My poor rabbit- how to introduce him to my crazy puppy?

[kartik prabhu]

My puppy is 4 months old, and he is really active. Today, I decided to tie my dog up, and let my bunny play on the floor infront of him. He had a chew toy, and showed no interest in the rabbit, until he noticed him. He jumped and strained on his leash. My poor rabbit got so scared, he wet himself How do I get them to be friends?
You guys say don't try it, but I cant hide my dog whenever I let my bunny out can I? Is there really no way?
God JoJo, bit smug aren't we. Don't you see how it will be beneficial for both parties to get along? This way, my dog will be tied up more, and my bunny will be in his hutch more. You said in your other post that they can get along if raised together. Well Max is only 4 months old, not exactly an adult

 

[Tibsy Tricks]

I'd let them get used to each other with your bunny in the safety of the hutch - and then from the safety of your lap. Like the others I wouldn't trust them alone together, but I also wouldn’t rule out them forming a really close bond, especially since your dog is still young. Many bonds have been formed by the oddest of matches and there’s no reason that your rabbit and dog wouldn’t become close buddies.

When I was a kid I recued a baby bird. She took to me like I was her mother and lived in an open box rather than a cage. I’d walk around the house with her on my shoulder and she’d hang out and watch TV and hop around. We had a dog then too who was very curious but also very nurturing; My little bird often used to sit on the dog and the dog seemed to love it.

I’d give them time and spend a lot of time yourself at the hutch where you dog can see and stiff but bunny is safe. Make it clear to your dog (by the amount of time that you spend with bunny) that he/she is a member of the family. But do start now…. The older your puppy gets the harder it will be.

And if things don’t progress or your dog ends up wanting to kill bunny then get a trainer in who understand and knows how to properly train with the Fisher Disc system and use that. That way even though you’ll keep them separated you’ll know that bunny will be safe just in case… I had to resort to using them for my rescue dog who literally wanted to kill my cat – it was ferocious and quite frightening to see a dog really really going for something like that (I did have him muzzled until all got sorted out of course). They are now best friends…. But you do need someone who know s how to train the discs first – if you don’t do the pre-training, then you won’t have the same effect – it’ll be just like shaking a can of coins (a bit shocking at first but then you get used to it and it has no effect…)

Good luck!

 

[JoJo]

See the answers to a similar question asked previously
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ao2f.tdfQQHPnSlk_OIlQ0ggBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20110827144046AAWQzKf

And..yes you CAN shut your dog away whenever you let your rabbit out.
There is NO other way.

Ok...So you think I am smug..fair enough. The choice is yours. We can only advise. In my opinion its best to be safe than sorry. Good Luck.

Add: How old is the rabbit though? The pup may be young but if the rabbit isn`t it will be harder to get it used to a predator. You said yourself that the rabbit was so frightened it wet itself. Imagine its terror?
Do you really want to put your rabbit through all this stress? ? Hope it all works out though for the bunnys sake.

 

[College Girl:)]

Don't do it. You'll just cause stress to your rabbit, and you'll get your puppy more anxious to attack the rabbit. It would've been easier if the puppy was younger but now the puppy's instincts are forming and its a bit too late. Same thing with me, I got a 4 month old cat and he is so curious and I had to put my hamster cage above in my closet to prevent my cat from attacking it. So please don't even try.

 

[Andrea]

Before introducing them, take your dog for a walk. Really drain his energy. After your dog is good and tired, hold your rabbit up and let the dog sniff from underneath (like holding a baby). Dont let the dog jump up and make sure he stays calm. Keep your dog on the leash and let the rabbit out on the floor...any time your dog starts to fixate on the rabbit or try to get at the rabbit, correct him. You have to know your dog and you have to correct him at the right time, dont wait for him to go after the rabbit to try and correct, make sure you correct as he starts fixating!