Not following commands after changing diet

[CFYasutomi]

We’ve had Sunshine for almost 4 years. Her cage is on our balcony, and during the day she’s allowed to roam/lounge/sleep in the living room in our apartment while we are at work. This is because we live in Hawaii, and it’s just too hot for her to be outside during the day. We usually put her back in her cage in the evening before we go to bed. It used to be very easy to get her to do that. We have a training routine that involves some exercise/tricks (walking, turning in circles, jumping, etc.), and then she’d go “inside.” We always reward her for doing her tricks and going in her cage.

Unfortunately, that’s changed. A few weeks ago, we had her reviewed by a breeder at a pet expo. The breeder said she was a bit skinny, and recommended we add pellets and ti leaves to her diet to put a little more meat on her. I’m pleased to say that she loves eating the pellets and ti leaves, but her behavior has changed. She’s stopped listening to my husband and me. She won’t go “inside” anymore. She’s also very reluctant to do her tricks/exercise.

Thankfully, the only thing that hasn’t changed is that she’s still potty trained.

Any suggestions to correct these unwanted behavior change are welcome.

[Mikey]

Check a vet. If shes refusing to come inside for playtime, then something is wrong inside of her belly. A change in diet that happened too quickly can cause gut problems, some of which can lead to death if not taken care of

If I misread and she is still willingly coming inside for playtime and she is running around, but shes just not listening to you any more…. Thats normal bun behavior and has nothing to do with her diet change. Youll have to get used to the fact she wont always listen to your demands on exercise and play. She is not a puppy

[Azerane]

What time of day do you feed the pellets are how much are you giving? It’s possible that the pellets are of more value to her than her usual treat, or that she is simply too full to care about getting a treat. Perhaps you could use the pellets as her reward for going “inside” rather than the previous treat you were using. You may have to do training sessions with those individual tricks again using pellets and just reinforce the training as well.

However as Mikey said, as much as rabbits can be trained, they’re not always as eager to please as dogs and sometimes will just stop choosing to listen.

[tobyluv]

I think that the “inside” that is spoken of means inside of the cage. The rabbit no longer wants to go in the cage and back out to the balcony at night. Could something have spooked her out on the balcony? Maybe she doesn’t want to do “tricks” any longer just because she is maturing and changing somewhat. It doesn’t seem like that would be tied into her new diet.

How are you rewarding her when she goes in the cage? Since she likes pellets so much, you could reserve those for her night time cage time to try to lure her into the cage, or only give her her favorite veggie or fruit at that time in her cage. How large is the cage? Is it an adequate size for her? Since she is reluctant to go in her cage at night, is it possible for her to stay in the apartment at night? You must have the living room bunny proofed since she has free range there while you are gone in the day time.

[Vienna Blue in France]

I reckon she was doing the tricks because she was a bit hungry and wanted the treats, now she is getting more food she doesn’t necessarily think she ‘has’ to do the tricks as shes not hungry.
so I suggest, as Toby and Azerane, to use the pellets to get her inside at night and give her the pellets only in her cage.

[CFYasutomi]

Thank you all for your timely responses! I didn’t expect to get such insightful advice so quickly.

I’m now giving her pellets at night and we’ve had no problems with her going in her cage. I’ll probably start using the pellets as treats for others things too.

Thank you all again!

[Azerane]

I’m glad that you have had success with changing the feed time to get her back into her cage

[Author]

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