Ways to punish bun??

[LillyBear]

My bun has gone from bad.. to worse.  I am not sure why.  I am living elsewhere for 10 weeks.. and Lilly is still with the bf.  I still come over every weekend or couple days to check up.. but she has been horrible.  I am home this weekend, and I just can’t believe what a bad bunny she is now!!

I have tried these following punishments.. which ive been using for a while:  spraying with water, yelling, pushing her head on ground, locking in cage..

 

what else can i do.!? nothing is working anymore.  5 seconds after punishment is over, she goes back and does her bad things again! … and shes KNOWS they are bad.. cause if we come near she will run!

[Lucy]

how long do you lock her up for? how big is her cage? I know you’ve been having these problems for a while now, it must be so frustrating. This is what I suggest…

if her cage is large enough, lock her in it with an attached x-pen of sort. So that way she has some room to run around but it’s limited. Keep her in there for at least four days without letting her out. Then, block off a little section of the apartment- maybe one room or less and let her out. As soon as she does something that she isn’t supposed to, put her back, and then try again the next day. This helped my Fujoe tremendously. It’s a slow process, and there might be some set backs, but it should help a little. She things that everything is hers, and is going territorial on you- she’s top bunny.

I’m so sorry that it’s getting worse, good for you for not giving up on her. maybe others can suggest better things

[BunMumTiff]

I agree limiting her to a smaller area might help. She may also be upset you are not there and when she sees you she is letting you know. How old is she, is she spayed? Could be bunny beeotchies lol

[Hedi]

Yelling at your rabbit will only make her more scared of you so I wouldnt recommend continuing this behavior.

There is really no way to "punish" a bun. If they are acting out the water bottle is good but you need to find the source of her problem.

And my guess is her "source" is her environment. If you arent there and things have changed, her daily routine has changed, etc then she is upset and acting out just as any other animal or even small child would do. She needs reassurance and probably extra attention and love to make up for whatever is going on right now with you not being there.

[daisy]

I am not sure what problems you are having but with my bunny (11 week mini lop) I started correcting her behavior, for example if she was chewing a wire I took it away but gave her one of her toys. Or if she jumped on the couch and aacted like she was going to pee I put her in her litterbox and sat there with her until she did and then gave her a very little treat, etc, most of these behaviors have ceased in no time at all, it just took finding out what worked for her and then being persistent.

 

[MooBunnay]

What is Lilly doing that is causing you to yell at her?  When you lock her in her cage do you chase her in? Pick her up and put her in?

I’m thinking that she can definitely sense your frustration and is robably now feeling threatened if the only time that she is seeing you she is being punished.  I think the first thing you need to do is keep her in an ex pen as recommended by some other people, and limit your interactions with her to positive interactions.  If you are constantly punsihing her, I’m sure these punishments no longer have any meaning to her except maybe that you are trying to fight with her. 

Also, bunnies do not like change and she is probably upset that you are not around for her. So this is also a result of you not being around to give her affection and attention, combined with the fact that you are punishing her all the time.

I really think you need to give her a space that is all her own, and do not go in there except to clean, and give her food.  When you need to clean, let her come out on her own accord, and then let her go back in by enticing her with a treat. By having a space all her own she will start to feel safer.  Then once you are around again you can start the training once she is feeling safer.

[LillyBear]

thanks for all of your help guys :o.. I thought that perhaps it was becuase I am gone that she is acting up.. since I am the one that gives her more attention and love daily. To make me punish her she is: we have these hanging files attached to the desk, and she is constantly standing up, tearing them, and taking papers out of it to eat.. so all the papers and files have bunny bites in it! That is the MAIN problem.. but she has also started jumping ON the desk, via the chair and drawer.. she jumped up there and ate 2 pairs of headphones, and the keyboard wire (while bf was sleeping.. if I was there I would have heard it.. as yesterday she jumped back up there in the middle of the night, and I woke up and got her just as she finished leaping onto the desk!.. Im a very light sleeper).. she also bites the doors of the closet and bathroom.. when she gets punished I will yell at her first before I can make it over there to stop her.. so that the sound of my voice will get her to (usually) stop her behavior. Then I will come over, push her head down, say NO firmly and hold it there for about 10seconds (how long should I do this?).. then I pick her up and put her in her cage, and close it. We live in a pretty small space.. there is no room for an x-pen in here… as soon as bf’s brother moves out in August we are thinking of moving her to the living room and setting up a pen out there.. but for now, we don’t have the room.. as bf’s brother would freak if Lilly was out in the living room.

