Clare_Bear
New Kit
Hi,
I’m looking for some advice on how to teach my bunny (Dobby) to stop doing something.
We have a very large mat in our living room that is primarily Dobby’s space and has been for 2 and a half years.
It worked very well up until recently; the rest of the floor is wooden/laminate and he found it too slippery so he just naturally stayed on the mat. It meant that we could trust him to stay on the mat and we didn’t have to worry about “fencing him in” in any way.
It worked well for me too because it felt like he was more included in our day to day life if there was no barrier between him and us. I’m sure that probably sounds silly but hopefully you understand where I’m coming from!
Recently, he’s started to stray off the mat and seems to have found his feet with the slippery floor. We thought it was funny at first and that he’d gotten very brave but now he’s straying further and further and into areas where it’s not safe for him to be.
I usually give him a firm ‘No!’ and either encourage him back to the mat or move him there myself if he’s being stubborn! But it’s starting to feel like I’m constantly telling him off and I’m worried about losing his trust.
While I’d love to have him free roaming around the entire house, I don’t live alone so it’s not really practical. In particular, my dad has some mobility and balance problems and if Dobby were free to roam around, I’d be worried that my dad would either trip over him and fall or lose his balance and accidentally stand on Dobby.
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to train or teach Dobby to stay on the mat? I’ve been able to teach him some tricks so I know that both we’re both capable of that, but I’m not really sure where to start with this.
If worst comes to worst, I can put some fencing together or use a run but I’d really like to avoid that if it’s at all possible.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!
Clare
I’m looking for some advice on how to teach my bunny (Dobby) to stop doing something.
We have a very large mat in our living room that is primarily Dobby’s space and has been for 2 and a half years.
It worked very well up until recently; the rest of the floor is wooden/laminate and he found it too slippery so he just naturally stayed on the mat. It meant that we could trust him to stay on the mat and we didn’t have to worry about “fencing him in” in any way.
It worked well for me too because it felt like he was more included in our day to day life if there was no barrier between him and us. I’m sure that probably sounds silly but hopefully you understand where I’m coming from!
Recently, he’s started to stray off the mat and seems to have found his feet with the slippery floor. We thought it was funny at first and that he’d gotten very brave but now he’s straying further and further and into areas where it’s not safe for him to be.
I usually give him a firm ‘No!’ and either encourage him back to the mat or move him there myself if he’s being stubborn! But it’s starting to feel like I’m constantly telling him off and I’m worried about losing his trust.
While I’d love to have him free roaming around the entire house, I don’t live alone so it’s not really practical. In particular, my dad has some mobility and balance problems and if Dobby were free to roam around, I’d be worried that my dad would either trip over him and fall or lose his balance and accidentally stand on Dobby.
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to train or teach Dobby to stay on the mat? I’ve been able to teach him some tricks so I know that both we’re both capable of that, but I’m not really sure where to start with this.
If worst comes to worst, I can put some fencing together or use a run but I’d really like to avoid that if it’s at all possible.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!
Clare
