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Forum BEHAVIOR Do rabbits understand ‘punishment’?

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    • Deleted User
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        I know bunnies can learn behavior, but what about punishment? Boston has been escaping the living a lot lately and when I find her, I give her quick squirt of the spray bottle and she runs right back to the living room. I then put her in her cage and play time is over. Do you think she understands that being put in her cage right after these events is punishment? Or is it pointless and should I just let her stay out?


      • Sarita
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          Is there a barrier she is escaping through? If not, I think she’s just doing what any animal would do.

          Only if you caught her crossing the line do I feel like it might be effective, once she’s over the line and you squirt her it’s probably not as effective.

          I don’t think they understand punishment per say but they do understand most likely when they are doing something they are not supposed to be doing.


        • babybunsmum
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            i tend to think the same as sarita… they know what they’re not supposed to do / where they’re not supposed to be.  but unless you catch them at it, squirting is not effective.  i think they have a 3 second rule… if you don’t catch me at it then 3 sconds later it wasn’t my fault!  lol.  both my buns remember enough that when they go certain places & i catch them they will be chased out… like behind the couch.  when pinky has breached the barrier & gotten behind the couch she’ll thump loudly when she hears me in the room.  i think it’s a pre-emptive “darn it!  i was having fun back here”  lol.


          • kralspace
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              I agree, I think they do know when they’re defying some set boundary or just want to put you in your place. I let Lola and Daisy roam the livingroom this weekend while I rebuilt their condo, then decided to leave the condo there in the living room so I could fix the sheetrock in the home office. (bunny remodeling)

              Lola refused to go back in the condo even when coaxed with treats, she’ just sit at the bottom of the ramp, furrow those eybrows down at me and just glare and dare me to do something. She’s a white rex with blue eyes and I swear all she needs is a pair of reading glasses to look any sterner.

              It usually crackes me up laughing and I leave her be, but this morning she HAD to go in so when she turned to stink eye me, I goosed her gently on the butt and she went in with one big binkie. Then she turned and sat in the door way like ‘yeah, think you’re so smart picking on a poor bunny.’


            • Kokaneeandkahlua
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                Punishment for children and animals (and us!!) has to happen within seconds of the behavior. Squirting her when you find her is just connecting “you-squirting” so she’ll likely learn to hide, not learn not to escape. I’d just sturdy up the enclosure so she can’t escape!


              • MimzMum
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                  “if you don’t catch me at it then 3 seconds later it wasn’t my fault!”

                  lolz…gotta file THAT one away for further reference! ^_^

                  I would think Boston will also begin to resent her pen time and that may cause further trouble. I agree that if you don’t give the squirt during the behavior problem you’re trying to resolve, then it just makes for a wet bun.

                  I don’t think you can change a bun’s mind about anything they want or don’t want without strict routine. Such as, I can’t get Pip to understand that litter box tipping is just NOT allowed. Especially when she’s upset about something and wants to get my attention. Sure enough that box goes flying when she’s hacked off. I believe it’s started up again because I tried to combine theri cages to form one room for them again and that ended up in disaster. Now I have to ride out the box throwing until she calms back down.

                  I would guess when it comes to territory, that’s an even harder thing to teach a bunny about. What has changed recently that might have set her off? Or I am thinking Boston just wants more room?
                  But at least with squirting you know you’re not doing anything that will harm her in any way. She’ll be quite the clean bun after each foray into the “no-bun’s land”, eh? ^_^ And hopefully there’s nothing dangerous for her to get into or an open door or something?

                  I wish I had some ideas for you. But I am glad to hear that Boston is doing well enough to ‘escape’ in the first place! How’s that head tilt doing?


                • loppyloo
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                    I am going to agree with the other posters–unless it is immediate, they don’t connect the punishment to the crime. They do, however know that they are not supposed to do certain things and that they are much more likely to get away with it when you are distracted or out of the room. One of my buns’ favorite tricks is to get in trouble and then stop doing it when I scold them, and then go back to the same thing as soon as I turn around to walk away from them!

                     

                    And then there is the dance they do to try to get you to laugh instead of getting mad…or when you are in the next room and come rushing back at the sound of some ruckus and there they are, sitting like little angels, with an “I didn’t do anything” look on their face.


                  • Beka27
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                      my buns have been chewing at the baby gate during bonding sessions. the gate keeps them in the room, and both Meadow and Max know that it’s more fun to play in the rest of the house. i’ve been giving them a squirt on the butt just as they start to gnaw. the bun will hop away for five minutes, “confer” with the other bun, and the next bun will hop back and start to gnaw. it’s like they’re saying, “well, i tried and my butt got wet. i’m gonna clean this up, you go try!”

                      they are much smarter than we think…


                    • Kokaneeandkahlua
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                        Oh Beka…Have you had the “you distract mom, I’ll go chew this thing” yet??


