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INTRODUCING OTHER PETS
A primary consideration when deciding whether or not to adopt a house
rabbit is the other non-human animals in your life and how everyone
will (eventually) get along. As mentioned in the Getting Started
pages of this website, there are certain breeds of dog that have been
bred to hunt rabbits. (Some are even trained to reinforce that
breeding.) These breeds of dog may not be the best match for a house
rabbit.
For example, our neighbor hunts for
rabbits as well as other wild game
with his two beagles. He would probably not be the best candidate to
share his home with a bunny. Cats also have a natural instinct to hunt
smaller animals such as rabbits. All of these factors must be taken
seriously. Additionally, some rabbits can be so frightened by other
animals that it can be life threatening to the bunny.
However, if approached carefully and SLOWLY, friendships between your
bunny rabbit and other pets are definitely possible. Below is an
account of the process we used introducing our lab-shepherd mix dog
Cindy to Buns the Dutch rabbit as well as introducing our two short-
hair cats Sizzle and Chance to Buns. We're happy to say that after
about a month or so of training, everyone now gets along very
respectfully!
When Cindy met Buns…..
Buns arrived to his new home in late November and was kept for the
first month mainly in the room where his cage was located with the
door closed at all times. Cindy-a 3 year old quite rambunctious
dog-was curious about the new furry arrival. After a few days, we
allowed Cindy in Buns' room with her leash on and held by an adult.
Buns stayed in his cage upon this first meeting and only hid behind
his Igloo part of the time. While laying down and calm, Cindy was
allowed to sniff Buns' cage and-when he chose to come forward-to
share sniffs with Buns through the cage. When Cindy got too excited
and lunged towards the cage, she was immediately pulled away, told to
"settle" and was not allowed to approach the cage again until she was
calm. We repeated this process a couple of times a day for short
periods of time for a few days.
We moved on with the process as Buns was out and about in his room.
Again, Cindy was kept on her leash which was held by an adult. This
time we had dog treats on hand for positive reinforcement. Buns was
allowed to take the lead, which he did by quite nonchalantly coming
over and sniffing at Cindy. We kept Cindy on a pretty short leash
and taught her the command "gentle" telling her that the bunny is her
friend and you don't eat the bunny. As she began to keep her
excitement under control more and more, she got a treat with the
"gentle" command.
Over time we were able to allow her to be
in the room with Buns without her leash on still teaching the "gentle"
command. Then, as Buns' roaming space expanded over time, we'd only
allow Cindy supervised time in the room with Buns. (Baby gates were
really helpful to separate pets in this stage of training.) Today they
get along very well. There are times when Cindy is feeling
playful and will come at Buns in an attempt to encourage him to play
(as she does with the cats). At these times, we just redirect her,
reminding her to be gentle.
When Sizzle and Chance met Buns…..
Training our feisty middle aged cats to share their home with Buns
required a different process than training Cindy. As you may know,
cats have minds of their own for sure and the simpler command and
treat system just doesn't work with them. We did however keep to the
same theory of slow and gradual exposure of cats and rabbit as with
the dog and rabbit.
During that initial month when Buns was
only exploring the room where his cage was located, we'd bring in one
cat at a time to meet him. Similarly,
the first meetings between bunny and cats were when Buns was in his
cage. Later meetings occurred when he was out and about in his room. We
made sure we were giving the cat in the room with Buns plenty of loving
attention
but also had a squirt bottle of water on hand in case verbal redirection
did
not work. Amazingly, we found that the cats were initially afraid of the
bunny rabbit! Chance literally ran for the door when Buns approached
him for a curious sniff.
However, after this fear subsided, we'd notice the cats stalk Buns
occasionally. This underscores the need for supervision with your
bunny rabbit and other pets-especially at first, but even as they
grow used to each other. Today, it is rare that either Sizzle or
Chance will stalk Buns.
Though on a recent morning, while Buns
was doing his joyful leaping laps through our living room in the
morning, Sizzle grew quite interested. We watched as she leaped onto a
chair for a better look and had squirt bottle
at the ready as her tail twitched and she assumed a crouching position.
Of course, we dampened her day with a few squirts of water and the
reminder
that Buns is a member of the family and not a plaything! Buns seemed
quite
unaffected by the whole encounter as he searched for a nice place to
nap.
In general, Buns' attitude with regard to our other pets is rather
laid back and even bold at times. He does not seem to be scared of
them most of the time. This may not necessarily be the attitude of
other house rabbits. However, the process of gradual and slow
training of your other pets will ease the integration of your new
bunny. May your family be as happy as ou
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