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need help ASAP: stop my rabbit stealing food

Hi all,
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Hoping for some training tips for my rabbit, we have 2 house rabbits one male and one female. The male belongs to my younger sister, and the female belongs to me.
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She is a hybrid and absolutely lovely, originally brought to keep the male company, and they are now best of friends. However she is a very mischievous little bunny. She has a habit of knocking over your tea so she can drink it, stealing food off your plate, stealing the cats food and many other little behaviour bugs.
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I need to stop her doing this as my parents will sell her as they end up locking them both in their cage and feel it is unfair on both of them. I have a month to train her and I really do not want to sell her so I am desperate for some help.
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Please, please help!
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Thanks in advance
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Sasha
 
I would buy some puppy pen panels to make a large run area of at least 8ftx6ft and make that their area, with litter tray etc. They really shouldn't be shut in a cage for any length of time as they are so active. Hopefully that will make everything more manageable for you thumb:
 
Hi Sasha. Welcome to RU. I'm sorry to say I don't think you'll have much luck training a rabbit not to steal food, if they are so inclined they will just do it. Some bunnies do, some don't. Can you not feed your cat somewhere high & inaccessible to bunnies? And make an effort to keep human food out of their range ?
 
Hi all,
*
Hoping for some training tips for my rabbit, we have 2 house rabbits one male and one female. The male belongs to my younger sister, and the female belongs to me.
*
She is a hybrid and absolutely lovely, originally brought to keep the male company, and they are now best of friends. However she is a very mischievous little bunny. She has a habit of knocking over your tea so she can drink it, stealing food off your plate, stealing the cats food and many other little behaviour bugs.
*
I need to stop her doing this as my parents will sell her as they end up locking them both in their cage and feel it is unfair on both of them. I have a month to train her and I really do not want to sell her so I am desperate for some help.
*
Please, please help!
*
Thanks in advance
*
Sasha


Hi Sasha and welcome to the Forum :wave:

What are your cups of tea and plates of food doing on the floor, or within reach of the rabbit? A dog would do exactly the same!

A rabbit is very much a wild animal, and a law unto themselves. Yes you can try and train them, but if you leave tasty food and drink within reach I don't think it's fair to expect her to ignore it all the time - especially if you aren't there.

It does seem like rabbits are not the pets you thought they would be - they also chew wires and can wee on sofas. They are (in my opinion and experience) the most difficult pet to keep well and give a decent quality of life to. If it's at all likely they are to be locked in their cages, then I would advise taking them to a Rescue Centre for them to find a home where they can have freedom.
 
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