Cooper gave up indoor hunting
We’re hosting Cooper again, this time for two weeks. Since Bun’s hot weather schedule includes lots of free roaming in the house, we needed to get Cooper on board with the routine.
Training dogs to treat all family pets as friends is doable. Ella learned to ignore the chickens and to give Bun wide berth. It also helps that Ella and Cooper are both good-natured and trainable dogs.
Still, dogs are dogs, and rabbits are prey. I remember the first time I searched for Bun’s food online, and some of my search results showed rabbit meat for dogs! I get it. Farmers are in my family. Most animals in the world are not cherished, domesticated pets.
I studied up on training methods for introducing dogs to rabbits and saw the word “hunting.” If a dog’s natural predisposition is to hunt prey, I needed to tell Cooper that Bun was not prey and he was not allowed to hunt her:
Hey Cooper: Bun is part of our animal family. No hunting.
When I saw Cooper in a crouching position — even playfully — I told him to stop hunting and relax. We brought the relaxing crate inside to make it easier. He quickly relied on the crate as a home base and started to go in and out freely.
So far it’s working, and it’s adorable. Bun is leading this process.
Position 1: The casual approach
Position 2: Learning the layout
Position 3: Face cleaning first
Position 4: Forward facing approach
Position 5: Going in
Position 6: Seems fine
Upgrade to Bun’s indoor space
We found a great chair for the indoor rabbit habitat / home office / laundry area. Color coordination is so important.
Bunny chewing
Some autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) to close.
This is so precious. Bun is getting braver while Cooper is minding his manners. I hope they continue to respect each other’s space!
Happy 4th of July! 💥💥
Peaceable Kingdom