If only id known……………..

[Deleted User]

……… what i was getting myself into when I decided to get a house rabbit ha ha!

 

I was swayed to get one after seeing my friends adorable Lilly who is almost perfect (except for wall paper shredding), but Teddy… OMG Teddy!!!! is bloomin hard work! He sulks and punishes me when i leave him over night.. and now he has taken to growling and trying to box me when i try to herd him (which has now turned to a chase and try and catch him because herding isnt working) back to the kitchen at night and in the mornings when i have to go to work…. i think he’s actually swearing at me! He has also decided to start pooing on my sofa recently and on my lounge floor and now for no reason at all he’s taken it up on the bed too! I really dont know why he’s doing this as its almost a week since i left him for a night so its not punishment. I kept him in the kitchen most of last night coz he cant be trusted at the mo and all he did was sulk all evening in his toilet box.. he wasnt even very interested in his food (well compared to what he’s normally like with his food) but i dont think he’s ill or anything as he’s still pooing normally (except in all the wrong places as well as his toilet box). So… anyone elses bunny’s decided they gonna try and take over your house? oh and any suggestions on how i can remind him that im boss and not him?

[hooty22]

Remind him that your boss?? Hahaha, you realize he’s just allowing you to live in his house right??

[poopy]

Well judging by your previous posts, it seems like Teddy is pretty wild and loves to mark all over since he was having litterbox problems already. Sounds like that is just his personality! You should be able to establish yourself as dominant, but I don’t know how much you can change a wild bun! If he starts acting REALLY wacko you could get him tested for e.cuniculi (sp?). I heard bunnies get pretty crazy when they have that.

[MooBunnay]

Hi!

Do not worry! All of the problems you are mentioning are problems that pretty much every bunny owner has experienced. 

Concerning the herding, he is not necessarily trying to dis obey you, but a human chasing a bunny can definitely be like a predator chasing the bunny, so he is probably actually running from fear.  Since bunnies are prey animals, chasing them is not the best way to get them to do what you want, instead, entice him back to his cage with treats, or let him go back to his cage on his own and shut the door. Also, you might try keeping him just in his cage for a couple days so he understands that is HIS area, and then he will be more likely to go back on his own, espcially if thats where all his "stuff" is, like his box and food and water and treats and toys.

Concerning the poops, that is him trying to "mark" his territory, he wants it to be HIS!  In this case, you should either block him off of this area.  Also, he could need some litterbox help, so instead of giving him run of the house right away, give him smaller areas, with a litter box in the middle, and pick up any stray poops he leaves and put them in his box.  Slowly expand his area as he gets better with the poops, my bunnies are STILL not allowed in my living room as they enjoy marking the corners as their own.

I’m sure other people have more good input, but these are my top two suggestions!

Also, if a rabbit boxes you or pushes you away, do not back off.  Instead, get your hand on their head, and pet their forehead, at the same time pushing their forehead down gently to the floor. This is how my boyfriend got his super out of control attitude bunny to realize that my BF was dominant. If you just back off you will not accomplish anything!

[MooBunnay]

Oops, now re-reading your post, it doesn’t sound like he has a cage, if you don’t want to put him in a cage, try to make one somewhat enclosed area, or room, where it is HIS space for when you are not home.  This way, you can supervise his behavior outside of "his" area, so that he is not developing bad habits (like poops on your bed) while you are away from home.  It is very tough to give a rabbit immediate run of the whole house and expect them to know how to behave, so giving him small steps towards complete freedom and supervising his behavior along the way will definitely help.

[x liddo bunny x]

i second with moobunay’s second post. when you give a bun your entire house it is kinda difficult to train. its like running before walking. best to give ur bun some space but not too much. most people dont think cages are right for buns but i personally think it was a good thing to start with. my bunny’s cage is HER space. and when i come to give her her play time, she immediately jumps into her litterbox at first sniff of me. (i now pick her up with the litterbox because she seems to feel safer) cages may be too small for buns to run in but you may not be there to watch her at ALL times of the day so you need a place to confine him and a place for him to call HIS. sorta like his safe house. but anyways, by cage i mean just a confined area a pen or actual cage with a lid. your choice. this will also be the perfect place to train him before he can actually have full run of the house. so slowly give him more space each time u think he is doing better with litter training. good luck =)

[BinkyBunny]

A couple of quick questions first.  I can’t remember –  Is he neutered and was someone new in the house while you were gone?  Like a house sitter/petsitter?

Was he fine before this night, or has it just been gradually getting worse or has it always been a challenge – not much improvement?

How much freedom does he typically have – before the "night alone"

[Deleted User]

Well, when i first got him he was confined to the kitchen and hallway (both are very smallish areas) and i got him totally litter trained over time without giving him run of the flat.. then for about 2-3 months he was perfect and had the lounge and kitchen and hall but only when i was there (he still is confined to the kitchen and hall whenever i go out) then i started picking him up but that was when his litter training went all out the window so i confined again until he was better again.. then i allowed him to have lounge and bedroom supervised.. and before he got the bedroom he was fine with visitors too then after he got the bedroom freedom he started deciding that he’l pee and poo when visitors are round so its not just when ive left him over night although he seems to be more set on doing it when i get home.. but not usually until the next day oddly enough.

Yes he is neutered by the way. He also does a great big pile of poo’s if im on the phone too… is he an attention seeker do u think?

In this last few days iv put him on a diet as i think i was feeding him too much… so ive halved his pellet food which has actually been a blessing in disguise because i now dont have to herd or chase him back to the kitchen when i go to work in the mornings.. i just call him and shake his food and he’s back to getting very excited about his breakfast and dinner so i just shut him away to eat.

