Rabbits or Guinea Pig?

Question
I have a cat and a Labrador and I'm thinking of buying a rabbit or a guinea pig, my cat often goes to a house further up and chases the rabbits and my dog eats anything by anything she ate a lizard, so... which one would be most suitable for my family?

Answer
Dear Tegz,

Actually, from the sound of the behavior of your dog and cat, I would not recommend either a rabbit or a guinea pig unless you can train your carnivore pets to absolutely not kill small animals.  And it sounds as if they already have developed very bad habits that will be hard--if not impossible--to break.

If you do decide to get either a guinea pig or rabbit, you must take great pains to make sure the dog and cat cannot reach the smaller animal, and *never* leave them together unattended.

To read about introducing dogs and cats and rabbits, please see:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/cats-and-rabbits.html

and

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/dogs.html

But seriously, I would not recommend either a guinea pig or rabbit for your family at this time. It sounds as if you'd be asking for a tragic disaster.

I hope this helps you make the right decision.

Dana