Name training help

[MACKS111]

Hello everyone I recently got a new rabbit. I have had her for little over a month now. I purchased her from Petland and she is about a year old. She did not have a name when she was purchased so we gave her one. However it is very difficult to teach her the name we have given her. I am assuming this is because she had a name with her past owners. 

How does everyone else teach their rabbits their names? Will teaching mine be more difficult since she is a year old and we are not training her from when she was a baby?

Her name is Pincha, and I have been saying her name and saying “Come Pincha!” with treats in my hand. Sometimes she comes sometimes she does not, and when she does she looks very reluctant and cautious – she leans over to the treat then goes back to where she was sitting. I want to train her to respond to her name but she seems so damn stubborn its very frustrating I am on the verge of just giving up! 

I really do not want to give up, I want to have a well trained rabbit that responds to her name but shes just so stupid or stubborn!!

If anyone has some tips on how to teach a year old rabbit a new name please help! She has litter boxed trained her self which is a miracle. I guess that’s the trade off because shes simply stubborn and refuses to respond to her name!

The only treats I have are some store bought veggie puffs. She kinda of likes those but they are not enough to get her all excited. She likes apples but not enough to be trained with. I need to find a good treat she likes…who knows how long that will take. 

If anyone has their own methods on teaching rabbits their names please help! I have attempted the help on eHow and Yahoo answers and its just the same thing “Say your rabbits name with a treat out, and when they approach and take praise them with their name – repeat, increase distance repeat” that does not seem to be working as after 2 treats she does not want anymore and does not even move an ear muscle when I say her name and it has been over a month please someone help! I love this animal very much and dont want to give it up but she has shown no signs of interaction or anything social at all! 

[MACKS111]

Here are some photographs of her. I do not know her breed, all I know is that she falls into the Cylindrical shape when she lays.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Bunnys are like cats, they do what they want, when they want! I personally think they do learn their name but they are only going to listen if they want to. So just keep calling her by her name and when she comes offer a treat. My buns hardly ever come on command but I know they know their name because when Harley is doing something he isn’t supposed to I yell his name and he binkies off acting all proud he got my attention. He only comes to me when he wants to. Don’t feel discouraged if she doesn’t come on command. I never sat down and had name training sessions. I just called by his/her name when I had a treat I wanted to give and if they came to me they got the treat. If not, well, I still give in and gave them the treat

she looks precious btw! Give her some time to get comfortable with you.

[Elrohwen]

She’s not stupid or stubborn – she’s a normal rabbit! I wouldn’t worry about it. As the other poster said, bunnies are like cats and pretty much do what they want to do. Neither of mine know their name despite my efforts, though they usually come when I tap the floor. Then again, if they are sleeping, or doing something they think is really important, they’re not going to come when I tap the floor either. As far as rabbits go, I would consider them “well trained” as they know some tricks and most people never train their rabbits at all. The best way to call them is to shake the bag of treats – that brings them running!

Also, in my experience, rabbits don’t respond to verbal cues very well. If you think about it, they are quiet animals who communicate with one another quietly using body language. They may make a few soft noises, but they aren’t nearly as vocal as dogs for example. They have a hard time realizing that words mean specific things, but that doesn’t make them stupid.

You will also find that they aren’t social like a dog, or even like some cats. They tend to seek out interaction on their own terms, or show their affection by sleeping a few feet away from you, but not on your lap or something.

She’s very cute, by the way!

[peppypoo]

With some time and patience, I think most rabbits can be trained to come on a cue. They key is the call her in the same tone every time…they don’t so much learn their name as the specific sound of the word you use. Or, as Elrohwen suggested, you could train her to come when you tap the ground. Also, since training will initially require a lot of treats, try to find something that she loves, but isn’t very high in sugar. If she really likes eating pellets, even those may work too.

First, sit right beside her, say her name in whatever way you’ve decided, and hand her a treat (without making her come). Name, treat, name, treat, name, treat. After a while, you should notice that she perks up and anticipates a treat from you when she hears her name. When this is solid, start moving away a little bit at a time. If you repeat this several times a day over a few days, you’ll slowly be able to increase the distance until you can call her from farther away.

[MACKS111]

Posted By peppypoo on 04/02/2013 04:52 PM

With some time and patience, I think most rabbits can be trained to come on a cue. They key is the call her in the same tone every time…they don’t so much learn their name as the specific sound of the word you use. Or, as Elrohwen suggested, you could train her to come when you tap the ground. Also, since training will initially require a lot of treats, try to find something that she loves, but isn’t very high in sugar. If she really likes eating pellets, even those may work too.

First, sit right beside her, say her name in whatever way you’ve decided, and hand her a treat (without making her come). Name, treat, name, treat, name, treat. After a while, you should notice that she perks up and anticipates a treat from you when she hears her name. When this is solid, start moving away a little bit at a time. If you repeat this several times a day over a few days, you’ll slowly be able to increase the distance until you can call her from farther away.

Thank you , very helpful.

I was thinking yogurt treats but those are high sugar. Maybe some grain/berry treat I must get.

[Roberta]

Craisins or Raisins, you can’t go wrong. Mine literally fly into the bungalow and sit up waiting when I rattle the Craisin box. Except Piglet who does not have a sweet tooth. Shake the hay bag and he is there though.
A month isn’t very long in terms of establishing a human bunny bond. Give it a bit longer, once you both have well established routines things should improve.

[BinkyBunny]

It definitely takes time! My bunny Vivian knows her name, or at least recognizes “Vivian” as a familiar word as her ears will pop up when I say it, but she won’t necessarily come when I say her name. I have to say Vivian, come here, come here, Vivian, come, come, come here and THEN if she decides she wants to come over, she will. But she has to be in the mood and I have to sound convincing that there is something in it for her. LOL

Rabbit language is definitely different than a dog or even cat. Being a prey animal, rabbits speak more in subtle body cues which to us humans can be perceived as not listening, dense, stubborn or bored. Their language is not as overt as a dog or cat, therefore patient observation can be the key to understanding and respecting the way bunnies behave. Here is a great resource for learning rabbit language. http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

Oh and a tip for training: When I use a craisin to train, I will cut up the craisin into a 2- 4 pieces so I am not overloading a bunny’s system.

You had asked about her breed — She looks like a Harlequin.

By the way….how did you come up with her name? 

[bunnylova123]

Vienna will listen if I call her name, she just doesn’t care , one of my favourite games is just to shout Vienna from as far away as possible, and see if her ears prick up. Just use her name all around her, so she hears it all the time, and try to associate it with good things ( don’t go Pincha! Pincha! Pincha! on a trip to the vets ) She might have hearing problems, it’s more common in lops, but not unheard of in uppy eared bunnies. Does she react to other sounds? Bunnies are normally very stubborn. I’ve had to push bunnies into their houses more than once. Just think of bunnies as like a stubborn toddler, if they don’t want to do something, they won’t.

[peppypoo]

Grain or berry treats are a good idea, such as cutting up raisins/craisins as BB suggested. However, I don’t recommend giving yogurt drop treats at all, since rabbit digestive systems aren’t the best at handling dairy products. Pet stores often market yogurt treats for rabbits, but I wish they wouldn’t!

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