Gandalf won’t stop eating dog food… And the rug. And floor.

[The Last Outlaw]

My dwarf rabbit, Gandalf, is almost three months old. I’ve had him for two months-ish. He’s free roaming except at night and when no ones home. Two weeks ago I caught him eating dog food. I took it away from him and he didn’t try doing it again. But the last few days he’s been a nightmare! Every time I turn around he’s eating dog food or the rug, the floor, the base boards, anything!its not an option to separate him from the dogs for several reasons. Any tips on how I can stop him eating harmful things? I read today that spraying them with water is safe and effective, so I’ve been trying that today and he stops what he’s doing and isn’t upset or scared. He’s fearless and stubborn. Anyway, I feel bad spraying him but I’m very concerned! Do you think this method is okay and I should continue with it?

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Can you put the dogs on a feeding schedule? Dog food is bad for bunnies. Sally would gobble food so I feed my dogs once in the morning and once in the evening. And confine him to a different room while the dogs are eating.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Your going to have to do something about the dog food-that’s very unhealthy. Can you use a gait to keep him out or put the dog food on a shelf that the dog can reach but your bunny can’t?

You may have cage him until his neuter, it sounds like he’s turning into a very active teenager, and he likely won’t calm down until after the neuter. You could move to free roam slowly afterwards.

I don’t think spraying him is going to work at all, the problem with positive punishment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment_%28psychology%29 is that it must be punishing enough and delivered in a timely fashion. What normally happens with the water spraying is it’s not more punishing then the other behavior is intrinsically rewarding. So your just getting a wet angry bunny who continues to do what he wants. True punishment that will work will not be something you or anyone wants to do to their pet. So instead you manage the behavior by blocking it (no out time, restrict access, block access, supervise) and allow for appropriate behavior (Add scratching posts, phone books, things they can tear up and eat).

[The Last Outlaw]

Well the dogs aren’t mine, they’re my roommates’ and they own the house so really I’m their tenant. The dogs have always been able to come and go as they please and had access to food all day so I don’t want to ask them to change their pets to accommodate mine unless there’s no other solution. He’s already enough trouble for them, getting into everything, making a mess, and generally running amok.

[LoveChaCha]

I would advise not free roaming him until he is at least neutered and 1 year old. Rabbits are generally very hyper during their first year and tend to calm down after a year.

A good way to keep a bun penned is with a dog exercise pen. It will keep him out of mischief and harm of eating dog food and also other situations.

[tanlover14]

I have to agree with everyone else. Sounds like you have a teenage bunny whose hormones have kicked in on your hands! I would definitely suggest not free-roaming. I had three babies and as their hormones kicked in, they were TERRRORS. As his hormones kick in he will most likely begin to lose his litter habits (sometimes not but usually it does) which could be a problem for your roommates too… so keeping him penned up may be the best solution for everyone until you get him neutered. You can have him neutered as soon as his jewels drop so you won’t have to wait very long at all most likely.

Although the squirt bottle trick can sometimes work, it usually doesnt in my experience. I think it’s turned into more of a game with my bunnies than anything else. It sends them flying across the room but they are usually back to doing whatever bad behavior they were before within a few minutes. Baby bunnies have VERY short attention spans in my experience so I would try and look through some of the older posts about home-made toys to keep his mind active and keep him busy. With my babies it was all about keeping them in check with LOTS to do. Things to jump up and scope the room around on, wooden sticks they could chew to pieces and throw around, paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls cut in weird angles or filled with hay and a treat to keep them set on getting inside the paper roll, and towels! My brats LOVEDDD towels. They could do so much with them. They would toss them around, dig into them, drag them, and yank on them with their teeth. Cardboard boxes made into diggy boxes (cut a hole in two sides and fill the inside with something he can dig through like shredded paper). There’s a TON of different home-made toys so you can experiment without spending a ton of money. Another favorite is an old phonebook. Bunnies LOVE tearing them apart and the ink is soy-based so it’s safe.

Hope this helps a little

[Hazel]

I agree, he shouldn’t be free roaming yet.

A solution to the dog food problem would be to get elevated bowls that he couldn’t reach, they are made for large breed dogs. That would only work of course if the dogs are tall enough to use them.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I suggest just letting him have free-roam of your room. That way you can control the bunny proofing.

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