Hi guys,
Unfortunately Bart has developed an annoying, and somewhat damaging trait - chewing things!
We are well aware that he will chew things due to rabbity nature, but he is getting very bad and going for the sofa and our bean chairs quite often, and going at them quite well too!
Thankfully nothing has been damaged yet but it won't take long for him to put his teeth through something.
Now this has issues, before we could sit somewhere else in the flat and he could run around in and out of where we were sitting quite happily because he wasn't up to anything, now we cannot incase he sticks his teeth into something. It also degrades the bond and it is really starting to annoy the missus. He never used to be a problem, but now within 10-15mins of him being out of the cage, chewing begins...
So how do we stop it? He has plenty of chewy things in the cage, a chewing rock (which he loves) and lots of hay (which he loves more). He is out when we are at home, where he has other chew toys, tunnels, boxes and all sorts to play in (or chew) and we fuss him with a lot of love and attention too.
We've tried to assosciate the word 'NO!' with something bad like a spray of water or being shut back in his cage, to no avail. If you move him away from it and provide him something else to chew, he will chew that for a couple of seconds, run off, and within a couple of minutes he is back at the sofa.
So what did everybody else do? I don't want something as silly as this to wreck our bond with him.
He is an 8mth old, neutered, and otherwise healthy, Dutch buck.
Thanks :wave:
Unfortunately Bart has developed an annoying, and somewhat damaging trait - chewing things!
We are well aware that he will chew things due to rabbity nature, but he is getting very bad and going for the sofa and our bean chairs quite often, and going at them quite well too!
Thankfully nothing has been damaged yet but it won't take long for him to put his teeth through something.
Now this has issues, before we could sit somewhere else in the flat and he could run around in and out of where we were sitting quite happily because he wasn't up to anything, now we cannot incase he sticks his teeth into something. It also degrades the bond and it is really starting to annoy the missus. He never used to be a problem, but now within 10-15mins of him being out of the cage, chewing begins...
So how do we stop it? He has plenty of chewy things in the cage, a chewing rock (which he loves) and lots of hay (which he loves more). He is out when we are at home, where he has other chew toys, tunnels, boxes and all sorts to play in (or chew) and we fuss him with a lot of love and attention too.
We've tried to assosciate the word 'NO!' with something bad like a spray of water or being shut back in his cage, to no avail. If you move him away from it and provide him something else to chew, he will chew that for a couple of seconds, run off, and within a couple of minutes he is back at the sofa.
So what did everybody else do? I don't want something as silly as this to wreck our bond with him.
He is an 8mth old, neutered, and otherwise healthy, Dutch buck.
Thanks :wave:
