How to Timeout a bunny??

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hi all!

  Just been reading some threads and see mention of putting bunnies on timeout…

How does one timeout a bunny? If you do this, what sorts of behaviors do you timeout your bunny for? Have you found that this works?

Please let me know! Am always trying to work to make my bunnies happier and more trained! Thanks!

 

[wendyzski]

Well, I know you’re not supposed to use their cage as a place for a “timeout” because they are supposed to associate it with safety.

My Pepper got the bedroom door gate off the hinge and came right in. I poked her out with a stick, and then pressed my hand on top of her head and gently pushed her head to the floor and held it for a few seconds. It’s one of the things that dominant bunnies do to “discipline” others.

She did it again, so this time I THUMPED (stamped my foot), again pushed her head down, and then turned my back on her. I generally ignored her for most of the day.

In the evening, as she sat on her bookshelf (one of the two places She will sit when she wants grooms) I relented and gave her a good round of skritches. She sat very quietly, even when I rested my hand lightly on her back. She KNOWS she screwed up but was glad I forgave her.

I’ve had really good results with these techniques, from the Language of Lagomorphs website. You just need to “talk” to her in ways she understands.

[Gravehearted]

our bunnies get in trouble for chewing the carpet or fighting through the cages mostly.
Clapping also seems to work to stop bad behaviors most of the time.
we sometimes squirt them with a spray bottle of water. they hate this, so it usually works!

I want to try wendyzski’s bunny behavioral method and see how it goes – it sounds like a great idea!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Great technique Wendyzki!  I too stamp my foot and turn my back on my two.  They understand clearly and will come up to me for forgiveness later on. If it doesn’t work and they are doing something particularly destructive like chewing on the nice furniture or nipping at each other, then they get a squirt.

[BinkyBunny]

That turning your back trick really does work. They do seem to really understand that. But it can also depend on what you are trying to say you are not approving of.

I used to use the cage as a timeout for when my bunny would chew on things that he wasn’t supposed to, but like Wendy said, I had read that they could also see their cage then as punishment. I ended up using an xpen to make small time out area.   Jack hated it.  he would shake and move the xpen.  I don’t know if worked the way I thought it would work, but he was so bent out of shape that he would wear himself out being so angry and by trying to break out of the pen.   That would usually make him stop.

But for a more permanent solution, I just rubbed perfume on the chew spots. 

Do you have an specific challenges that you are dealing with that we can help you with?

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Well, with Kokanee she is very good. She is usually just bad when she feels she is being ignored or when she wants to tease my boyfriend (She will run up, stomp to get your attention and stare directly at him while chewing on something she is not allowed to chew on )

Kahlua is erm, not trained at all it seems…We are having difficulty with the litter training (although I would never time her out for that -plus as grazers I guess that would be impossible hehe) but also she is a bit of a nipper (I am trying the hand over the neck thing and it seemed to work last night-maybe she doesn’t think our fingers are treats, maybe she actually is trying to dominate us!!).

I was interested in the timeout method with her nipping maybe and also just generally to see what sorts of behaviors it worked for…

in general mine are pretty well behaved and can be left out in the evening with little supervision-and they dont’ wreck anything or even attempt to!

Actually it’s quite nice that kahlua doesn’t give a little glance at wires let alone try to chew them…We went through about four computer mice before Kokanee was trained (and we were trained to properly bunny proof…pretty much everything is wireless at our place now…everything else is blocked off…Still if she sees the vaccum cord or my hairdryer cord, she doesn’t pay any mind

[wendyzski]

I used the loud-shriek-head-press-and-bunny-butt method on Pepper from the beginning as she was a VERY nibbly bun at first.  I needed to get across to her that she needed to be more careful with the big pink short-eared rabbits as we are very delicate.  It took just over a week for her to get it.

Even when provoked by nail trims or ear drops, she hasn’t bitten hard enough to bruise or break the skin ever since.  She will nip if she thinks I’m not paying attention but she really knows just how far and hard she can push.

You just have to put things in terms that they understand.  I can’t say enough good stuff about the Language of Lagomorphs site.

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