Looking for links on…

[Bo Bunny]

 Looking for links on trust training and re socialization human rabbit style.

My poor bo bunny is being a pain in the butt.  We’ve tried training him, but I guess we haven’t stuck with it long enough.  Some times he knows not to do things, others he can not be punished about because it is after the fact and would have no clue as to why he was being punished.  Anyway he is a chewer.  We’ve started picking things up and blocking cords, but still a chewer.  We’ve replaced so many important cords on our computer, he’s chewed threw the printer on as well.  It’s not only expensive, but dangerous as well since all of that stuff is left plugged in.  I’ve got rolls of electrical tape everywhere!

Another thing is when he was brought home (2 years ago ish) he was a great loves-to-be-petted-and-held bunny.  But I am the bad guy.  I would try to pick him up and then put him down and reward that, well he wanted and wants nothing to do with it so I’ve stopped attempting to pick him up.  I have to take him to get his nails cut since he won’t even let me do that.  But now I can’t even have me pet him with even reaching out (slowly, palm down) tohim.  I’ll get a stroke in and he hops away.

Should i be stocking up on treats?  He gets greens and pellets and hay, but nothing really in the way of treats.  Except Cheese Nips.  I know I know, I keep telling hubby to stop with those.  ”But he like’s ’em!”  Yea well so do I but if I ate ’em all the time I’d get fat(er).  *sigh*

Any ideas, tips, or links?

 

*Sorry for the edit:  horrible typing.*

[Stickerbunny]

What do you mean by “punished”? Buns don’t exactly understand punishments and it can make them fearful. A “no” is fine, pulling him away from the spot he’s chewing/digging is fine, but anything beyond that I wouldn’t do with a prey animal if you want his trust.

For cords – all bunnies chew cords (mostly, a few exceptions) if they can get to them. There are PVC tubes you can buy at home depot for cords, buy those and a utility knife, slice open one side of the tube and put your cords into those. Your bun can no longer chew cords and you don’t have to replace them and he won’t be at risk.

A lot of rabbits don’t like being picked up, they are prey animals so the instinct is “picked up = bad!”.

Has he been neutered? If not, that will curb a lot of the bad behaviors. My female rabbit destroyed the carpet, chewed things, etc etc and getting her spayed has taken her down to merely a few nibbles here and there and a “no” or “EH!” makes her stop. Also can cause some aggression/territorial/anti social behaviors when their hormones go wild.

If you want to get some treats, go for it. Oxbow makes a good treat and veggies are a great treat – I give apple (occasionally, high in sugar), carrots (again, occasionally) etc as treats to my buns.

[jerseygirl]

be punished about because it is after the fact and would have no clue as to why he was being punished

You’re exactly right. There would be no association with the behaviour and the reprimand. You only have a split second. I usually give a verbal “Ah Ah!” and they do react…but then often return to what they were doing.   So then I have to remove them from the troublesome area and provide some distraction.
With your computer, it’s probably best to completely shut off that area to him. A myriad of cords is too tempting to rabbits and it’s their intinct to chew. He probably sees it as a bit of a project. You could try provide him with an activity that will hopefully keep him busy. Since he likes to chew, what about fixing some hay or willow mats up on a pen or cage side so he can work away on those?
My rabbits all like chewing the bark off willow. So some lengths of unpeeled willow might have the same appeal as the cords.

Was he a young rabbit when you first brought him home? Often when they become adults they get all independant. lol If you’re constantly having to removing him from something inappropriate, that could have affected the relationship a bit.

I feel this way with my 2 older rabbits. So I’m trying to make an effort of spending more time with them and improving the social side of things. They’re a bit snobby with their affections. I do find going back to the ignoring techniques work. Just being in the room but not actively seeking them out. They then come and approach me, jump up, investigate, jump on my back or whatever.

Getting him to approach and reward with treats is not a bad idea. Also clicker training might be a good activity for him.

http://www.clickerbunny.com/clickercritterarticles.htm

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/rejection.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/aloof.html

 

 

[Bo Bunny]

Thank you both very much. For punishment it is a loud no and a clap of the hands @ the time the behavior is done. (If I catch it.) He is neutered.

Suffering from mental illness, I’ve been lacking on a lot and letting him chew where and when. Act how he wants when he wants and now that I am out of my funk I am just really furstrated with myself. It’s just going to take a lot of re-prepping to get things back to when they were.

Now Stickerbunny with the items from Home Depot for cords, is it like aquarium tubing, actual PVC pipe, or does it look like a vacuum hose?

Jerseygirl – I got him at 6 months he is 2ish now and neutered.

Thank you both for the suggestions and links! I’ll try to keep in contact.

[Stickerbunny]

There are multiple styles – they sell hard plastic tubes which are clear, for computers you can get plastic organizers that slip over the wires, there are the ones that look like vacuum cords as well and some that look like actual PVC pipes. Cord organizers and cord protectors are what you can search for online to see the different styles.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753521 they sell that for pets specifically, but I don’t know if a citrus scented tube would be less attractive to a bunny or not lol but you can get unscented ones as well.

