Training a rabbit to come when being called?

[lemon]

Hello fellow bunny mommies and daddies 

Nice to meet you guys, i’m a newbie here. and i want to ask about my bunny. her name is Truffle. She is 6 months old. i had her since she was about 3 months old.  And lately i have been trying to teach her name, so she would come to me whenever she hides. because she looovvveee to hide, so it’s always a trouble whenever i have to get her back to her cage. but teaching her how to come is also not an easy task at all… i wonder if its because it’s too late… i should have teached her as soon as i got her? or is it because she hasn’t been spay and neuter that’s why she’s wild?  

I saw videos on youtube of people calling their rabbit’s name and they’ll just run to their owner. they said just train your rabbit with their favorite treat and it’s an easy thing… i beg to differ. it’s very difficult… driving me crazy… first of all Truffle sometimes doesn’t even want to eat anything, like she would just rather lay down and hide in some corner. so how can i get her attention? and as soon as i take her out of the cage she would just run off and begin exploring the entire house. She would come to me sometimes, but it’s only when she is dire in need of some treat. And after she gets it, she will just storm off again…  So could anyone please tell me what is the right way and what should i do to get my bunny’s attention ?Because i desperately want to train her lol 

[Bunny House]

Hi and welcome!! I taught one of my buns her name at 1 1/2 years old, so it’s not too late. I would suspect her not being spayed would attribute to her behavior. You can start with doing simple tricks with treats, like saying “up” and dangle a single pellet above her so she will then after some time, learn that up means a treat. Make sure to give one pellet at a time and to only have a small palm full so you can do like 30-50 tricks and then repeat the next day so she doesn’t get chunky. Then you can start with putting her in one corner of the room and letting her smell the pellet, going to the other side and calling her name and then she should come. After a while she will learn her name and come when called with no treat! It takes a while and might be frustrating but you have to be using the right methods. My buns learned their agility tricks over night but their name was longer. And just remember, sometimes she might not want to come when called because she doesn’t want to move, they are lazy just like us.

[Boing]

I think some bunnies just take to this better than others. Cincinnati knows his name and his nicknames and looks at you when called, but you go to him, thank you very much. Daisy didn’t need training. I just have to say “Daisy. Where’s Daisy?”, and she comes running up at full speed. I didn’t teach her this, and got her as an almost adult. She is also never rewarded with treats for doing this, as they get treats in their pens to prevent stealing.

[lemon]

Posted By Bunny House on 9/27/2018 7:57 AM

Hi and welcome!! I taught one of my buns her name at 1 1/2 years old, so it’s not too late. I would suspect her not being spayed would attribute to her behavior. You can start with doing simple tricks with treats, like saying “up” and dangle a single pellet above her so she will then after some time, learn that up means a treat. Make sure to give one pellet at a time and to only have a small palm full so you can do like 30-50 tricks and then repeat the next day so she doesn’t get chunky. Then you can start with putting her in one corner of the room and letting her smell the pellet, going to the other side and calling her name and then she should come. After a while she will learn her name and come when called with no treat! It takes a while and might be frustrating but you have to be using the right methods. My buns learned their agility tricks over night but their name was longer. And just remember, sometimes she might not want to come when called because she doesn’t want to move, they are lazy just like us.

Thank you for your input, i will try it!! But what should i do if she runs away while i’m training her? or if she groom herself? she does this alot. and everytime i have to wait for her to finish before teaching her tricks again… she is definitely my queen and i’m just her slave  or i guess i should just accept it until she get spayed? 

i tried putting her treats inside a cardboard box, so when i shake it’ll have a loud noise. i thought it’ll trigger her attention, but then she just choose to lay down lmao she is indeed very lazy… like she doesn’t even want to move even when i’m only like 60cm apart from her  so she kinda frustrates me… i keep telling myself i should just give up whenever im training her hahahahaha…

[lemon]

Posted By Boing on 9/27/2018 8:03 PM

I think some bunnies just take to this better than others. Cincinnati knows his name and his nicknames and looks at you when called, but you go to him, thank you very much. Daisy didn’t need training. I just have to say “Daisy. Where’s Daisy?”, and she comes running up at full speed. I didn’t teach her this, and got her as an almost adult. She is also never rewarded with treats for doing this, as they get treats in their pens to prevent stealing.

lmao cincinnati sounds like the boss in the family  i want truffle to be like Daisy hahahaha… is that too much of a dream…  now i wondering if its because truffle too young? hmmm…

[Boing]

Not sure. Daisy’s name was given to her as an almost adult. She was found as a stray so definitely still have time!

[LBJ10]

Hmm… perhaps she needs to be in more dire need of a treat when you try to do training sessions, if you know what I mean. How much food does she get every day? If you simply want her to get back in her cage at night, you can save pellets for bedtime. I used that trick with my boys when they were still going in a cage at night. They knew bedtime was pellet time and they very willingly got into the cage.

[lemon]

Posted By LBJ10 on 9/29/2018 10:08 PM

Hmm… perhaps she needs to be in more dire need of a treat when you try to do training sessions, if you know what I mean. How much food does she get every day? If you simply want her to get back in her cage at night, you can save pellets for bedtime. I used that trick with my boys when they were still going in a cage at night. They knew bedtime was pellet time and they very willingly got into the cage.

i usually don’t give her any treats the day before i train her. but she always used to getting pellets everyday. so maybe that could be the cause? i have been the teaching her the standing up trick lately. she kinda wants to do it. sometimes she is just lazy to even want a treat. so i guess i have to start with simplest trick before she can come to me when i call her? 

[LBJ10]

You can still give pellets every day. But if she is getting too much each day, she may not be as interested. I’m not saying you should starve her or anything. And I don’t know how much she is getting or how big she is. However, if she is limited on the amount she gets each day, the pellets become more special. For purposes of getting a bunny to willingly go into a cage for the night, feeding those “special” pellets at bedtime seems to do the trick.

For tricks, you can start with whatever she is interested in doing. So if she likes to stand on her hind legs for a treat, make that the first thing you teach her. Coming when called is not as easy, especially since not all bunnies take to it naturally. Wooly knows his name. Unless I have a treat, however, he can’t be bothered to come to me when I call him.

[Bunny House]

I agree with LB, I only give pellets when we do tricks so they know exactly what to do when they hear the bag and start doing tricks haha. But I would only give pellets when you do tricks or attempt them so she can start to recognize that pellets mean tricks.

I agree, start with small stuff, and then once she takes to it. You can slowly make tricks more difficult!

[LittlePuffyTail]

My bunny will only come when I call if she also hears the treat bag crinkling.

[LBJ10]

LPT – Yep, that’s Wooly.

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