                      • MooBunnay
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                          Hahaha – I have a bun that does the same thing Beka! Except its the boy always getting in trouble. He’ll dig and pull at the carpet and I’ll go over and shoo him away, so he’ll thump and run over to his wife-bun and say “OMG that darn lady that is sleeping in OUR bedroom is being a pain again” and then about 2 minutes later hops right back to the same spot and *pull pull* and *chew chew* and it starts all over.

                          Whenever Juli escapes her cage it is the FUNNIEST thing. She knows she’s not supposed to be out, so she’ll do a “warning” thump every few feet because she KNOWS she is about to be in trouble. Its so funny because I know she has escaped when I hear someone thumping all around the living room.


                        • jpgood
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                            I see my mommy and daddy have the same problems.

                            Mommy and Daddy had brought home and pink recliner (that has flaps), well I figuered out I can hide underneth.

                            They are letting me roam around in more areas, I figuered out that I can climb the stairs, they would come after me with my carrier, bring me down and I would hop to it again. They put me in my cage after a few times (as punishment I think)….. They caught on that it wasn’t a one time thing: they came home last night with a “kiddie gate” to block off access of the kitchen,hallway and stairs. I sniffed at it a bit, then ran into the living room to look at them and took off running and LEAP I was over, I looked back and saw mommy and daddy looking at me and away I went right up the stairs like a bolt….

                            Shadow

                            How can this be changed, PLEASE ADVISE.


                          • Sarita
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                              It sounds like he thinks it’s a game – can you close all the doors upstairs and let him explore the hall and just satisfy his curiosity – maybe once he realizes it’s just not too much fun up there he’ll stop doing that.


                            • jerseygirl
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                                The behavioural training should be instantaneous. ie. if I do this – this happens. If I chew this or try go here – I get wet. They need to associate the consequence at the time of doing the deed. As for punishment, I don’t think they get it! They probably view us as the big bad bully or worse, a predator! More likely they’ll think they’re being snubbed and return the favour by snubbing you for a few days.

                                When Jersey does something I prefer her not to do, I say “Uh-uh” quite loudly or clap loudly. It surprises her and she’ll stop. She’ll often try again and I continue the reprimand until she ‘gets’ it. Also, I pet her or reward her on stopping to maintain the relationship. The success rate is probably about 70%. She’ll often try things over again and I feel like she’s seeing if she’ll get same response. Otherwise, it’s just impulsive rabbit like habits and they automatically do them not thinking about consequence!


                              • Deleted User
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                                  My new solution to Boston escaping the living room is to let her have the whole apartment. The living room, dining room, kitchen, and hallways. I covered all accessible cords, so we’ll see how it goes. I know she’ll come running if I shake her treats so I should always be able to find her, although she seems to have staked her claim behind the couch, I think because the air conditioner blows just above the couch. She seems happy w/ her new running space!!!


                                • Sarah Jones
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                                    nope. there is this dog book “how your dog is training you” and it’s the same with bunnies. i bet they know exactly what they should and shouldn’t be doing and just do it to confound us with there utter naughtiness.

                                    i’m bonding at the mo and one of mine went to bite another and i put my finger on her nose and said no just to get her away and stop her and she immediately flopped into tickle time position.

                                    and stupidly i tickled her.

                                    sometimes i don’t help myself.


                                  • skunklionshow
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                                      Jersey:  Excellent wording!  The preferred term is consequence as punishment denotes something negative.  Ditto on the immediate-ness for the consequence, else it does not connect w/ the behavioral infarction.

                                      Just another thought (i.e. the behavioral perspective):  You also need to be aware of your own response to the naughtiness.   Chuckling/ smiling and saying “bad bunny” is not as effective as giving a stern “no” and giving a bunny butt.  Also, w/ attention-seeking based behavior can only be broken by not giving the desired attention.  This is when it is a good idea to assess the function of the behavior.  W/ the running bunny, I’m thinking it is attention seeking.  You might need to give in w/ accommodations (i.e. closing off no-no areas and giving free range during  scheduled times).

                                      I honestly believe that any behavior can be modified, but often you need to assess the function of the negative behavior and find alternative ways to serve this function in better ways.


                                    • jerseygirl
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                                        A-ha! Attention seeking behaviour. I’ve seen it but wasn’t sure if really possible. I have a lil fur blur that runs inside to see where i’m at, then straight back out to run thru and nibble row of plants shes been steered away from numerous times. I swore she did this to get my attention. So cheeky! I can usually observe her from inside the house to see what she’s up to outside. Course, she can’t see me and what I’m up to less she comes to check up on me!!!

                                        Interesting about behavioural training and pets. Seems, as usual, it’s a case of train the owner rather than the pet.


                                      • kralspace
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                                          “lil fur blur”, that’s so funny!

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                                      Forum BEHAVIOR Do rabbits understand ‘punishment’?