The third most popular pet choice in Ireland
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What makes rabbits the third most popular pet in Ireland?
The Claire Burns Show on News Talk. With Aviva Insurance.
Now I'm joined by Advanced Practitioner in Zoological Medicine with Veterinary Specialist Ireland, Doctor Bobby Ortiz. Hello, Bobby.
Hello, thank you for having me back.
Uh not at all. Delighted to speak to you. I've lots of questions for you, but you want to talk to us firstly about rabbits.
Something I'm very passionate about. Um and only just this past weekend, probably not many of your listeners might know, it was International Rabbit Day. Um on a Saturday. Just a chance to uh celebrate how wonderful these pets can be. And how many people
they're very popular here as well, aren't they? They they are,
yeah. And actually all around the world, they're widely considered like the third most popular pet. Uh which I don't think they they don't really get the same consideration sometimes when we look at dogs and cats.
Well, I'm glad I'm talking to you while my youngest child is in school because the constant demand for a rabbit never ceases in my house. But I'm I'm just nervous of them because we have dogs. So how do those uh species interact?
Yeah. Um you do you're right. You do have to be careful. Um, but the the number of of clients that do come into me with rabbits um actually find that they live very well with cats and dogs.
How can rabbits safely live with dogs and cats in the same home?
You have to just like any pet bringing into the house, you have to be careful. You know, you do have to make sure that your dogs are slowly introduced to them. And and uh there's a reason I don't have a rabbit myself, is because my own dog I don't think would get on too well with them. I have a spaniel, so I have to be careful there, but they can um uh coexist. exist really nicely and often enough you find that the rabbits become the bosses. They end up bossing the dogs and the cats around to become kind of rule the roost there. So it's really funny to see that dynamic. It's really funny to do.
And do they try to escape often? This is what I hear about them.
I think uh generally and it's not they're not as bad, but I think they generally escape more when people kind of keep them outside. So if you're only keeping your rabbits like in a hutch or an enclosed area, which I really wouldn't recommend because I do think that rabbits make fantastic house rabbits. They make really good pets indoors. Um but if you don't have uh proper um like fencing to keep them in from uh burrowing, which is something they absolutely normally will do, then they absolutely can escape that way.
Th if you have them inside then are they are they toilet trained? Can you toilet train them?
You uh y you know what? It's a funny question, but you absolutely can. And actually rabbits tend to become very it's very easy to toilet train them. Um they they actually have like litter trays, like kind of like a cat, um, and they tend not to be as smelly as a cat inside. Um and the nice thing is well is that their little poo pellets are actually completely dry and easy to clean up. Um so usually they're actually able to be litter trained as well, even for those. So they'll go into little corners and be able to uh
Why do indoor rabbits escape and how can you prevent it?
Uh keep your house nice and clean.
And what about the lifespan of a rabbit? Because a friend of mine told me once that the rabbit was going on for a long time. Can that happen?
I thought you were gonna say the opposite there. The uh I ideally they should actually. I mean, one of the oldest patients I've had uh was about fourteen years old. Um and it kind of it kind of piggybacks onto what we chatted about last time I was on about breeding. And actually, um we have unfortunately been breeding a lot of rabbits to look super cute and to have these different features that has unfortunately shortened their lifespan. So previously rabbits would have expected to live 10 to 15 years, but Now, unfortunately, with the shortered noses, the bigger eyes, the flopped ears, or we call them lopped eared rabbits, unfortunately we're now breeding them and they're not living as long. We call them lock.
They're having more dental problems and ear problems and that's that is shortening their lifespan.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What makes rabbits the third most popular pet in Ireland?
0:01–1:13
2
How can rabbits safely live with dogs and cats in the same home?
1:13–2:37
3
Why do indoor rabbits escape and how can you prevent it?
2:37–3:55
4
Can rabbits be litter‑trained like cats and how does it work?
3:55–5:09
5
What is the typical lifespan of a rabbit and how does breeding affect it?
5:09–6:21
6
How should you handle a rescue dog that eats other animals’ feces?
6:21–7:45
7
Are giant Belgian/Flemish rabbits available in Ireland and what should owners know?
7:45–8:37
8
What are the best options for a cat with missing teeth and gummy gums?
8:37–10:18