How to get your rabbit to listen when you say “NO!”

[Deleted User]

I want to know, cause my rabbit starting to do things that I don’t like!

[Sarita]

Moving this to Behavior.

Please explain what your rabbit is doing…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

If you don’t want an animal to do something….

1) Interupt-with a loud noise
2) redirect to an appropriate behaviour
3) reward, if the appropriate behavior is not rewarding in and of itself.

For instance
-Dog is chewing my cellphone. I clap, take the phone away and give him his toy, and say good boy when he chews on that. Dog no longer chews up ANYTHING that is not his.
-Rabbit is pulling baseboards off wall, I clap, give bunny a hay ball or towel to play with instead, put some treats in hay ball or on towel. Bunny no longer wrecks walls
-Boyfriend sitting on computer, not taking out garbage. Shout-take out garbage. Give him cookies when he takes out garbage

It’s easy but you have to remember you don’t want to just punish or interupt a bad or undesired behaviour. Also recognize that the behaviour you don’t like is one they DO like.
So stop them and get them doing something appropriate-and reward them. They’ll get it

[LBJ10]

Yes, definitely tell them NO when they are doing something “undesirable” and remove them from the situation if they don’t remove themselves. Then redirect them to something else more desirable. Some rabbits obey better than others. With Wooly, for example, all I have to do is tell him no and he will normally stop. Leopold, on the other hand, might just stop to look at me and then proceed to do whatever it was he was doing. So I often have to come after him when he doesn’t listen right away. I know he knows what no means, he just doesn’t want to listen.

[Elrohwen]

Some rabbits respond to a “no” and others don’t. Otto doesn’t listen at all when I say “no” or make loud noises, so I have to physically remove him from the situation and redirect his attention.

[Molzy]

I clap loudly and say NO, but then I also usually block him from whatever he was chewing on (that is usually the undesired behavior). Otherwise he just goes back to it the next time he is bored! They do grow out of certain things though I think, Riley used to love ripping up carpet, and he no longer pays any attention to cords.

[Elrohwen]

Molzy, I’ve found the same thing with getting over certain bad behaviors. Hannah will be obsessed with something (like getting up the stairs, or behind the couch) for a few weeks, but once I’ve blocked her off long enough (or told her no enough times) she just forgets about it and finds something else to do even after I unblock the area.

[Stickerbunny]

I make a loud “EH!” noise, Stickers doesn’t listen to “no” but she listens to that. She also won’t chew on a toy if I give it to her, she looks at it, thumps then runs away, so I can’t reward her. But she gets the hint. lol

Kokee – I WISH that worked for my boyfriend, he just forgets the next week to take the garbage out and we have to start all over again.

[LoveChaCha]

My tone of voice. I usually speak to Chacha in my normal voice, or a little more cute like voice. She KNOWS she is in trouble when my voice says “NO!” or “NO KOUCHA!” She gives me that ‘look.’

[bullrider76543]

LOL Nibblette is sneaky he will check to see if you are watching him then disapeart and run out and stand up again to see if you are watchiing him again and then disapear to get into whatever mischief he is getting into. and if you get up to see what he is doing he runs almost to you and sits up to look at you. you have to be really quiet to catch him doing his naughty things lol then I yell no and he goes to his cage and just stares at me for a bit. then comes up and hops in my lap like to say I’m sorry.

[Deleted User]

Well he like goes into areas that he isn’t supposed to go in, and he eats his hutch sometimes, even when he has chew toys!

[Sarita]

Well, you need to block off the area’s that he is not allowed in, that is the only way you will be able to keep him out. Don’t expect him to understand that he’s not allowed if there’s not a barrier.

Is it a problem that he chews on his hutch? I say as long as it’s safe, you should allow him this, it’s where he stays. The only way you could possibly divert this though is when you catch him chewing on the hutch to divert his attention, but don’t count on that working.

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