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Needing help getting my rabbit in at nights

RipleyCK

New Kit
Hello!

I'm getting a little desparate and would like some help and advice please.

We have a beautiful male mini rex, he is both an outdoor and an indoor rabbit - he goes out during the day to a hutch and run and comes in a night and has basically the run of the house with an indoor hutch to retreat to if he wants to. So he has the best of both worlds!

He's so good at being picked up in the mornings to go outside but horrendous to get back into the house. Which many might say is because he doesn't want to come in but I don't think that's it - he loves it being inside he runs and jumps, slumps right in front of us has a warm house with radiators to cuddle up against and company - what's not to like!

We recently brought him a lavish new outdoor hutch and run but it has made it so much more difficult to pick him up to bring him in as we can't now get into the hutch to pick him up. I've tried clicker training him into the house section and from there picking him up but he's got wise to this and darts outside of the house as soon as he hears the door opening! I've moved to clicker training him to enter a long tunnel from his hutch to the house which was working beautifully until he got wise to this and now refuses to come out and into the tunnel......getting desparate! I want him to come in because he has company and lots of attention - if he was to become an outdoor rabbit I wouldn't even get to pick him up and wouldn't spend time stroking him in the evenings etc like I do now. Please help.....
 
Hello there! First of all we don't recommend that rabbits go in and out in the winter time as the temperature change could upset their respiratory system giving them snuffles. You might be lucky and get away with it, but if your rabbit becomes ill with Snuffles it is not an easy illness to cure and the rabbit could spend the rest of its life not being able to smell properly with a constantly runny nose. So I think you have to decide are you keeping him inside throughout the winter or are you going to keep him outdoors and get him a girlfriend, if he is neutered.

If you choose to risk his health and I hope you don't, food is the best way to get a bunny where you want him to be as a bunny ready for his food will come/go in.
 
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