Dogs are just the sweetest. They will happily be friends with anyone – including other animals.
Our dog loved small animals. We had a few rabbits throughout the years, and our dog absolutely loved the bunnies. We’d often let the rabbits out of the cages to roam free in the yard for an hour or two because we knew our dog was always there to protect them.

She was the perfect bunny babysitter, and the rabbits loved her too. They’d often cuddle up to her and play with her. It was so sweet to watch.
But sadly, not all small animals feel as enthusiastically about dogs. For one sweet little pitbull, all she wanted was to be friends with the guinea pigs that her family has.

Unfortunately for this adorable pooch, the guinea pigs pulled a Mean Girls on her and practically screamed “you can’t sit with us” at the poor dog when she tried to get close. In fact, these clever guinea pigs were, quite literally, shutting the cage door on her face!
The dog and guinea pigs’ owner filmed the entire interaction, then uploaded it online.

They captioned the post, “My pitbull wanted to interact with the guinea pigs that she loves and licks through the cage all the time so we opened the cage up to let them interact. They came out to see her and decided they didn’t want her in their cage and shut the door in her face. We thought it was quite amusing.”
Check out the video down below:
What do you think of this sweet Pitbull’s reaction to guinea pigs? Does your dog ever want to befriend small animals? Let us know!

I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.