Had a situation last night. Thankfully nothing happened. As a bunny owner, I think it be cute to let all dogs sniff my bunnies, but I know rabbits are prey animals and dogs are hunters so I just keep that in mind.
But I take my bunnies to the shopping center in a stroller. A couple with two large dogs (like pitbulls) were complimenting my bunnies. They seem like nice people and in a perfect world I would let every single dog smell my bunnies. They asked if the dogs can smell my bunnies, and I had to say no, but it was hard to do so b/c I don't like making people feel bad for having big dogs, especially since some people rescue pitbulls mean well. But thankfully they understood and took the dogs away even though they loved their dogs, and I didn't enjoy saying no because I like dogs too. But I think it was a good call on both of us to not let the dogs sniff the bunnies.
I have other encounters with other people with large dogs who see my bunnies. And most of them seem to know their dogs well and won't think its cute to let them sniff a rabbit.
But how do Pitbull owners react if another owner w/ a toy breed dog doesn't feel comfortable with a large pitbull smelling their dog? Since that's something that may happen more often than a pitbull seeing a bunny. For me its because dogs are predators and bunnies are prey animals so I am cautious when dog owners (w/ their dogs) want to see my bunnies. My bunnies don't seem to be very scared of dogs, but I don't want something where the bunny gets spooked knowing its prey and the dog's hunting instinct kicks in when it realizes its the predator. I would assume it be very hard to control a dog if its hunting instinct kicked in, I don't know what kind of training would be required to stop a dog when that happens.
Could a police dog that is trained to be aggressive on command be able to resist chasing / smelling a bunny if its master says no? Since most police dogs are highly trained German Shephard and probably have high prey drive?
But I take my bunnies to the shopping center in a stroller. A couple with two large dogs (like pitbulls) were complimenting my bunnies. They seem like nice people and in a perfect world I would let every single dog smell my bunnies. They asked if the dogs can smell my bunnies, and I had to say no, but it was hard to do so b/c I don't like making people feel bad for having big dogs, especially since some people rescue pitbulls mean well. But thankfully they understood and took the dogs away even though they loved their dogs, and I didn't enjoy saying no because I like dogs too. But I think it was a good call on both of us to not let the dogs sniff the bunnies.
I have other encounters with other people with large dogs who see my bunnies. And most of them seem to know their dogs well and won't think its cute to let them sniff a rabbit.
But how do Pitbull owners react if another owner w/ a toy breed dog doesn't feel comfortable with a large pitbull smelling their dog? Since that's something that may happen more often than a pitbull seeing a bunny. For me its because dogs are predators and bunnies are prey animals so I am cautious when dog owners (w/ their dogs) want to see my bunnies. My bunnies don't seem to be very scared of dogs, but I don't want something where the bunny gets spooked knowing its prey and the dog's hunting instinct kicks in when it realizes its the predator. I would assume it be very hard to control a dog if its hunting instinct kicked in, I don't know what kind of training would be required to stop a dog when that happens.
Could a police dog that is trained to be aggressive on command be able to resist chasing / smelling a bunny if its master says no? Since most police dogs are highly trained German Shephard and probably have high prey drive?