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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum BEHAVIOR Inside training

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    • Baby-Daisy
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        My rabbit is an outside rabbit. And i would like her to b an inside rabbit now. But I dont know how to teach her to use a litter box, and other things, like comming to her name , using a litter box, not chewing on everything she see’s, and walking on the hard wood floor.

        The hard wood floor is a little slick, and everytime I put her on the floor she sits there like a brick.

        So please help me house train my bunny!

                                                                          -Thanks!


      • Baby-Daisy
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          Oh and I would also like her to walk on a leash. I dont have one yet, because I dont know how they should fit rabbits.


        • Baby-Daisy
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            Sorry about submiting the same thing I doubled click by acident.


          • Baby-Daisy
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              PLease Please, Reply To My Post. I Have No Idea what to do, and it is wonter where I live, and almost every night it gets below freezing, and I have blankets over her cage but her ears are STILL Ice Cold. I want to bring her in at night but first she needs to be houst trained. Please Help!


            • HotGinRun
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                From what I understand, most rabbits understand how to use a litterbox but it requires diligence on the part of the owner.
                This is a good place to start off:
                https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/5/PID/940/Default.aspx

                As for hardwood floors, you could at least set down a rug where the bunny is going to hang out just so she can have some traction. I imagine frictionless surfaces must be bewildering for a bunny that has never experienced them.

                Chewing everything she sees: Is she currently chewing everything she sees? Does she have toys you can distract her with?

                Leash – I don’t think most rabbits like walking on leashes, but it’s not unheard of. I take it you mean a harness though, right? Harnesses are less likely to injure your rabbit. Size is also a factor. How big is your rabbit?


              • peppypoo
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                  Welcome!

                  How are you housing your rabbit right now? Is she spayed? These are both important factors when it comes to house-training a rabbit, particularly litter training. If you watch her litter habits, you might notice that she prefers to poop/pee in one corner of her home – this is where you should put her litter box. Litter training is not so much you teaching the rabbit as both of you figuring out what works best.  What are you using for her litter and litter box?

                  Most bunnies do not like walking on hardwood floors because it is extremely difficult for them to gain traction. Would you be happy to run around if the floor were completely made of slippery ice? As HotGinRun suggested, your rabbit will be a lot happier with a rug or some sort of floor covering.

                  As for the leashes, I understand that it’s very cute and it may seem like a good idea to let your bunny wander outside, but the reality is that it is a dangerous practice. Most bunnies are more than happy to spend all their time indoors, and if you want to give her some outdoors time you can ask about safe temporary outdoor play areas where she does not have to be on a leash or harness. The reason leashes and harnesses are dangerous is because rabbits are easily scared, and you can imagine that if you are outside with your bunny on a leash and she is frightened and tries to dash off, she could easily break a bone or seriously injure herself by getting trapped in the leash. This exact situation has happened before to members on this forum, and we discourage leashes and harnesses to prevent this tragedy from happening to anyone else.


                • peppypoo
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                    Oh, I didn’t see your last post.

                    Please bring her inside! Below freezing is much too cold for her to be outside by herself .

                    You can’t wait until she is house-trained to bring her in…house-training is something you can only do in the house. Bring her in already, and we’re more than willing to help you with Daisy so that you both can be happy indoors .


                  • Baby-Daisy
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                      Okay thanks foir replying. And Daisy is not chewing EVERYTHING she see’s, but she chews on wood, and blankets. And I dont want my parents to get mad about my rabbit destrying the house. And my rabbit weighs about 6-8 pounds I think. And the way she is houses………I will try to put a picture let me try. Thanks for the info. And I will probably have more questions.LOL


                    • Baby-Daisy
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                        Sorry, for some reason it keeps sending the message twice!


