Doggone Etiquette —

Dogs And Rabbits

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dogs:          

You are a perfectly normal terrier, right? I’m not talking about breed size. You could be a tiny 4-pound Yorkshire Terrier or a 45-pound Airedale Terrier. No, I mean are you “normal” when it comes to chasing those little creatures that disappear into the earth. If that’s you, relax. That’s how you got part of your breed name – “terrier” is from the Latin word for earth, terra. Okay, a lot of you dogs reading this are not terriers, but I’ll bet you too love chasing all those earthbound rabbits hopping around. Dogs will be dogs. In some way all of you hunt regardless of your breed.

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:            

The message above to the dogs is the main reason not to have a rabbit as a pet if your dog is terrier, part-terrier or almost any type of hunting dog. Bunnies can die of fright, by the way, so it’s not fair to either the rabbit or the dog. When such a combination does happen to work out, you’ll see it on facebook, youtube or television as a cute almost miraculous animal mismatch.            

It’s Easter and the stores are filled with bunny rabbits of every description, from soft toys for kids, to plastic decorations, to all kinds of edible versions. The pet stores will have appropriate toy rabbits and treats for the dogs, and some pet stores will have the live ones.                                

Apart from being aware of the problems in mixing live rabbits with dogs, the other thing to avoid is letting any dog get hold of the chocolate rabbits. It is another season of the year when all candy, whether it is chocolate bunnies, caramel-filled eggs, or marshmallow chicks – all of it needs to be kept away from your dogs. Explain it carefully to the kids with Easter baskets full of goodies they might want to share. As for those canine thieves, keep a sharp eye out on all chocolate because it is poisonous to dogs, resulting in anything from a bad tummy ache to a fatality. What’s worse, there is no way to predict the outcome even if you know how much Rufus consumed.               

Those of you who do have terriers should know (or may already know) about earthdog trials. In this area these go-to-ground events start to take place in the spring when (let’s hope!) the ground is no longer frozen. The tunnel is dug in the ground and a safely caged rat is placed under a wooden trapdoor at the end. It’s also where the dog is removed. That satisfies the terriers’ natural instinct for having entered a hole in the ground in the first place. Beginners (dogs and people) are introduced to the set-up and the event is all very safely organized and run.

Should your dog be of the above-ground hunting variety, there are hunts of every description you can think of available almost year-round. Some are real, but many are aimed at satisfaction for the dogs, and pleasure for the owners at seeing their dogs’ brains kick into gear.      

Don’t wait for summer swimming – get involved in some of these dog/rabbit activities now that spring is here. If you should happen to think for one minute that your dog won’t hunt or doesn’t know how, you only have to try hiding a bit of his favorite food under a chair or table and see how quickly he tracks it down. Just be sure it’s not a bit of chocolate!

Until next time – BE GOOD!

- Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years, during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog Fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me!, which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award in 2008.