Good natural training treats?

[Phil-lop+Lydia]

I am currently clicker training Lydia and want to give her natural treats.  

Will raisins work?  

 

Something small so I can use it a lot but not overload her in sugar!

[Sarita]

How about using her food pellets – are you giving her pellets now?

[Phil-lop+Lydia]

yeah she eats pellets now but isnt interested in them when i try and use them as treats.

[Elrohwen]

I use only pellets for clicker training. It’s already part of their diet, not high in sugar, and they’re so small that it’s easy to give 20 or so without making much of a dent in how many calories your bun is getting. They’re also a good shape to hold and give.

I find dried fruit is a very high value treat. My bun is climbing all over my lap as soon as he sees a raisin so they’re not really helpful for the actual training. Pellets are yummy, but less exciting so he doesn’t lose his focus.

I would continue to try the pellets. Is she getting an unlimted amount for her meals? Or a limited amount? My bun became far more interested in pellets when he went from unlimited to 1/4c per day.

[Phil-lop+Lydia]

she gets an unlimited amount but i probably should limit it everyday.

[KatnipCrzy]

I don’t use raisins- since I have dogs and grapes and raisins are toxic to dogs.  But I do use Craisins and other dried fruits- and I cut them into even smaller bits.  So you can stretch out the amount of treats you can give my cutting the raisin or craisin up into smaller pieces.  They are just as enthusiastic about small pieces as large pieces!

[Phil-lop+Lydia]

okay perfect! I will try that!

[Monkeybun]

Caution: raisins can turn bunnies into little bundles of dancing joy. Monkey goes crazy for them

[Moonlight_Wolf]

I sometimes use their greens to motivate their training.

[Phil-lop+Lydia]

Another random question…can i still bond my bunnies even though I just got Phil? Should I let him adjust or just start the bonding right away??

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I use raisins (My pup doesn’t get any though ) They work great as they are tiny but remember to only give a few (2-4) so sessions are short. It’s working though-I just started with Noot and I was doing some clicking with the dog and he went bonkers-note to self: Don’t train one animal in ear shot of another

You can bond strait away-personal preference As long as they are both fixed you can start

[Beka27]

You can bond immediately. When we rescued our Max a couple years ago, we began bonding within the next couple days. Three weeks later they were inseparable. Similar situation as yours… female mini rex ruled the house… brought home a male lop… they fell in love. ;o)

[RabbitPam]

Thanks so much for asking this.

I have my new clicker and am just waiting for the training book to arrive, but was in the store and went to buy craisins, but I was startled by how big they are. Wasn’t sure if cutting them down was the way to go.

Elrohwen, thank you for the tip about training with pellets. She loves her pellets, and I give her a limited scoop once a day, so when i start I can use those. Also, I was thinking of using the Oxbow Timothy treats, the little circles that look like Cheerios. They’re about the size of a raisin, but might be more healthy. Any thoughts?
Do you need to stick with the same treat when you train, or do you switch off? (Don’t mean to hijack the thread.)

[Barbie]

I use pellets too – it’s easy and I just take the pellets out of their daily ration. Both of mine go crazy for the pellets. Make sure that the pellets aren’t too big. Some of the pellets are long, so I break those in half or thirds.

The point of a small treat, is one so the bunny doesn’t fill up on food and get bored of the training session and so he doesn’t get fat, and two so you can keep moving on with the training session, and you dont have to wait for the bunny to finish chewing.

Sometimes I’ll cut a crasin into itty bitty pieces – I can usually get 6 pieces out of one crasin

So to answer your question Pam, I switch up the treats, and I think that’s fine. Keeps the bunnies interested, and that way they never know what they’re going to get as a reward, so they’ll stay focused better.

 

[Phil-lop+Lydia]

kokanneandkahlua: I’m glad to hear I can start bonding right away! I was afraid I was stressing poor phil out!

Beka27: Geez we have the exact same situation! Did the bonding go fairly easy for you? It seems to be working quite well for me right now. But who knows. Just keep thinking positive thoughts! Its hard for me not to be tense while they bond cause I’m afraid Lydia will attack at any moment, though she is getting better.

Rabbitpam: Tell me how the clicker book is! I’m just kinda training her without the book but if she doesnt start to get it then I better buy one! and I was also thinking about giving Lydia some of those oxbox treats. She just doesnt get motivated for her pellets.

Barbie: I cut up crasins into tiny pieces as well and thats definitely working for her so far. Shes just a picky food eater. Maybe a little spoiled.

[Beka27]

For treats I have also done a matchstick carrot cut into teeny tiny “bunny bite-size” pieces, and single parsley leafs.

If both buns are over one year, you should absolutely begin limiting their pellets, especially for the mini rex, as they’re prone to becoming overweight easily (and overweight leads to tummy troubles and sore hocks.) They should both be at about 1/4 cup a day, maximum. After awhile you can probably reduce that even further to about 1/8 cup a day.

Bonding was horrific for the first week or two, and then something just clicked. I did one-hour sessions every single day for three weeks. I was glad when they finally bonded.

[Phil-lop+Lydia]

Okay I will start limiting their food. Lydia has dealt with weight issues since i got her. She was WAY overweight at the vet because she never got exercise and had a poor few homes. She’s lost two pounds since i’ve had her So i’m glad shes a little under control but limiting her food will be good.

The bonding for my two isn’t going so bad. I do short 20-30 minute sessions 3 or 4 times a day. They just had one today and it went really well! Thankfully! No biting this time. Just tense laying around and lydia started washing. Phil fell asleep. Nothing too exciting. :p better than a fight I suppose!

[Beka27]

And of course when you are limiting pellets, you are also increasing veggies and hay consumption which is very good for them. They should each be eating at least 2 cups of veggies per day, and always have hay available.

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