                      • tanlover14
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                          If you’re having a problem with her being a destructo bunny – this simply means you haven’t gotten her enough toys or activities that she really enjoys. Digging and chewing on carpets, blankets, and towels — easy solution — give her her own towel! Whenever she goes to do the digging or chewing on the blanket, say no and give her the towel. She’ll eventually understand thats her area to play, not the blanket. Bunnies use wood to keep their teeth in check – so you can easily fashion her own chunk of wood to chew on using a number of different things. I just picked up a bunny wooden chew thing from PetCo but that doesn’t always keep them satisfied. But it may help with her chewing some if it’s a big hunk she can just gnaw on. Another GREAT idea for any bun is cardboard boxes. They LOVE chewing on destroying cardboard boxes and they keep them pretty entertained for quite awhile. You can cut a hole in the side and fill it with hay and a phone book, all things buns LOVE to tear apart. It’ll also give her something to hop on top of and periscope to her hearts content!

                          Also, is she spayed? I don’t think you answered peppyppos question on that. Spaying is an EXTREMELY important part of successfully litter training buns. Definitely bring her inside ASAP, she’ll only be able to litter box train in the space you plan on keeping her. Even if you get her litter trained outside, you’ll need to re-litter train her when you bring her in so it would definitely be better to bring her in right away!

                          How old is your little girl?


                        • Baby-Daisy
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                            Well her house is about 3 ft long and 2 feet deep and 2 feet tall. But it is on legs that are about 2 1/2 feet tall. And the bottom of thr cage is 1/2 inch chicken wire. The frame of the cage is wood. and is covered by 1/2 chicken wire. Under the Cage is 2 cookie pans to catch the poo and pee. But hown can I teach her to use the litter box. And can I train her to come to her name?


                          • tanlover14
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                              Oh, you should definitely not use chicken wire. That’s really harsh on their feet and can give them sore hocks on the bottom of their feet. You can’t train her to live inside until you put her inside. Leaving her in this chicken wire pen can be harmful to her and will not improve her litter box skills.

                              Your plan of action should be to bring her inside immediately (in a cage that doesn’t have a chicken wire bottom) and see where she wants to go to the bathroom. This is where you should place her litter box. Any time she has an accident outside of it you can clean it up with a piece of paper towel and throw the paper towel in the litter box. I would suggest something like CareFresh to use as litter — something that will not be harmful to those little bunny feet. She’ll eventually pick up thats where she’s supposed to go — and put hay in the bottom. Buns love to poop and eat at the same time. If she pees in more than one place — put multiple litter boxes down and then remove them as she catches on to where it is acceptable to go. I would start her out in a small area of a room first and then make her roaming space larger as she begins to understand.


                            • Sarita
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                                That cage is way too small. For a rabbit this size the MINIMUM should be four feet by four feet.

                                The only way to train her is to her to use her litter box is to have adequate space inside and a litter pan in the appropriate cage which does not have the chicken wire bottom and those pan things.

                                In order to teach her anything and to gain her trust she must come inside and be in a decent size cage that includes a litter box and no wire bottoms.

                                She also will need to be spayed.

                                Are you able to do this?


                              • Beka27
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                                  You’ve gotten great advice already. I can only echo what has already been recommended. If she is not spayed (“fixed”), this is a very important thing to do and you may not see a change in behavior until AFTER that is done. It will help with litter training, and should make her less destructive. It’s also very important for health reasons. Female rabbits have a very high risk of developing reproductive cancer if not spayed.

                                  What kind of cage are you planning to use for her inside? We recommend a dog xpen (they are 4×4 feet square) or you can make a Do-It-Yourself NIC grid condo with multiple levels in any size. Both are excellent indoor options. She is a larger rabbit, so at the very, very minimum you would want the cage to be 3×4 feet, although 4×4 feet would be better like Sarita mentioned. Discuss these options with your parents and see which they think would work the best for her indoor house. The small outdoor hutch won’t be able to be used inside.

                                  When she’s inside, she will need to be confined in the cage or pen, another reason why it’s so important that she have a large enough space. Inside, she needs to have a large “cat size” litterbox. And then when you’re home, she can be let out for supervised playtime. The space she is playing in needs to be “bunny-proofed”, so all of the cords should be covered or out of reach, and anything she should not be chewing on needs to be covered or blocked.

