Bunny growling and boxing with treats

[BanditCamp]

So for the past few days I’ve been trying to bond with my bunny using treats. Things like ‘up’ and such.

However when I’ve been doing treat time lately he approaches when I say ‘come here bandit’ and he gets a treat, I say ‘up’ and he stands on his back legs and periscope and gets a treat. When I attempt ‘spin’ and hold a treat and go in a circle he growls (not honks) and bunny boxes and sonetimes lunges (but does not bite) At the hand with the treat the entire time . Should I take this as he does not like that trick or should I just stop doing tricks with him?

Afterwards he becomes quite annoyed and even lunges at the treat bag too after I attempt spin and I feel like I’m maybe having his mistrust me? He allows pets and everything after but there’s a 5 minute deadzone of 5 minutes or so.

I’ll try to get a video next time and update it when I have it uploaded in my signature

[Bam]

I’m not sure, but maybe he’s not yet ready for tricks? I remember when I tried teaching my Yohio a trick (to periscope for a treat). He did it a few times and then he got so impatient with me that he quite simply snatched the treatbag from my hand and ran away with it, without bothering with the silly periscoping the silly human wanted him to do.

Yohio was a lunger/boxer too, and he would growl like a small, angry dog. The next second he’d put his head on the floor and demand pets. I interpreted it as insecurity/lack of complete trust in me coupled with a wish to socialize and be pet. With time the growling, lunging and boxing tapered off and only the demand for pets remained. He’d always come and nose bonk my foot and demand pets when I was sitting at my writing desk. He could never get pet enough.

[BanditCamp]

Since he’s been really good since I’ve gotten him I’ve let him free roam at night between my room and living area (two days now) and he wakes me up when my phone alarm goes off. I don’t think the boxing is an angry thing I just don’t want to mess up the work I’ve done with a simple bad trick. I’ll probably hold off on tricks until he gets more trusting maybe but again I’m not sure.

[Wick & Fable]

Hey Bandit! Starting with tricks is so exciting! I haven’t thought about it with Wick yet, but I think I will now

Rabbits are really food-oriented. The only time Wick misbehaves (pees outside litter box) is if he isn’t getting food when he think he should be. I think Bandit’s expressing a little “peeved” attitude at needing to spin before getting the treat. Conditioning wise, you’re adding a step onto a behavior he’s already associated with receiving a treat consistently for (“up” + “spin”). The response effort is being raised, so I think he’s just a little miffed at that. I don’t think this will detriment your great relationship with him at all!

I recommend cutting down on treats for the “up” command, and alternate with petting rewards rather than treats. Use a ratio approach for the “up” command, so every 3 successful times, or every 5. This way, he’ll know it won’t be a treat every time he stands up. This might make him less lunge-y towards getting a treat when you try to expand into “spin”.

Also, so envious you’ve started nighttime free-roaming!! Wick is too small to let loose at night. I fear kicking/smooshing him.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[ThorBunny]

Hi! Its great that you are starting tricks, I have just started trying to teach Thor some commands as well

Could it be your hand positioning when you ask for “spin”? I’ve found that when I put my hand in a certain place directly front of Thor, she will growl, box and lunge at the offending hand. I think it is because she can’t see right in front of her face it makes her nervous.

Another thought: are you training with a clicker? I’ve found that teaching tricks is faster and more fun now that I am using one (I’m actually using a ball point pen since she is scared of the loud clicker noise, lol). It’s nice because it gives them immediate feedback so they don’t get too impatient.

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-12/clicker.html

[BanditCamp]

I have a clicker and I use it, however he ignores it completely as hes used to background sounds. As for the treats I hold it on the sides of his face so he can see it, I’ll try cutting down to every third try for a treat however if there’s no treat he loses interest very fast like within a second fast and he’ll run off, And ill have to coax him to come back.

[Bam]

You’re going to fast then, I’d say. Keep the treats coming for a while still. And when you do start to lower the frequency of treats, don’t cut back in an “orderly” way, because they pick up on that very fast. He knows when he’s had a treat there will be two tricks he must do before he gets another treat, and that’s not motivational. So keep giving treats randomly. and keep a variety of treats of hand so he never know what he’s going to get. If he knows he has a chance of getting sth extra-extra yummy, he’ll work harder. And when you use a clicker, don’t say “good boy” or anything else until after you’ve clicked and given the treat. That’s a bit hard in the beginning because you have this impulse to praise right away, but it works better if you click, reward, then praise.

Karen Pryor has written a wonderful book about dog-training, Don’t Shoot The Dog. It’s applicable to any species, not just dogs, she used to train dolphins and other animals that will only do things if you make them want to do them. It’s available as a PDF here: http://clawbiespups.yolasite.com/resources/Don’t%20shoot%20the%20dog.pdf

I used a lot when my dog was young and we were doing lots of training. I still use the principles.

When I told you about Yohio’s response to my effort at teaching him a trick, I didn’t mean to discourage you from teaching a bunny to do tricks. I think it’s very good for them. Yohio outsmarted me though. Never underestimate a bunny =D

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