Her cage is in the bathroom.. should we just leave her in there for a few days?? Because I have noticed in the past that she acts better the more time she is allowed to roam the room… but since she has been bad.. she has been in the bathroom more (especially at night, as she used to be out every night).. and so she is more obnoxious when she comes out.. its like a catch 22 or somthing. Right now though she is being good and laying under desk. There is nothing wrong with our bathroom, it is big enough for her to play in.. her cage and litterbox are there.. as well as random bunny toys.. and it is tile, and therefore cooler than the rest of the house.. she likes to lay in there.. just doesn’t like when we close the door..

[Hedi]

This is long but I think I addressed everything you asked about.

You said Lilly likes to eat on your hanging files. Have you ever left loose paper or a phone book laying around for her to munch on? Just leave them randomly in the floor. She will think she isnt supposed to munch on them so it is fun for her because she thinks she is being bad. What about cardboard boxes? My rabbits actually "steal" paper out of a small trash can and we only put paper in there they can munch on that doesnt have a lot of ink. So we make sure not to put anything in there that could harm them. So they think they are being bad but we really know we "let" them do it. lol

Did she use the desk chair to get up to the desk? Actually if she is out you need to put anything she can chew in drawers and get wire covers for stuff you cant put away-like computer wires. Move the chair away from the desk if she uses this to get up to the desk area.

Can you spray perfume or some other offensive smell on the doors and the carpet near the doors to keep her from even being interested in biting them?

Pushing her head down and yelling will really only make her scared of you and she will label you the bad guy. The only way to really get after her is to divert her attention to another area. Many websites really push the fact that you shouldnt get after them because they dont understand. Is there anyway you can block off the areas that you dont want her around?

I am attaching a picture of the NIC cubes we used to block our computer under our desk and the one we made a barrier so our buns cant get into the kitchen. Yes they could get around them but we keep so much crap around for the to play with that they dont bother. We keep a paper grocery bag in the living room full of scrap paper, phone book, chewable small baskets, cat balls, pinecones, etc. So when they come downstairs they usually survey everything and then go right to the bag to find something to play with.

You can make a pen out of NIC or Organize it cubes. $15 from Target for a box with enough to make a good size pen for your living room. Buy zip ties to help reinforce it. There are pics in the habitat area on here.

As long as Lilly has room to stretch her legs and stand up in the bathroom without hitting anything she is ok. YOu can leave her in the area for awhile. Make sure she has plenty of toys to play with though. Maybe give her small amounts of freedom, like bathroom and then the next room attached but block of the rest of the house and slowly allow her more freedom as she behaves.

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[jellyrose]

Sounds like she’s just being a bunny!!! Mine seem to like to get into every thing. We have learnt to not leave any thing we dont want chewed on the floor or within reach on the bunnies. Also we have to make sure we push the chairs right under the table/desk so they don’t climb on things and that all wires are covered. You really can’t be mad at them for just doing bunny things! I so funny that these tiny little fuzz balls can cause you to change the whole way you live!!!!! But they are so cute! I agree the best way is to block off areas with irristible chewing objects if you can or get them out of reach. We close the door to our bedroom when we are out because they get in the cupboards and chew my shoes!!!!

[MooBunnay]

Hi! A lot of the behaviors you mentioned as being "bad" are things that most people I know address through bunny proofing – not bunny training.  As Jellyrose mentioned, she is just being a bunny!  I thinks my bunnies are well behaved, but if they ever got a hold on files of mine, or cords or wires like you mentioned, they would do the exact same thing.  These are not bad things – they are completely normal bunny things to do.  My boyfriend has lost at least 3 wires to bunnies – this is to be expected with bunnies, and really its much better to deal with this by making the cords inaccesible – she does not think she is destroying your cords, she thinks they are ROOTS, which is probably why she doesn’t understand why you are yelling at her   Also, biting doors is again very common, they like to chew wood and such, have you seen on the bunny proofing tips how it says to put perfume on these areas?

I think you might want to reconsider "punishing"her for these behaviors – they really all seem to be typical bunny behaviors, and I think that a lot of her bad attitude may be coming from the fact that she has no idea what she is doing wrong, and probably doesn’t understand what you are punishing her for.  If you are pushing her head down or yelling because she’s eating some paper, I’m sure she has no idea that those files are of any importance to you.  You could move them, or put those organize it cubes around them, or put them in a book shelf to save yourself and Lilly a lot of stress! The wires definitely bunny proof! I don’t even know if you CAN train a bunny out of eating those, I’m pretty sure its a natural instinct!

[BinkyBunny]

I also wanted to add – is she on any kind of routine? Some bunnies feel comfort and safe when a routine is in place, which can help calm them. Also, how do your boyfriend and the roommate react to her?. She may be needing more attention and stability. I know that the things you are trying are what was suggested prior but it seems there is something more than just wanting to be the boss that is going on.

She may need more things to do and so you may need to get creative with giving her things that she finds fun in her own space. She may be acting out because of frustration. Rabbits are highly social animals, and desire attention: What kind of positive attention does she get right now and for how long?

