a mouser, it would be difficult to get them to get along.

It also depends on what cage/pen set-up you have.


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## ZRabbits (Jan 28, 2012)

*LakeCondo wrote: *


> What you need to do depends on the dog or cat. If it's laid back, the dog or cat might need to be protected from the rabbit. If the dog is a hunting dog or the cat is a mouser, it would be difficult to get them to get along.
> 
> It also depends on what cage/pen set-up you have.



:yeahthat:


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## Nancy McClelland (Jan 28, 2012)

We have dogs and rabbits, but they never meet up. We use child gates to keep areas separate. The problem is that our small dog is a Great Dane, so it could get traumatic in short order.


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## SunnyCait (Jan 28, 2012)

It really depends on the individual animals involved. Some dogs/cats will be fine with rabbits, some won't, some rabbits will be fine with dogs/cats, some won't. It depends on your pets. Then from there you have to decide which precautions you need to take for your particular needs, and which you don't.

I have two dogs, one is a border collie/golden retriever mix, the other is a chihuahua. Both of them couldn't care less about the rabbits, and aren't penned or seperated when the rabbits are out in the house with us. Some people can't imagine doing that with their dogs. 

Holly (my younger rabbit) LOVES the dogs, she wants to groom Karly (retriever mix) all the time and follows them both around. Hugh is not afraid of the dogs but he doesn't necessarily want them near him, either. If he's out he doesn't seek the dogs out like Holly does and definitely doesn't sleep near them like Holly does. But all of them are very very laid back and mellow, your case might be different if you have a puppy or overly playful / dog with a high prey drive. You have to decide what is right for you, really.


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## JjGoesBounce (Jan 28, 2012)

I found it depends if they've seen a wild rabbit and were allowed to chase it before. My dogs had never seen a rabbit so I introduced them.
A friend's dog came oever and went mad around the rabbit because it was allowed to chase wild ones and thought it was one. Proper introductions will make a world of difference!
Hope this helps!
Jj


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## BertNErnie (Jan 29, 2012)

I have 2 dogs and when my dogs are in the room for bedtime i make sure my bunnys cage is very secure, my dogs and my bunnys are not allowed to meet for safety reasons, for some people they dont have the same problems as me, but i wouldnt trust my dogs around my bunnies.
when my bunnies have their run time i have my special play time with my dogs downstairs 

p.s usually if my bunnies are being loud of a night time my dogs get fed up and go sleep somewhere else!:agree


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## fuzz16 (Jan 29, 2012)

Like others say oft depends on the pets.

My bun free roams during day. He jumps on the dog. Kitten is chased by him, otherwise they hardly awknowledge one another


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## missyscove (Jan 30, 2012)

We had 2 golden retrievers with our buns although they had grown up with a cat and were seniors by the time we had rabbits. They basically ignored the rabbits altogether but the rabbits did sometimes jump on them if they were out together. We never left the dogs alone with the rabbits.


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## jcottonl02 (Jan 30, 2012)

We have seven dogs, and two cats, and did have two bunnies but now only Benji . 

Benji grew up with the dogs when they were puppies and got along really well. Obviously they were completely supervised at all times.

I didn't let the cats near the bunnies, really. Very rarely. Purely because they practise their hunting instinct every day with mice and bats etc. and I can't risk it when they are so tuned up to swipe at a small creature running away.

I would always say: Bunny's home to be in a seperate room to where dogs/cats are allowed, so they can be in quiet and guaranteed safety when you are not there.

Here they are getting along 














Basically: Make sure the NIC cage/cage has a top to it, and keep the bunny's home in a seperate room. Never leave them unsupervised with a dog or cat, no matter how docile the animal. Mine are all the gentlest little things, but I still would never risk it. For example: Alfie, our second eldest dog, the MOST laid back dog in the entire world. Built like a barrell, and all he wants is kisses. Will follow you round the floor, slowly waddling behind you to lick your bare feet. When you move, he just waddles behind and continues licking when he reaches you. He puts up with annnyytthinnggg. But when one of our dogs had a litter.....he hated the puppies and would snap at them if they came near him.
Very odd indeed but it just showed me that you never know how they will react.


Jen


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## LakeCondo (Jan 30, 2012)

Great pictures & great advice, Jen.


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## SunnyCait (Jan 31, 2012)

OT a bit: 

Jen! The bunny in the first picture, what color is he? He's the same color as my Hugh, and I've never seen it before on another rabbit.


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## ZRabbits (Jan 31, 2012)

Love the fact that rabbits get along with most all types of animals.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Excellent advise by the way. I never let Jake go unsupervised when My boys are out. Though Jake is right there making sure they are all OK. He thinks they are his. 

K


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## jcottonl02 (Jan 31, 2012)

Cait: I have no idea!! I adopted him after he had been abandoned so I don't know for sure his breed or colour lol, but I was told in the rabbitry that he looked like a mini lop. Some kind of broken harlequin? I have no clue lol.



Jen


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## Nargle (Feb 3, 2012)

Basil is a 4 year old Papillon mix from a rescue, and he and Butternut, who gets free range most of the day, get along very well. Basil doesn't really care about her and will get up and leave if she hops over to him, lol. Butternut is pretty curious about him but she's decided that he's pretty boring. 

Most dogs except for very large or strong dogs can be separated from the rabbits using a metal exercise pen. We kept Butternut in the pen before she was given free range, now we use them to fence off the off limit areas. If you have a bunny and a dog that don't get along you could try this. However, if you have a dog with a high prey drive who means to eat your bunny, it would probably be best and less stressful for everyone to keep them in separate rooms.


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## MiniLopHop (Feb 3, 2012)

My one cat loves the bunnies to the point I think he believes he IS a bunny. The other cat doesn't care as long as she gets her spot on the bed to sleep.

Andre grooming Indiana Bunns








Andre and Becky taking a nap








Andre sleeping in the hay box






The rabbits are free roam in their rooms (one pair per room) and the cats jump over the baby gates. Andre and Gary love to chase each other every day. I have never seen any indication of fear or aggression on either side. They take turns with who is chasing whom. Lately Becky has started in on the chase as well. Once in a while Victoria will play too, but she's 11 and normally prefers to nap.

Houdini and Cinderella are not as fond of the cats so at first I wouldn't let the cats in their room. Over time they have figured out the cats don't mean any harm and basically ignore them. This week Cinderella has been sick so I shut the cats out as a precaution so she would have the least amount of stress possible.

You have to know your own animals and what is comfortable in your home. :biggrin:


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## BunMommaD (Feb 4, 2012)

We have 2 little dogs Sydney ( a lhasa apso mix) and Charlie (a Maltese mix) and they are very curious and sweet with cookie so far... Yesterday we started letting them hang out without a gate between them... Sydney completely ignores the bun and just was away when he gets close, but she doesn't really like any other animals (not even her brother Charlie) to get close to her... She likes her space! Lol and Charlie is very curious and wants to "play" with cookie... And cookie actually this evening seemed to be "baiting" Charlie to sort of chase him... Running back and forth and I let him for a few minutes because cookie wasn't afraid at all and kept coming back for more lol... But then I stopped it because I really don't want the dogs to get into the habit of chasing buns... Our dogs have these "anxiety" coat things that we put on them when the bun is out... It makes them super calm... So far so good! It's so nice for all 5 of us to be able to just hang out


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