                                  It’s important to remember that bringing a rabbit inside isn’t necessarily about making the rabbit do what you want, but more about changing the space to fit the bunny, and in some cases, changing your expectations. I have no doubt that she’ll be a great house bunny once she’s brought inside permanently!


                                • Baby-Daisy
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                                    Wel I dont think the cage is too small, it is 3 long, 2 1/2 feet deep and 2=3 feet tall.


                                  • Baby-Daisy
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                                      And my rabbit is not that bit she is a little…..fat…… but not fat fat. She is probably smaller than max…..(see above) and when she streches out she is about a foot…MABY a foot and a half.


                                    • Baby-Daisy
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                                        And she has really long and fluffy fur on her feet. And I bought the cage I have at $100 and I cant really afford to make or buy another cage.And the rabbit breeder of mine has all 31 rabbit’s of hers in chicken wire cages.


                                      • LoveChaCha
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                                          To us humans, the rabbit’s cage may not be small for them, but in reality, most cages are too small for rabbits. Pet store cages are not ideal for rabbits as they grow up and need lots of space. Is your rabbit able to stand on its hind legs without problems?

                                          A lot of Rabbit breeders don’t keep their rabbits in the best conditions. I also got my bun from a breeder and they were all stuck in small cages with wire bottoms. Basically, rabbits don’t have any padding on their feet and can end up with sore or bleeding feet if they are not given support. Have you checked out the habitat section of this site?

                                          I house my rabbit in a 3 story condo that I made out of plywood, dowel rods, neat idea cubes and safe flooring for about $70.


                                        • Baby-Daisy
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                                            Yes my rabbit can stad on its hind legs and still has about 6-7 inches left. And $70 is over my budget I plan on spending.


                                          • Sarita
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                                              If you are unable to change the cage, then you should put something over the chicken wire to protect your rabbits feet.


                                            • LoveChaCha
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                                                Are you willing to put at least a blanket on the wire floors and give her a litter box to use?


                                              • Beka27
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                                                  So are you planning on bringing the outdoor hutch inside?


                                                • Baby-Daisy
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                                                    Like what
                                                    And can rabbits eat paper?


                                                  • LittlePuffyTail
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                                                      Rabbits can eat small amounts of paper but it’s not good for them to ingest a lot of it. You could try cardboard for the flooring with something soft over it (like a blanket if your bun won’t chew it).


                                                    • tanlover14
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                                                        You need to do what is best for your bunny — regardless of what your rabbit breeder does. Your rabbit breeder is only one person. You can’t get your advice from only one person if you want to do whats really best for your bunny. Your breeder needs to keep cost low and using chicken wire and small cages is a way for her to successfully do this — this doesn’t mean it’s whats ultimately best for the bunny.

                                                        Your bunny most definitely needs something over top of the chicken wire though. Without it, you’re risking your bun getting sores on her feet which can result in a vet visit. If you don’t have $70 to spend on a cage, then you’re not going to want a vet visit. So rather than take the chance, I’d put something as cheap as cardboard and a sheet or blanket over it right away.


                                                      • Baby-Daisy
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                                                          Is it possible that I can put a small cookie tray inside the cage for a litter box?


                                                        • Roberta
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                                                            Hi Baby Daisy, Bring her in and put down a normal plastic cat litter tray lined with newspaper sheets, fill it up with hay. Mine love to poo and choo at the same time and it’s a good way to start the process. If you catch her peeing somewhere else put down another tray or move the original. She will eventually get the idea. Spaying will also make a difference to her habits as she will not be prone to mark with territorial poo or pee. You can buy Xpens on Ebay and similar sites very cheaply and for much less than the pet shops just make sure they are atleast 36 inches high. You can use the Xpen to create a habitat and place a box inside for her to hide out in. You do not necessarily need to bring her original cage inside atraight away.

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                                                        Forum BEHAVIOR Inside training