How to discipline rabbit

[Chantelle1708]

Hi, I have a 3 month old cheeky mini lop. She loves to dig carpets and everywhere she shouldn't. At first, me clapping and saying no did the trick however, no matter how loud I clap or shout no, she doesn't budge, even if I push her away with my hand. She's not a typical bun, she's very confident and isn't scared of anything as it's just me and her in the house but I don't want her to chew things and dig the carpets etc. How does everyone discipline their bun and prevent bad behaviour?

 

[joey&boo]

You can't - they are adorably stubborn creatures & if they are in the mindset to dig up your beautiful carpet, pee on your bed, redecorate your home they probably will.

What you can do (& I appreciate these things are difficult & expensive )is cover over things so she can't access them & provide distraction as much as possible - but when I had a carpet & sofa chewing rabbit I had to switch to laminate & sit on a warren

 

[happybun]

You can't

Exactly what I was going to say.
It's true, they'll do whatever they can to your home, and all you can do is try to prevent it by covering, blocking off etc. Any quiet, unseen place is at risk. I would never have believed mine could develop a secret latrine - until I found that they had. They destroyed my home. If I'd been more 'on the ball', that might not have happened.

 

[Babsie]

Rabbits are rabbits. They dig, they nibble.
You have to work round them, not the other way round.
You can't discipline them (nor should you attempt to).
Protect, hide, distract has to be the mantra.
The alternative is to buy a huge dog crate, attach an even bigger run, and just let her out when you can supervise.
Is she neutered? Is she left alone for long periods? Rabbits are usually much more content when they sre bonded to a partner - they can keep each other entertained/occupied.

 

[SarahP]

I remember when I had a house bunny who suddenly starting ripping up the carpet one day, strand by strand. I came down the stairs to try to stop what was happening, and I could tell that my bunny had absolutely no clue that what I had a problem with was the thing she was thoroughly engrossed in doing. It just isn't possible to change their natural behaviours. House rabbits just wreck the house.

 

[MightyMax]

Hi, I have a 3 month old cheeky mini lop. She loves to dig carpets and everywhere she shouldn't. At first, me clapping and saying no did the trick however, no matter how loud I clap or shout no, she doesn't budge, even if I push her away with my hand. She's not a typical bun, she's very confident and isn't scared of anything as it's just me and her in the house but I don't want her to chew things and dig the carpets etc. How does everyone discipline their bun and prevent bad behaviour?

The concept of 'bad behaviour' isn't something a rabbit can compute

She is doing what a rabbit does. Don't forget, we've taken them out of their instinctual natural habitat and put them in our houses. You have to give them freedom to replicate that behaviour, perhaps with a big digging box, so that they have things to do without damaging your furnishings. Things to chew and throw around, willow balls and seagrass mats.

It's a big compromise living with a rabbit and I don't know of anyone who disciplines their rabbit

 

[Zoobec]

Yes, as everyone has said you can't and shouldn't discipline a rabbit. You can rabbit proof a room or a large area (at least 10ftx6ft, but the bigger the better ) and keep the rabbit in that area when you aren't there to supervise and provide toys and activities for them to keep them occupied. Some (most) will strip wallpaper, dig and chew carpets, curtains and sofas, and wee on soft furnishings!

There's some examples of house bunny setups in the housing sticky :thumb: some people have found that destructive behaviour lessens when they have been spayed/neutered.

 

[Monty's Human]

I was just this evening trying to explain to my partner that our rabbit only chews through wires because he's trying to help tidy up He doesn't want us to have a warren littered with tree roots, after all, so of course he chews through them to move them out of the way. Our fault for leaving them where they need to be tidied! :lol:

What entertainment does she have? Does she have a dig box, some litter trays and cardboard boxes, some toys? Do you try and entertain throughout the day - eg spacing out hay/pellets/veg to give lots of little bits of entertainment throughout the day? There will still be some damage, but a rabbit with lots to do might be less destructive just because they'll have "approved" things to do instead.