Can also make a NIC cube to block off certain areas with a lot of cords.

[Bo Bunny]

Thanks, I’ll look those up.

A few  more things:

Carpet repair.  I live in an apartment complex and my carpet is destroyed.  Long story it’s old and the complex won’t care since once we leave here they’re changing it out anyway.  But in the meantime I am looking at chewed, stripped carpet.  Any ideas on tasteful cover ups or repair ideas?

I didn’t catch how many buns you had StickerBunny, but how are they set up.   Bo basically has free reign except for his 3 foot by 2 foot sleeping cage at night.  So since I am in my office and he is in the living room with hubby (who happens to be napping) I can’t watch him.  Would it be wrong to cage him?  I think I am going to block off part of the living room to a bigger section 5’x5′ maybe and keep him in there for longer times when we can’t watch him…is that more humane (that is the only word that comes to mind).

[Bo Bunny]

Posted By jerseygirl on 08/16/2011 11:50 AM

Getting him to approach and reward with treats is not a bad idea. Also clicker training might be a good activity for him.

http://www.clickerbunny.com/clickercritterarticles.htm

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/rejection.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/aloof.html

 

 

My anti-malware software keeps telling me that rabbit.org is giving off maleware.  Malwarebytes is what I am using, anyone else getting this issue?

And out of curiosity with clicker training.  I have multi species of animals, anyone have trouble training a rabbit and let say your cat starts picking up or confusing signals?  Maybe different types of ‘clickers’ can be used (something with different noises).

[Stickerbunny]

I have two unbonded – neither have a cage, Stickers lives in the laundry room / kitchen with a baby gate blocking off the rest of the house and Powder lives in the rest of the place. Powder sleeps under my bed, or on my side of the bed on the floor so he knows exactly when I move and chases me. Stickers has a chair in her room she likes to sleep in.

Stickers when she was new was horrible about carpet as well – I posted a picture in the lounge of her idea of redecorating my carpet, it isn’t pretty lol you can get carpet pieces and cut out the old carpet and repair with the new pieces, or you could cover it up with a rug… a lot of people with bunnies use the foam/rubber bottomed mats they sell for kids play areas to cover up their carpet. Just make sure whatever you use doesn’t have edges that stick up so he can’t chew them, or make it something safe to chew.

For penning him in when you can’t supervise, since he has bad habits (and dangerous ones at that) you could get an X-pen and if you want flooring a large piece of linoleum or a mat or anything he won’t chew to pieces under it for him. That way he has room to run around, he can stretch and you can be sure he’s not destroying things. Just make sure you get a tall one (over 3ft) so he can’t jump over it.

What I ended up doing in Stickers room is lining the walls with wood slabs over the carpet since she only digs where the carpet connects to the wall.

[Stickerbunny]

Rabbit.org shouldn’t give off malware – there might be an advertisement on there though that is causing your program to go off, I use firefox with adblock plus so I don’t see the ads. :s

[Bo Bunny]

Thanks,

With the flooring, something like this?

http://softtiles.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=76&gclid=CNG1hq2m1qoCFUi8KgodhG8w7A

I want to redo my kitchen floors and wanted to do something like this:

http://www.simplefloors.com/products/flooring_details.aspx?FlooringID=831

So even an extra 20 sq ft to make another flooring would work with an X pen. Thanks guys so much!

 

Edit:  approproite sized xpen

[jerseygirl]

I notice mine get stuck into things when I’m busy with something or not feeling great energy wise. It’s like they’re wanting attention and know destroying something will get out attention!

With the carpet you can replace segments and sort of knit the edges in but if it’s old, it’d be hard to match up a piece for repair. Are the areas along the wall or in the middle of the carpet?

I’m not sure why you’ve had trouble opening the rabbit.org articles. I’ve copied them and will paste them below. 

[jerseygirl]

Rejection

Beth Woolbright

“I had such good relationship with my bunny until I got a second rabbit. Now they’re together, and neither wants much to do with me!”

 

Feeling rejected by one or both members of a newly bonded rabbit couple is not uncommon, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Often, it turns out, the person just isn’t spending as much time with the pair as was given the one bunny. (They take such good care of each other.) Also, in the excitement of introducing two rabbits, a person may rush through the introductory period between him/herself and the new bunny, so the new rabbit has little idea who that two-legged animal really is and may express that confusion by acting jealous.

 

The amount of time you spend on the floor with each of your buns can determine how much attention they’ll let you give them. While some rabbits are naturally affectionate and love to be petted for hours, others require that you first cultivate a relationship of trust and expectation. Quality time for these rabbits must be given on a regular basis, so that they come to expect a certain level of interaction. (Picking the right time to pet or play is important too; some only like to be touched when relaxed.)

