Dealing with the sass

[Wick & Fable]

I am fortunate that I haven’t had to post on BB in a while, since Wick has been healthy and doing well post-URI treatment and post-neuter! This is a general brainstorm, tip-giving post about two items I’ve been dealing with Wick-wise. I’ll start by saying: I know he’s a rabbit and he’s an animal at the end of the day— these are just two things I’m working on with him without trying to change his great personality or quality of life! It’s like trying to get some of the rowdy out of a rowdy child, haha.

1) “Accidents” – He understands pees + poos >> litter boxes. He’ll become suddenly alert and bolt to a litterbox to pee while being groomed in the middle of the living room, then return back to continue grooming. Some times he tries to sneak by through peeing right next to the litterbox, but I literally look at him and say his name with the “no” tone of voice, and he stops his butt-perk and jumps in to pee. All is well with him knowing where to do his “duties”. That being said, he knows I don’t want him peeing/pooing outside the litterboxes, so when he’s mad at me, he’ll pee somewhere outside the litter box purposely! I know sassy-pees are not uncommon of rabbits. For Wick, I usually catch him before the urine exits (very obvious before-pee behavior), but I’m working on lessening the -not enough attention- pees by gauging how often and when I groom him so he doesn’t have raised expectations for certain days/time periods I won’t be able to give him attention. This has helped a bit.
*Note: Wick also pees outside his litterbox when his teeth are bothering him. I always consider this a possibility when it happens!

2) Bag Crinkle Madness – I’m sure everyone experiences the chaos which is your rabbit(s) going haywire when a bag crinkle is heard. Wick is good at distinguishing his treat bags from hay bag. He doesn’t respond to the litter bag. I’m really impressed by this actually, haha! Unfortunately, he does react to cereal bags, chip bags, snack bags, etc.. When he doesn’t get a treat after hearing a bag-crinkle, he’ll go off and pee somewhere or get nippy. I’ve employed 2 methods, 1 being pretty constant, and the other being relatively new. The first is relocating him from around my feet into one of his litter boxes. I’d say 75% of the time, he gets the message and just eats his hay. The second, newer method I’m trying is when I actually want to give him a treat, he needs to be somewhat still and less [runny/jumpy through the legs to the point where it’s dangerous and I kick him] for about 5 seconds before I give him the treat. Some times this takes only 1 minute, other times it has taken 3 minutes. I am seeing improvement though!

— So that’s what my current Wick “problems” (used loosely) are. If anyone has any input, thoughts, advice, etc.., that’d be greatly appreciated!

Lastly, here’s Wick’s instagram, haha. There are time’s I’ve documented his sassy stares: http://www.instagram.com/wick_theboogeyman

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.

[Rookie]

lol you got a handful…Rookie was the same with the punishment pee….he would pee on my pillow if I was late after being gone for work etc…not sure how he knew!!!! so that I cant help with…some have said that giving bunnies treats when going in the litter box will reinforce them going there.

as for the treat bag..this is an issue now with Sprocket and was an issue with Rookie as well…Ziploc bags are magical as they make no sounds. or get a Tupperware container which would also help reduce the bag crinkle madness

[Deleted User]

Goodness, what sass packed inside the little guy! As you stated, at least these are the “problems” you have and not something worse!

Sounds like you have a good plan so far! I don’t have any out-of-litter-issues (besides the territorial poops at the barrier of my two unbonded buns) but I do have an issue with digging. Both buns dig at the carpet where the baby gate separates them, and Ophelia is usually very good at listening if I give a scolding “no” ….. but Quincy… well he thinks he can do whatever he wants. The “no” gets me nothing with him, he requires a loud clap or a stern, louder NO.

I would suggest a bin….but it hasn’t worked for me XD Both buns have learned that the click of the latch being undone means pellets are coming…within seconds I have a begging bunny on her tippy tippy toes trying to get to the container Sometimes I feel like there aren’t a lot of solutions for things like this, because no matter what you change to, they are so darn smart and will quickly catch on to the new method!

[joea64]

Far better a sassy, saucy bun than an unhappy, withdrawn one . To be sure, having Panda and Fernando crowd around me whenever I pop open the pellet bin/bag/whatever or the treat container is one of the many things I’m looking forward to. Maybe not so much, uh, “marking” my bed, provided that I allow them up on it, though!