Would your bf and the roommate be willing to offer her treats and more affection? I think if she only gets it during the weekend visits, then it may not be enough.

Note about treats: So she doesn’t get overloaded on treats – just cut the portions up into tiny little tidbits.

Also, when you first see her, offer her a treat. Then interaction may begin to be seen as positive.

If she is doing something “naughty”, don’t yell, redirect. I know someone else has offered suggestions, like if she likes papers, give her something to chew on – a phone book would be good. If she likes to get underneath things, give her a box to explore.

[LillyBear]

allright guys…

ok so bf’s brother (the roommate) wont touch the bun.. well.. i mean he pet her the other day, but that is when I was there.. he would never go play with her otherwise because he doesn’t know how to handle her if she ran out and through the house, etc. I will only be gone 9 more weeks.. so.. then it will all be bunny time from then on. I think she is missing my attention.. I think she is used to being the only one all day every day. Now she doesn’t get as much attention from bf. But there is nothing I can do about this right now.. i can’t live there atm.. and its HIS bunny. Plus, I can’t have bunnies where I am right now.. :-/ …

we have TONS of toys for that girl.. but she only wants the hanging files.. we have the garbage can she can take paper out of.. two phonebooks.. cardboard boxes filled with and without paper.. but she wants those files!!!! we also have a princess bunny bed and a regular bunny bed for her out there.. which she uses.. toilet paper rolls.. stuffed animal which she LOVES, she bit me when I was playing with it.. a key ring thing she carries around.. lol.. but anything she can get out of those files is just MORE FUN!! Or off the top of desks/drawers.. she ran off with bf’s naruto and pokemon stuffed animals in her mouth the other day.. and made us chase her to get it back!! LOL.. such a cutie.. even though we were just petting her on the bed, what kind of attention does she want geeze!! she ran away from us, even while we were still petting her!

I am trying to think of a way around this.. but there is no way.. and we cant rearrage the furniture.. like i said.. tiny place we have.. so.. nothing can be moved. .. we have all the wires bunny proofed.. and she can’t get at those.. but it is just her hopping up eating headphones!! who puts wire covers on those! lol.. so bulky then, how could you run!!! lol. but the other set that is ruined is bf’s fault.. he left them on the bed while he was on the computer.. and she obviously had to chew on them.. but i dont blame her, it was on the bed.. lol.. his fault. but jumping on the desk she KNOWS is wrong. She is a damn smart bunny.. and if we walk near her and she knows she is doing nothing wrong.. she wont move.. but if she does.. she will bolt.. as in case with the desk… she fell off the desk trying to get off when bf was trying to help her down, before he even yelled at her!! She did this one other time with me when she got stuck in between the top of a box and a table.. she couldn’t jump either way.. and was stuck half on each.. SO cute.. but she knew she wasn’t supposed to be up there.. and in her haste to get down before i could “see” she fell.. she is a pretty hardy bunny, surviving all these falls.. even she had a nasty spill as a baby.. when she was so tiny she fell behind the backboard of the bed!!! omg. I tried to stop her from jumping up the bed and pillows.. but she was too fast.. and down she fell..

wow i get a little off topic.

but thanks guys.. i wont yell at her anymore.. i will use a harsh tone… but not raise my voice.. or push her head down.. i thought you were supposed to do that though to show you are dominant??? or is that in a different context…

[LillyBear]

oh yeah.. i went over there tonight to give some Lilly love even though bf wasn’t home. that bun better love me. i’ll stop over there weds night too to make sure she is doing ok.

[Hedi]

Wow, you really have tried everything!

I would say limit her running area to the bathroom only and supervised play in an additonal area-maybe?

She is definitely pulling your strings-she obviously knows she is misbehaving. My Carrera does something bad and does that funny binky afterwards because she knows she was bad.

She is just acting out like a child or any other animal. I would just give her as much love and attention when you are there and then really love on her when you can finally come back for good. She is probably partly scared because she doesnt understand why you arent there.

[LillyBear]

haha Heidi.. Lilly does that funny feet flick thing when she knows she is being bad!! Its soo funny, its like they can’t help but feel good about it or somthing!!! Children!!!!

[lilmizzsnickerz]

my domino is like that most of the time hes got a attitude lol i dont really punish him cause i feel bad for him

[osprey]

Curly Sue would make a lousy criminal.  She always thumps right before doing something she knows she isn’t supposed to do.  *THUMP* I am trying to sneak under the sofa. *THUMP* I am about to slip past the X-pen and go where I am not supposed to.

 

[Lucy]

how is she getting from the floor to the desk? That seems like a high jump. Is she jumping on the chair first and then up on the desk? Can you push the chair all the way in so she can’t do that? Or is there a printer table that she’s using? Can you cover the surface of whatever she’s using to get up onto the desk?

[Author]

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