Hey guys, I plan on making a trip to the vet fairly soon to see if my bun is indeed deaf, but in the meantime, I was wondering if I could get some help?

Moonie is chewing on our rug, and no matter how loud I yell, clap or stomp, nothing startles bun into stopping. I've tried nudging away, but that doesnt seem to be working either.

 

What in the world am I going to do to train bunny not to chew on things theyre not allowed to if they can't hear me ??

I have heard of some people on here using a spray on furniture, etc. to make things less tasty. Personally, I have always snapped and said bad boy/girl. If my buns continued, they got squirted with water. Some here are against that, but it worked well with my first buns, who was very bull-headed.

Also, with my first buns, who was a digger/chewer, I put a rabbit straw/hay mat where she liked to dig and chew. It gave her something she was allowed to tear up. If your buns has certain areas he is going after, that could be an option too.

I usually just throw something soft at Leopold to get his attention. Nothing that would hurt him, just a small stuffed toy or something. That is just when I can't physically reach him. If he is nearby, then I can just physically remove him. He's naughty and stubborn, but I think he knows.

First of all, I have to comment on how incredibly cute the bun in your avatar pic is! Is that Moonie? He looks like a younger version on my Bindi Loo.

Bindi Loo is at least partially deaf. He doesn't react very much to noise. Sometimes a particularly high pitch noise will get his attention. When he's being bad and chewing something or rattling the X-pen bars, I usually physically go over and direct his attention to something else. Often, I'll just scoop him up and bring him to sit on the couch for a minute. Sometimes, that method can be a pain in the butt because I have to do it like a dozen times repeatedly before he gets the idea and stops. He's very stubborn.

I like the interrupt and redirect method; block the area off temporarily and put something appropriate to chew in it's place. Think a laundry basket over a favorite spot to chew, with a phone book or wood chew in front as an option.

I wouldn't assume your bunny is deaf, maybe just has selective hearing as many pets and children do? The signs that Chuck were deaf was him not waking up when you approach..most people don't see their bunny sleeping because they wake up when you approach. The clincher was him sleeping right through the vacuum or any kind of noise, and not waking unless we touched him. Does your bunny sleep through the vacuum or other loud noises?

Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 09/02/2012 09:33 AM
First of all, I have to comment on how incredibly cute the bun in your avatar pic is! Is that Moonie? He looks like a younger version on my Bindi Loo.

Bindi Loo is at least partially deaf. He doesn't react very much to noise. Sometimes a particularly high pitch noise will get his attention. When he's being bad and chewing something or rattling the X-pen bars, I usually physically go over and direct his attention to something else. Often, I'll just scoop him up and bring him to sit on the couch for a minute. Sometimes, that method can be a pain in the butt because I have to do it like a dozen times repeatedly before he gets the idea and stops. He's very stubborn.

Yes, that's Moonie in my avatar :3 He's a REW mini lop just like Bindi Loo haha!

I have some pics of Moonie posted in the Welcome forum.

 

I'll try the physically picking up and putting on the couch thing, and see if that works..

Thank you for the advice everyone, I'm still welcome to more.