Carpet Chewing....

[Bunman]

Is Grannick's Bitter Apple for Dogs safe for use with rabbits? It comes in a spray bottle & i was advised it could be misted onto a carpet. My Daisy has to be in a (large) pen for now when out of her cage & she gets bored & will chew unless supervised all the time. Any ideas? I provide some hay but this is not a solution.

 

[Haley]

I used some of it in my home, but the rabbits didnt seem to be fazed by it. I used the cream kind and rubbed it on some furniture they were interested in. Im not sure how it would work on carpets.

Is your bunny just chewing in one particular area? I know mine seem to like to dig under the bed or under furniture. To bunny-proof my home, I bought some of that plastic runner thats used on stairs (they sell it at walmart in the rug section) and cut it to size to put under my bed and furniture. This has been the best solution for me. They can no longer dig there and it makes for easy cleanup in case of an accident.

Hope this helps!

 

[HoneyPot]

I've used the bitter spray with Misty and she didn't care - she liked the taste of it - licked it right off then kept chewing. It is still haunting me - because she will go somewhere she is not supposed to be, get it on her fur because I sprayed that area at some point, then I would kiss her later and get it in MY mouth. I've regretted that spray ever since.
Misty has gotten her revenge though. :bunnydance:

For the carpet, what I did - and it took a while for her to catch on... is whenever she would chew the carpet, I thump my feet or clap my hands, say NO very forcefully (she already knew what NO meant at that point) and get a grass mat (that she is allowed to chew on) and put it in the spot where she was chewing. I would just shove it in her face right where she was... she would chew it a bit, then try to chew the walls again - I just kept doing it over and over every time she tried chewing. I just kept moving the grass mat to whever she chose to chew. Eventually she clued in that she was supposed to chew the grass mat and she doesn't chew my table legs or her favorite spots on my walls anymore.

I'm still working on it - but she is getting better.


EDIT: This won't work on carpet, but I've also rubbed regular Ivory soap on the baseboards and wall corners and she stays away from it more than with the bitter spray.
_______
Nadia

 

[Bunman]

Thanks, all , great help - i've heard of these grass mats but where do you get them? As for the plastic runners, do the buns have trouble running on them?

Daisy will chew anywhere on the carpet.
In my last apartment she got an hour or 2 of free run in the bedroom every day & did not chew on the rug or anything except a wicker trunk & a wastebasket made of similar material...

As for Wal-Mart...not recommended! http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

Aubuchon Hardware sells runners online, altho i have not checked to see the country of origin - goods from mainland China are typically made by slave or semi-slave labor, & US workers are unable to compete with this. I try to avoid buying Chinese products, altho this can be difficult, since the mutual benefits of the artificially low prices to the Chinese state enterprises & US distributors has tended to drive out of the market many US & other products.

 

[manda]

Alex was not fazed by ivory soap. i had a strong rubbermaid container i was using for a litter box, and he kept chewing the sides. i put the ivory soap on it and it didnt faze him. i actually caked it on, and i guess he liked it because he didnt chew on it no more.... he ATE it.

 

[manda]

oh by the way, i get my grass mats from petco. you can also order then online at tons of places. or go to target, walmart, peir 1, etc and look for untreated ones. they sell them there as table decorations. my doller store even has them sometimes for a buck

 

[Haley]

Bunman wrote:

Thanks, all , great help - i've heard of these grass mats but where do you get them? As for the plastic runners, do the buns have trouble running on them?

I bought my grass mats (actually I use the sea weed ones) here. http://www.catsandrabbitsandmore.com/home That was easiest for my bc they ship it right to me. Theres probably lots of places you can buy from though.

My guys dont have any trouble on the plastic runners. However, the runners arent everywhere, just under the bed and furniture where they dont do much running. They do seem to like laying on them though, especially if its a bit hot out cuz the runners stay cool. My guys wont even step foot on kitchen or bathroom tile, but theyre fine on the plastic.

 

[Bunman]

Hmmmm....the runners would be covering the entire penned in area, so maybe they would not be a good choice. Maybe i could use non-toxic glue to make up sections of grass matting & use those to "pave" the run. Thanks for the sources.