I have a 5 year old Jack Russell. We have just purchased 2 mini lop rabbitts. My JR is desperately trying to get to them, always panting and crying and frantically scratching at the door. The hutch is in the garden and it has a run, the rabbitts have free reign over the run during the day when we are in. But I have to keep my JR inside as the minute I let him out he's straight for the hutch and trying to get at the rabbitts

I tried to coax him in earlier as he had his face as near to the hutch as he could and he snarled at me when I tried to pull him inside.

Can they ever get along aor have I got to put up with the CONSTANT, panting, crying, barking and scratching at the door?

Mr Chick tried to introduce the dog to the rabbitt, he had a long sniff then went for it. This was against my wishes as the dog was clearly aggitated.

What do I do?

Jack Russell's are terriers and terriers will see rabbits as prey. It's the law of nature. TBH I think it's not fair to your JR to have dinner in a cage where he can't get at it.

As he is 5 yrs old it will be difficult for him to adjust as stated terriers as born to hunt and have very high prey drive, I have a terrier myself and I cant imagine him being to happy to suddenly find some rabbits in the garden after being used to giving chase to them for years! It must be confusing for the dog. Don't have then in their run when the dog is having his time in the garden, divide their time and praise the dog when he comes away from the hutch, high praise. As it is early days he may get used to it but may not. You could try clicker training with him, so he may get to understand that 'AWAY' followed by the sound of the clicker means if he listens he gets a high reward treat.

Little bunnies = moving targets = much fun for doggies!!

Seriously though, think you are going to have your work cut out for you. My greyhound has killed a rabbit and a squirrel in the last 2 weeks, once he catches sight of one he's off and there is no stopping him. Cant shout at him too much as he was trained to chase for 5 years and i dont think he will change his ways anytime soon.

You have a very high prey drive terrier to ask him to ignore what he was bred to kill really is too much IMO. You may have had some sucess if he had been 8 weeks old when he met them but even then I would never have trusted him alone with them.

The problem is introducing the rabbits to the dog's territory rather than the other way round. Our terrier ignores our guinea pig because we already had guinea pigs when we got the dog.

exactly this just like putting vodka in front of an alcoholic, what do you expect him to do it's in his nature his very breeding even if he has never acted on the impulse it is there in his DNA, so make sure the rabbits are very secure he ,ay learn to ignore them but if they escape there will be no doubts that he will kill them

My mum used to have the same problem with her old JR Gizmo, but with our pet rats instead (as the are naturally "ratters"). She would always be up at the cage staring in at them, trying to dig her way in, panting away and squealing. We just used to have to keep telling her "no" or saying her name firmly and trying to distract her as much as we could until she got the hint, Eventually it worked and she settled down, but it took a while.

I had a house rabbit (he died aged 9 last year) and when I had to move back into my parents for financial reasons he came with me. He lived in a big cage in my bedroom, the dog never really "got used to him" in the time the bunny was still alive. I only had to creak the floor where the cage was, and the dog would come belting up the stairs and glare at the cage. When I first moved back, he would scratch and whine at the cage, and sit right next to the cage when I was in the bedroom.

Where I lived previously, there was a labrador, who would play quite happily with the dog (they could be let out together) and so the bunny (who was blind) was used to the smell of dogs, and didn't bat an eyelid at the dogs antics.

I could never let the rabbit out when the dog was in the house, because it was just too stressful for the dog (he did all of the above if I shut the bedroom door and he couldn't get in) the bunny had to get out and about when the dog was elsewhere (out for a walk etc)

Its in the dogs genes though, and in my experience it didn't get any easier, over time he stopped sitting next to the cage, but would still run up the stairs if he could hear I was next to or near the bunnies cage.

I think you should be more worried about your rabbits. As prey animals they will be absolutely terrified when your dog is trying to get at them, so frightened that they could have a heart attack and die.


Stop worrying about yourself and keep your dog under control; it's terrorising your buns!

I agree, get rid of the dog or get it under control, It's scaring the rabbits to death. That much stress may be too much for them to take, it'll effect their health, maybe not immediately, but over time, it will. It's not fair on them.

tbh i would say take the rabbits back, rather than get rid of the dog - last in, first out.
the dog is 5 years old.

if the rabbits know that they're safe, as in they know the dog can't get past the barrier between them and him, then they will soon become used to the dogs behaviour and not worry about it, but this is a double edged sword - if the dog were to get in, the rabbits wouldn't stand a chance.

unfortunately it seems like the JRT hasn't been brought up around rabbits from puppyhood, so he doesn't know any different, he sees them as prey, and if it is a constant effort to get to them, it will likely be very difficult to curb his behaviour towards them.

if it were me, i would re-home the rabbits. it's the easiest solution in this case.

it's unfortunate, but both sets of animals will be distressed in this case, it's best to give the rabbits up to a better suited home to calm both them, and the dog

I am sorry but it's people like the OP that make my blood boil. Which idiot buys baby rabbits when they already own dogs? Surely you would do some homework before taking another pet? Or is it just me lol

No it's not just you Simon...buying rabbits when you have a terrier is one of the daftest things I've heard!

Why have a hunting dog and rabbits? Some people really should not have pets.

I never know if this is the OP trolling to get a reaction or not, but it makes me so angry that they are some uneducated people about who have no idea about hunter and prey and really should not have animals if they are too stupid to work out basic natural concepts.