You Won’t Believe This Golden Retriever’s Best Friend—It’s a Bunny!
Maui is a beautiful Golden Retriever whose TikTok account ( @Maui_TheGoldenPup) has over 1.8 million followers. He grew alongside a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Ruby, and Maui makes friends and gains admirers everywhere he goes. An adventurous boy who loves to swim, go to the beach, play with toys, and do all the typical Golden Retriever things, Maui is not so typical in one specific way: he’s friends with a bunny.
Golden Retrievers were originally bred as hunting dogs, used on land and water to retrieve game and flush out game—needless to say, many Goldens have high prey drive. Not Maui! This sweet, gentle giant just wants to be buddies with everyone, rabbits and small critters included.
You can see how happy and relaxed Maui is around his bunny friend. Maui keeps a soft expression, doesn’t make fast movements, and very carefully interacts with the rabbit, giving soft kisses and gentle cuddles. Of course, human-mom is always watching to keep everyone safe.
@maui_thegoldenpup Maui is the gentle giant 🤗#goldenretriever #lop #dogfriendship #bunny ♬ kiss me – mette
How To Safely Keep Dogs & Small Animals Together
Most dogs don’t want to become friends with small animals like Maui does—they see them more as toys or prey. For some dogs, even cats are too much temptation, and the urge to chase and catch is simply too strong. Still, there are ways to safely keep dogs and small animals in the same home.
Ensuring your small animals have a safe space outside of your dog’s reach is most important. Your dog should never have unsupervised access to a small pet, but with slow introductions, some dogs happily spend supervised time with small animals like rabbits, birds, etc.
“Dogs and rabbits have the ability to live happily and peacefully in the same home. But that ability all boils down to your dog’s prey drive,” says a guide to keeping rabbits with other animals from House Rabbit Resource Network. “Some dogs can learn to overcome their instincts with enough time and training. Some never will. Even if your dog is great with your rabbits, never leave a dog unattended with a rabbit.”