[Wick & Fable]

@Rookie – I plan to transfer to Ziploc bags tonight, haha. I can imagine Wick will go crazy as I’m transferring the bags though. Will need to devise a method so he doesn’t pee somewhere after I’m done the transfer…. Thanks for the tip! I’ll let you know how it goes.

@BunNoob – I feel so lucky that Wick doesn’t really know how to be a rabbit and lacks any drive to chew or dig anything, haha. On the plus side, perhaps this lessens how often you need to trim those nails?

@joea64 – Definitely prefer his sass over him being unhappy Bed marking is such a common topic, and equally annoys every rabbit owner I’d think…. Have you tried the scented-cloth technique? This is where you take a piece of fabric that has your rabbit’s scent on it and put it on the surface where he/she usually pees. The idea is since their scent is already there, they don’t feel as much of a need to mark the territory. This worked pretty well with Wick and the sofa, and now the sheet has been removed and his only pees are, his sassy pees. For the bed, it was consistent scolding after doing it which got the message across. “Scolding” = making Wick’s hated noise (short snake hiss), then bringing him to his litterbox.

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.

[Deleted User]

I accidentally discovered that Ophelia absolutely HATES the sound of shushing. Several times some *idiots* in my apartment complex kept throwing firecrackers in the dumpster, which made loud, echoing shots that totally freaked her out. I would pet her and try to calm her down, but if I did a “shhhhh” she FREAKED! She even hates the sound of the trash can sliding across the kitchen floor lol. So maybe the “snake hiss/shush” noise is a universal bunny deterrent.

On a side note, I may have totally jinxed myself!!!!!!!! I may have some sass on my hands after all… Ophelia normally gets pets and head rubs in the morning after she has her pellets, but this morning I was running terribly late and I didn’t have time After dropping me off at work, my husband came home to her having dug up the couch cover and she was digging at the couch and trying to rip it up with her teeth!! She has NEVER done that!!! ….. I’m thinking I’ve offended her… looks like someone will be getting some extra snuggles tonight, and a slice or two of banana for good measure!

[Wick & Fable]

@BunNoob – Rabbits learn routines so quickly and obediently. If Wick ever starts harassing me, it’s always around one of his feeding times. He knows so well o.o Yesterday, I had a similar experience where our morning routine was much different due to guests, and the entire day his behavior was very different. I worried health-wise because he wasn’t eating as much hay and was huffing, but after this morning and seeing him still doing large poos, I think it was just him being upset the day was a lot different than normal.

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.

[joea64]

Posted By Wick on 8/14/2017 9:46 AM

@BunNoob – Rabbits learn routines so quickly and obediently. If Wick ever starts harassing me, it’s always around one of his feeding times. He knows so well o.o Yesterday, I had a similar experience where our morning routine was much different due to guests, and the entire day his behavior was very different. I worried health-wise because he wasn’t eating as much hay and was huffing, but after this morning and seeing him still doing large poos, I think it was just him being upset the day was a lot different than normal.

And THAT makes me worry how Panda and Fernando will react, once they’ve settled in and we’ve established our daily routine, if (make that when) my train home is significantly late again (this happens once or twice a year).

[Wick & Fable]

@joea64 – I commute to work as well, and my departure/arrival time varies at times, up to +/- 3hrs. Wick adjusted well to this, since mainly if I’m home late, he’s just hungry. The instance yesterday I think was different because I was around the entire time, rather than being gone. Maybe it won’t be as bad as you imagine!

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.

[joea64]

Posted By Wick on 8/14/2017 10:42 AM


@joea64 – I commute to work as well, and my departure/arrival time varies at times, up to +/- 3hrs. Wick adjusted well to this, since mainly if I’m home late, he’s just hungry. The instance yesterday I think was different because I was around the entire time, rather than being gone. Maybe it won’t be as bad as you imagine!

We’ll see. There was an unpleasant incident in June where all the Virginia Railway Express trains traveling westbound on my line home were delayed by several hours one afternoon due to somebody foolishly choosing to walk on the train tracks and getting themselves killed as a result. The train I usually takes generally takes an hour to traverse its route, so that I arrive home about 6 pm, but what with one thing and another, I didn’t get home until 8 pm. Hopefully being hungry will be the only result for my buns should that ever happen again! I think I may have to set up Uber again on my iPhone, just in case…

[Author]

Messages