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Need ideas to keep a naughty boy occupied...

Fellie

Warren Veteran
Sheldon is a bit too bright for his own good and gets bored quickly - and like any other little boy, is SO naughty when he's bored. He decided last night to destroy the mail flap thingy in our front door. He does have toys to play with, and his food game, and tunnels to explore - but he has the attention span of a gnat, and constantly needs stimulation....any ideas?

I pulled him away after this photo was taken - wish I could have taken a photo of his face - SO annoyed with me for stopping his fun :love::lol:

 
I read that RogerRabbit had had success with clicker training for a similar situation. Perhaps you could try that?

Sheldon is gorgeous. x
 
Hmm, I'm going to be watching this thread too since Truffles has spread the entire contents of a large litter tray over the floor this morning. And we had a mat like you have in front of your door and they completely chewed the rubber surround, we had to take it away as they started eating it. Naughty buns!
 
My Fiver is the same. I have not tried clicker training etc, so it might be worth a go for Sheldon. Fiver lives in my room with his two wifebuns with a millions toys and tubes, huts and unlimited hay...he still gets bored. :roll: The only way I have managed to deal with it, is by completely bunny proofing my room. I've had to cover the walls in laminate flooring to stop him eating it, I threw out a rug that he had an infatuation with ripping apart, I've had to put plastic corners over all my furniture and he still finds things to destroy. :lol: His new obsession is chewing the green tunnels to pieces. :roll:

Cardboard boxes are good, but just be careful as eating lots of cardboard can cause problems. Mine get boxes, but only under supervision because they do eat it. Fiver loves shredding them to bits. Also try a paper bag full of hay/readigrass/pellets, they love this! (If the bag has handles, make sure to snap them so nobun can get stuck). I've found that those hay tubes that you can buy from pet shops are excellent for keeping my buns busy for hours. :thumb: Also the inside of loo roll is brilliant to stuff with hay and yummies. :thumb:
 
I asked something similar a couple of weeks ago http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?402202-Badly-behaved-rabbit-help-please and indeed it was RogerRabbit who suggested clicker training.

My bun George isn't really that destructive as such, he mainly ends up in places where he shouldn't and steals food. I got a dog clicker from the local pet store and googled clicker training rabbits and have been practicing most evenings ever since! He now has to earn his pellets and I think he really enjoys it and can already do a few tricks. Although I have to say as he is very food driven he sometimes gets frustrated if he can't get his pellets fast enough, we are working on it!

Otherwise I've changed his living arrangements slightly. They used to free range in the living room, kitchen, hall and the guest bed room when we were out whereas now I shut him and his mum in the kitchen when no one is about. It's still pretty spacious and they have lots of chew toys, cardboard and hay and stuff to keep them (him mainly) occupied. They get access to the other rooms when we're home as well as the roof terrace unless it's raining. As most of the trouble he causes is food related I'm gonna move their base to the living room, my OH is gonna convert a large bookcase into some sort of hutch with many levels as George likes to climb. At the moment they have a large dog crate as a base but it's too big for the living room.

It's still early days but hopefully things will improve with time, especially after we've done the changes to the living arrangements. I have to say the clicker training is really good fun and it has helped me bond with George. He was never a cuddly bun and unlike his mum he never liked being stroked that much but this way I get to spend some quality time with him. He has even started spending more time with me in the same room, so if for instance I'm in the living room he might come and lie on the floor next to me, he never used to do that. :) :love:
 
I have no advice just to say "cute"! I do laugh when rabbits are naughty, although I guess it's not really that funny :roll:
 
Ooooo- yes - clicker training - I had forgotten about that :thumb:

I shall try that out with him - and the others too (although Bobo will probably just look more confused than ever:love:). Shelly isn't too bad really in comparison to some buns I read about - he just has moments where the Bunny Imp takes over...:roll:

Hmmm - I like new challenges - can't wait to get started:thumb:

(Christine - I secretly giggle as well when they misbehaving and hear hubby saying '<bunny name>- stop that' 100 times over...:lol:)
 
Hmm, I'm going to be watching this thread too since Truffles has spread the entire contents of a large litter tray over the floor this morning. And we had a mat like you have in front of your door and they completely chewed the rubber surround, we had to take it away as they started eating it. Naughty buns!

My buns do the same with the mat, so now I cut the rubber edge off when I purchase them and the buns have no interest anymore and they look much better and still function equally as well ... the mat that is :)

As I write this Rosie is attempting to dig her litter box out on to the floor. Grrr !!! Bunnies can be so naughty.

I have bought several sea grass baskets and water hyacinth etc and they are all over our home and keep the bunnies entertained and provide storage for us so it's a win win all round. I find they really help.

Maybe the clicker training will work for Sheldon, it can be stressful when they start destroying the house :/

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