 

[Chantelle1708]

She has lots of toys, boxes, tunnel after tunnel, tents the lot. She doesn't have a run as she has the whole downstairs although I'm lucky my living room floor is wood as she is scared stiff to walk on it so no wires. She has the kitchen which is large and under the stairs. She digs when she comes up stairs as I only have carpet there, however I am there when she's upstairs, I don't let her up when I'm not so she isn't majorly destructive, I just wondered when it came to certain things, if you could teach them that their doing wrong but clearly not! I'll just have to make sure I put some chew mattresses in the corners of upstairs in future.

No she's not neutered as she's only 12 weeks but she's due her op on 30th October! Also, I know she may be bored now and again despite having lots of toys as she's a single bun but as soon as she's neutered, hopefully I can introduce a new friend for her!

 

[Babsie]

She has lots of toys, boxes, tunnel after tunnel, tents the lot. She doesn't have a run as she has the whole downstairs although I'm lucky my living room floor is wood as she is scared stiff to walk on it so no wires. She has the kitchen which is large and under the stairs. She digs when she comes up stairs as I only have carpet there, however I am there when she's upstairs, I don't let her up when I'm not so she isn't majorly destructive, I just wondered when it came to certain things, if you could teach them that their doing wrong but clearly not! I'll just have to make sure I put some chew mattresses in the corners of upstairs in future.

No she's not neutered as she's only 12 weeks but she's due her op on 30th October! Also, I know she may be bored now and again despite having lots of toys as she's a single bun but as soon as she's neutered, hopefully I can introduce a new friend for her!

It sounds as though she has a lovely life with you!

 

[happybun]

I was just this evening trying to explain to my partner that our rabbit only chews through wires because he's trying to help tidy up He doesn't want us to have a warren littered with tree roots, after all, so of course he chews through them to move them out of the way. Our fault for leaving them where they need to be tidied! :lol:

.

My rabbits are all gone now. But my Tabitha, if someone phoned whilst I was giving her the shoulder massage (which was the only cuddle she was inclined to accept) would look at me, affronted, and bite through the cord of my very traditional landline phone. She did it time and time again. She was so clever. :lol:

 

[Babsie]

My rabbits are all gone now. But my Tabitha, if someone phoned whilst I was giving her the shoulder massage (which was the only cuddle she was inclined to accept) would look at me, affronted, and bite through the cord of my very traditional landline phone. She did it time and time again. She was so clever. :lol:

:lol:
Im horrified when i think of what I've 'lost' - i was very naive!

 

[mini lop1]

Rabbits will be rabbits and still want to dig etc just as they would in wild, spaying may help reduce some behaviours however with some rabbits they just want to exhibit their natural behaviours, it sounds like she is spoilt with plenty of toys etc, hope her spay goes well and you find a suitable friend

 

[esupi]

Just to saay one of mine was a terrible carpet digger/chewer at that age too. Spaying helped. As did a chew stop spray and repeated clapping/moving her away when we caught her doing it. It took a little while, but she did stop and I don't catch her chewing carpets now. She still goes for wires though!

 

[Beau Belle]

Hello

I have developed a way of letting my buns know when they are doing something unacceptable, and it works for us.

I make a quick sort-of *AH!* noise, which stops them for a moment. If they carry on, I do *AHAHAH!* (OH calls it mummy being a machine gun) which they’ve learnt means no/naughty. I have four buns and a quick AH! usually works with all of them, and it has stopped a lot of naughty behaviours. It also works with humans, as I demonstrated at work

Some things I can’t stop, like Pepper chewing holes in my duvet covers when I’m not looking, but that’s easily replaceable.

I find bunny proofing and considering the buns and what they might decide to do, plays a big part when I buy stuff.

 

[Stator]

If your rabbit hates being picked up then you might be able to use this.
When they do something bad, make a noise and then pick them up for a cuddle.

Only ever make that noise before you pick them up and always make that noise before you pick them up. They will associate the two.

Then when they are doing something bad, if you make that noise they will instantly think 'oh dear he/she is going to pick me up' and will focus on getting away from you instead of doing whatever they are doing.

Eventually you wont have to pick him/her up and the noise will work on it's own, but obviously you have to keep making the noise when you do pick them up for it to continue to work.

Wally always hated being picked up, well he hated me in general but he knew that when I said his name in a certain voice he was in trouble. So if he was chasing Lilly I would just say his name and he would stop chasing her and instead just go away from me.