Rabbit Breed Profiles: The Netherland Dwarf

First developed in the Netherlands, back in the early 20^th century, the Netherland Dwarf rabbit was created by crossing small Polish rabbits with even smaller wild specimens. After crossing and re-crossing these rabbits for several generations, a new domestic rabbit emerged in a wide array of colors and varieties. Known for their small stature, enormous eyes and tiny, rounded ears, the small size of the Netherland Dwarf makes him an excellent pet and a popular choice amongst rabbit fanciers around the world.

The History of the Netherland Dwarf Rabbit

The Netherland Dwarf rabbit is a man-made breed, resulting from the crossing of Polish and wild rabbits. Over time, the dwarfing gene began to occur in the breed and, rather than cull rabbits that carried this trait, the dwarfism was encouraged. Not only were the Dwarf rabbit fanciers able to produce smaller and smaller rabbits by using this gene, but they were also able to use the dwarfs to breed in many unusual, yet desirable, traits - short, thick ears, disproportionate eyes, and a very compact and round body style.

In the late 1940's, the Netherland Dwarf rabbit would slowly be introduced to the rest of Europe and, by 1969, the American Rabbit Breeder's Association (ARBA) would accept the Netherland Dwarf rabbit as a new breed in the United States. From that point, their population would do nothing but grow and grow as they continued to gain popularity . Today, they are considered the 2^nd most popular breed of rabbit in the world, and are generally referred to as "The Gem of the Fancy World."

The Unique Appearance of the Netherland Dwarf

When looking at a confirmationally correct Netherland Dwarf rabbit, the first thought that should come to mind would be round or ball. Round heads perch upon round bodies and their oversized round eyes and tiny, almost rounded ears only emphasize this. Mature adults should weigh somewhere between 1 and 2.5 pounds when they're full grown, though some breeders will keep slightly larger females for breeding purposes.

Dwarf bunnies come in a wide array of varieties, arranged into different groups. Group #1 is known as the self group and includes all solid colored bunnies, such as the ruby and blue eyed whites, blacks, blues, chocolates and lilacs. Group #2 are the shaded bunnies, or ones that commonly resemble Siamese cats - the sable point, Siamese sable, Siamese smoke pearl and tortoiseshell, all fall under this category.

The group resembling wild colored rabbits would be the Agouti group, and would include agouti bunnies, chinchillas, opals and squirrels (also known as blue chinchillas). An equally striking group #4, the Tan patterns bear an overall solid self body color, but then will slowly develop white or tan eye circles, ticking and lacing of brilliant silver or red-tan around their bodies. The finally group of Netherland Dwarf bunnies are known as the AOV group, or Any Other Variety. These include unique beauties such as the fawn, the Himalayan, orange and steel. New colors, currently in the works, include the blue tortoiseshell, the champagne and the red.

The Netherland Dwarf as a Pet

At one point, the Netherland Dwarf was bred with little thought given to his attitude and personality. For this reason, for many years, the Netherland Dwarf bunny was considered to be very aggressive and high strung. Through selective breeding, however, the more negative aspects of the Netherland Dwarf's personality are being bred out. The result is a gentle and well-balanced little rabbit, though they can still have a tendency to be a little more high-strung than your other, less popular, breeds.

Netherland Dwarfs are highly intelligent breeds of rabbit and are generally fairly easy to litter box train, making them excellent home or apartment pets. Their small, compact size make them a favorite of young and old alike. If you're interested in getting a pet rabbit, be sure to take the Netherland Dwarf into consideration - you may find that they're the perfect rabbit, just for you!