Bringing a terrier into a house with a rabbit

Question
I have a 9 year old dwarf rabbit who lives in my classroom during the week and runs around my house (he is litter trained) on weekends and holidays. We had a Sheltie (sadly, she passed) and they got along OK, but now my husband has fallen in love with a 2 year old Border Terrier and wants to bring him home. I told him the terrier will kill the rabbit because that's what they were bred to do. Do you think there's a chance it could work? Thanks very much!

Answer
Hi Kim,

well, I would say broadly, it depends.

Generally terriers have a history and are bred for going after rabbits.  He is a young dog.  Your rabbit is old.

It depends on the dog, and it depends on the rabbit.  On the one hand your rabbit did get along with another dog.  Who knows if the terrier will get along with the rabbit?  If the terrier is well-trained and will ALWAYS listen to your commands, it may be possible, if your rabbit is agreeable.  If the dog is not well-trained and/or regards rabbits as personal chew toys, then definitely no.

Bottom line:  you first have an obligation to the pet you currently own.  (I am assuming that you do own the rabbit, that it is yours.) You have to do what is best for the pet you have right now, because you made that promise to him when you decided to have him.  

If you are inclined, I would talk with current owners of terriers and ask them about this.  I would discuss it with animal shelter folks around your area, whether they would adopt a rabbit to folks with a dog that is normally inclined to hunt rabbits, etc.  Just to get a feel from others.  My generalizations are that yes, there are some dog breeds that seem to be able to handle getting along with rabbits better than others.  The more they are hunters, the more likely it won't work.  Also, the more disciplined and trained the dog is, the better the chances they won't kill the rabbit and will get along.

In any case you couldn't just 'put them together' and see what happens.  It requires the dog be trained so that they will listen and obey you while getting more and more exposure to the rabbit (and also seeing how your rabbit is reacting to this too), so if this dog isn't trained or well-trained, I would say it is not going to work with this dog at this time.

Write back anytime.  Lee