But.. he continues to poo in the lounge even when ive kept him out for a couple of days.. I dont think he cares tho coz the bedroom is his fabourite room.. theres more to investigate and curtains to hide under as the lounge floor is laminated and hes too scared to step off the rug.

I hope this explains more.

[Lucy]

could you try to put another litter box out in the lounge area? I don’t think I read anything abuot having multiple litterboxes. Maybe you can try another litter box and put the poops in there- and then put the bunny in the box too. He might get the hint that poops go in the box when he’s out and about.

[x liddo bunny x]

i have 2 in my living room and one in each bed room but emo and mochi still like to poo right beside it…… however, emo just leaves a trail behind her actually she started 2 days ago… before she seemed to do better…….

[Deleted User]

Well i could try extra litter boxes in the lounge and bedroom but in the bedroom the only place he poo’s is actually on my bed… so i think thats a little difficult to have a permanant box on a wobbly mattress ha ha! and the only other problem in the lounge is that theres no where to put an extra tray and he poo’s in different places iue wherever is convenient at the time so no one place is his preferred place.

[BinkyBunny]

It sounds like territorial pooing still.  So even if you put a litterbox there, my guess is it won’t prevent them necessarily from pooing on the areas that he prizes, like couch or bed.

He sounds very territorial.  When strangers come or when he’s given freedom without supervision, he’ll just mark up as he sees fit.  Also, it sort of sounds like this has been an ongoing struggle where at some point it has gotten better, but for the most part he’s a stubborn marker? 

So this really may take time and most importantly consistency.  Which is a pain I know.  First making sure he understands he has "his" territory that is separate from the rest of the house which should be considered the general territory that he’s not allowed to claim. 

So when he’s out and about, watch him like a hawk.  (like you don’t have anything better to do, this gets old I know, but if you want to break him of this habit, you have to make a habit of catching him in the act) 

So right when  you see him leaving poos in the lounge, on your bed, wherever, get him back to his pen for 15 minutes. Then allow him out again.  When he does it again, leave him in for longer, or even until the next time he’s allowed out.   Most rabbits will not get this right away.  It will take time (WEEKS!) for them to associate freedom with the fact that they don’t mark.   And at first he may rebel, by marking right away to say, I can’t believe you are trying to take over this territory, this is mine mine mine therefore poo poo poo.  But you just stay consistent and get him back to his territory. (it needs to be a place he would enjoy being with toys, chews, boxes whatever, so that he feels like it’s a place he’d want to claim as his own.

What do have for his territory right now?

 

[skunklionshow]

I’ve used the recommendations from Binky for Jessica…

I use the hand on her head thingy anytime she goes after me.  I know after you’ve been bit, it can be very daunting to put your hand on their head, but it really works to get her resituated!

We also started to use a clicker w/ saying "litterbox" or "cage".  Single click for cage and fast double click for litterbox.  She’s gotten so good w/ the clicker.  We still say the words w/ the click…It helps me to retain what I’m commanding her to do.

I also understand where you’re coming from about knowing beforehand.  I wanted to cuddly w/ a soft, fluffy, chunk of a bunny….boy, was I disappointed to learn that bunnies don’t like ot be picked up!

[MooBunnay]

Thats so fun that your bun knows about the clicker…I wonder if my buns could learn!  They don’t even really look up at me when I say their names so somehow i feel that they would just thump back at me if I clicked at them, hahaha

It is very true that many people do not know what kind of pet a bunny is – the reason most of them get dumped is because people think that buns are something that their child can carry around and drop on its head and it will be OK….all of us bunny owners know thats NOT true  

I didn’t know too much about buns either when I first started, but I really wanted to be able to sit on the couch with my buns, then I got three skittish buns and I’m still trying to teach them how to sit next to me! So I can understand being a little dissappointed when at first they are not what you expect – but I still think bunnies are the most fantastic pet!  I didn’t know they wouldn’t want to sit on the couch with me, BUT I also didn’t know that they BINKIED, what a great surprise!! even better than sitting on the couch with them!

[BinkyBunny]

Skunklion – Thats impressive that your using the clicker. Good for you! Love how you found a way to work with Jessical

MooBunnay – I took a Clicker Training Class for Rabbits at the HRS headquarters and it was amazing how quickly they can learn with clicker training. They even were able to train a guinea pig! I have been really lazy though lazy with following through with my own bunnies, but I can tell you that on the day of training, we used the shelter bunnies, and within a very short time, we were able to teach them to bump their nose to a ball. Not that that is an important task, but it was just one of the steps to fully training them to follow commands.

I do recommend getting the quieter i-click for skittish bunnies. http://www.clickertraining.com/store/

The regular clicker scared my bunnies which hindered training.  I also read somewhere someone used a snapple tea bottle top as a quiet clicker.  

[dmh426]

Bunnies need a place of their own, their own little home (cage). They need to be neutered or spayed also! I think maybe he has too much area available to him. Give him a small space and work up to getting to the bigger spaces. This will help with the territorial markings. I didn’t use a clicker, but I do still use a spray bottle with water. Bunnies are like cats, they hate water! I always say “Sophie no no no” when she’s being naughty, and then spray her with the water. Normally, I don’t even have to spray the water. She’s hears “Sophie no no no” and she’s running in the opposite direction of whatever naughtiness she was getting into. Good luck!

[MooBunnay]

I guess I WOULD need a clicker for scaredy-bunnies, Kramer gets frightened by everything, including the sound of aluminum foil!

[x liddo bunny x]

hahaha too bad a clicker wouldnt work for mine… however a bottle of water does. =) without the squirt part too. i am a mean mummy

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