 

Though it may seem like two bunnies who have each other need less attention from their person than one alone, rabbits are social animals who will accept as much attention as feels good. (http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/rejection.html)

 

Life with an Aloof Rabbit
AMY SHAPIRO
 
 To celebrate the publication of The House Rabbit Handbook, a party was given for all the (human) contributors. When rabbit-people get together the conversation naturally turns toward our long-eared pals. Their health, foibles, sleeping habits, and whisker-twitches were discussed in unsparing detail.

 

One woman told me how her rabbit loves to lie on his back between her two children while they watch TV. Another described his bunny’s morning routine of dancing round his feet while he makes coffee, then hopping on his lap and nibbling the bottom of the newspaper. By the time a very nice young man was halfway through a story about having his faced licked by his lovable lop, I had to excuse myself for a reality check.

 

When I arrived home from the party, Trixie and Oscar greeted me with their usual enthusiasm. Trix allowed me to pet her muzzle for a few minutes before hopping off to more important business. Oscar showed his delight by not running away when I said hello.

 

I spent a long time wondering where I’d gone wrong. Not enough handling? Too much handling? Bad “breeding”? Maybe I just wasn’t good with rabbits. Maybe they needed some little boys to watch television with.

 

The answers came as I began fostering. I learned and am still learning about the wide range of lagomorph temperaments. At first I was surprised by how few actually conformed to the stereotypical cute-n-cuddly or passive/timid ideals held by many humans (encouraged by fairy tales, children’s stories, and Madison Avenue). Having fostered several litters I have also seen that many basic personality traits are present at birth. Handling, socialization, and early environment play a major role, but bunnies are not blank slates. They arrive here with capacities and tendencies which must be recognized and respected.

 

The following suggestions may help to strengthen the bond between you and your independent friend, but the first and most important step is to accept her for herself.

 

HUMANS WHO LOVE TOO MUCH

 

Being coddled and cuddled by humans is not at the top of every rabbit’s wish-list. Aloof rabbits remind me of childhood experiences with overly affectionate adults. Did you have an aunt or grandfather who just loved to pinch your cheeks and announce loudly to the world what a cute little boojums you were? How did that make you feel?

 

Your rabbit may not be aloof at all, but simply overwhelmed by the magnitude or volume of your affection for her. Rabbits are so irresistibly soft, adorable, and gorgeous that it is difficult to avoid smothering them with physical affection. A good substitute for kisses, hugs, and heavy petting is verbal affection. Talk to her. Tell her what kind of a day you had, and how glad you are that she is there to help you recover from it.

This form of animal-assisted therapy is simple, effective, and only minimally exploitive of your friend.

 

If you tone down your demonstrativeness, you will be able to receive what your quiet friend has to offer. Your low-key bunny’s messages may be getting lost. As with a shy rabbit, a useful exercise is to sit on the floor in the same room with your rabbit. That’s the whole exercise. Just sit there. Read a book or stare out the window while Flopsy grooms herself or stares out the window with you.

 

This exercise is one that rabbits do with each other all the time. Certainly they share physical contact, but not necessarily 24 hours a day. Rabbits are with each other even when they’re not actively doing things together.

 

A RABBIT FRIEND

 

Although he may not ask for attention from you, your rabbit may crave the company of a rabbit friend. I don’t recommend adopting a second rabbit if your only reason for doing so is to solve a problem with your present companion; but an outgoing rabbit can bring out the extrovert in an aloof rabbit.

 

If your goal is to become closer to your first rabbit, you should be aware that adding to the family sometimes has the opposite effect. Some rabbits are aloof toward humans but very affectionate to other rabbits. You may find that your new bunny has stolen Flopsy’s heart. With all her emotional needs met by the new rabbit, Flopsy is more aloof than ever toward you. I eventually came to accept that Oscar was Trixie’s rabbit, not mine. Fortunately Trixie allows me to shower affection on her, so everyone is happy.

 

ASK NOT WHAT YOUR RABBIT CAN DO FOR YOU

 

Because our companion animals are totally dependent on us for their physical needs, it’s easy to fall in to a “benevolent dictator” relationship with them. Why isn’t Flopsy more grateful for the fact that you rescued her from the pound, that you spend your hard-earned paycheck on toys and treats and vet bills?

 

This view overlooks the many demands we make of the animals. Love me forever, unquestioningly, no matter what kind of mood I’m in. Be affectionate toward me whenever I want you to be, no matter what mood you’re in. Leave me alone when I don’t feel like being bothered. Cheer me up when I’ve had a rotten day.

 

The list is long, and most animals manage to meet many of these difficult demands much of the time. Take the time to appreciate the reciprocity of your relationship and to enjoy your rabbit for exactly who he is; in his own inimitable way, he will do the same for you. (

 http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/aloof.html)

[RabbitPam]

Jersey, thanks for reprinting that article here. I was particularly interested in the description of the aloof bunny and what to do about it. Since Samantha is aloof in her own way, I can get very frustrated too.

[Author]

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