Destructive Chewing - Can it be stopped

[Usagi_Chan]

Thumper chews. I was working on my computer for just a minute then I turned around. She was on the futon happily chomping on the cord to my MP3 player's earphones and when I looked it over closely I found she had also eaten into the case. Thank God she didn't destroy the player which cost me $250. That might have sent me over the edge and got me looking for a new home for her.

I've considered repellents and even dog collars which I could use to shock her when she gets into mischief. Any thoughts or experiences with these ? Is it even possible to train a rabbit ?

Usagi_Chan

 

[Penna]

I don't have a problem with Belle of Maggie chewing on anything. Belle's trained now to not chew on anything. I trained her so when she would chew on something I'd clap my hands loud and say 'No'. I've done it with Maggie before, but Maggie isn't much ofa chewer. The loud clap gets them to stop what they're doing, and eventaully, or at least with Belle and Maggie, they're learned to understand the word no.

 

[Butterfinger]

Rabbits tend to hate the smell/taste of vinegar. I've heard of rabbits being deterred from chewing by vinegar being sprayed/applied to the item. I've also used this in an attempt to make my rabbit stop peeing on certain things. (It works, for the most part) Clapping hands loudly and saying 'NO' when you catch them chewing on something works for some people too.
If nothing else works, you may have to confine little Thumper to her cage when you can't watch her constantly. :? It seems like she's doing a lot of damage

Best wishes with this problem~
~Diana and Butter

 

[tundrakatiebean]

if the vinager doesn't work you can try bitter apple spray. It's available at most pet stores, it worked for my bunny.

 

[cheryl]

Usagi_Chan wrote:

I've considered repellents and even dog collars which I could use to shock her when she gets into mischief.

I don't think giving her a shock would help any,if anything it would just frighten her

I have a few destructive bunnies,they have chewed things that they shouldn't have,but they are a bunny and they will chew stuff if it's left lying around

One little bugger (Cassidy) has started chewing on the drywall,ugh! and no matter how many times i tell him of he still does it,he will leave it alone for a little while and then he goes back for another munch*shakes head*

They can be such little buggers sometimes

cheryl

 

[lagadvocate]

I was working on my computer for just a minute then I turned around. She was on the futon happily chomping on the cord to my MP3 player's earphones and when I looked it over closely I found she had also eaten into the case. Thank God she didn't destroy the player which cost me $250. That might have sent me over the edge and got me looking for a new home for her.

This is why, when you know a rabbit is destructive, that you must supervise her at all times when she is out. Also why you don't leave things that you don't wantdestroyed where bun canget them. She doesn't know that what she is chewing on is expensive...she only seessomething that she can easily access.

I know that my buns like to chew remote buttons. Over the years, I've conditioned myself to flipping the remote button side down when I set it down. I knowthat I cannot leave anything that I don't want chewed within their reach. If they chew something thatthey shouldn't have, then it's my fault for forgetting to put it away or protect it.

For things like carpet and baseboards...Plasticfloor mats (like those that go under computer chairs) can be cutinto piecesand placed in corners and other areas to coverwhere bun likes to chew/pull carpet at. Baseboardscan be covered with Plexiglas andwall corners are easily covered with wall cornerplastic protectors.

If she is not spayed, then that is probably playing a major role in the destructive behavior. She also cannot help any surging hormonal aggressions.

I've considered repellents and even dog collars which I could use to shock her when she gets into mischief. Any thoughts or experiences with these ? Is it even possible to train a rabbit ?

Repellents may be effective in some situations, they may not. A dog collar which would shock her would be IMO completely cruel and dangerous. Rabbits have been severely injured/frightened by plain harnesses, I'd imagine that a shock collar would have the potential to be fatal.

Finally yes, I believe that it is possible to train a spayed/neutered rabbit. These are very intelligent yet stubborn creatures who demonstrate their resourcefulness and wit regularly. Discipline through hitting/terrifying is unacceptable. This will only teach your rabbit to fear you and not trust you. If bunny is doing something bad, clapping your hands along with a firm no to get buns attention is helpful. If bun continues the bad behavior, get up and walk over to her and tell her no and move her away from the problem area. If she returns, then you tell her no, pick her up and put her in her cage for a while.

I truly hope that you won't give up on Thumper. She needs your guidance and love no matter how frustrating things may be for a while. Best of Luck

-Beth

 

[spoh]

We have an 8 month old Mini Rex, we have lost about four pair of head phones that she has stolen off of the computer desk. After the first pair you would think my family would have learned but they didn't. The computer desk is Lucy's favorite naughty area, not only has she chewed the head phones, she has chewed the speakers, has taken a chew bite out of the little rubber thing in the center of the mouse, numerous books have nibble marks. My FAMILY now for the most part has been taught when they get up from the computer to pull the chair out into the middle of the room so that Lucy can't use that as her latter to the desk. It's training the family, not the bunny.

The room that Lucy is in is suppose to be our formal livingroom, well it is really just where we have a couple of chairs and our computer desk. I would like to turn it into an office but my husband is reluctant so Lucy and I have a plan...she is to destroy all of the furniture and then my husband will see if my way....he loves her as much as I do so he would change the room before getting rid of her. Honesty though we do discourage her from chewing and digging but it comes natural to them so you have to expect some. Luckily for us and I am knocking on wood as I say this, Lucy hasn't chewed anything that was permanant (wood trim and such). For the most part she has full run of that room but gets caged when we are going to be gone for a long period of time and over night.

I know this probably doesn't help you at all but I wanted you to know that you are not alone. I can see where it would be really hard if it have or have had other buns that didn't chew, Lucy is our first and we are learning as we go.

Good Luck

Joy

 

[Sarah8000]

I think 'shocking her' is a bad idea, poor bunny. You will only frighten her.

My Evie is a 'chewer' but i find a loud clap and "No" works really well, now when Evie goes to nibble at something she shouldnt i call her name sternly and she moves away. Bunnies are naturally destructive - they dont do it just to annoy us and it certainly wouldnt be a reason i got 'rid' of a bunny.

Like everyone on here as said, make sure all wires are out of the way when she is out (if you had left your cord out then i'm sorry but this is your fault), and supervise her at all times.

Chewing is a sign of boredom as well, Evie has a cardboard box full of hay which she destroys, and i have also bought them one of those cardboard houses which she likes to lay in and chew alot. These usually last around 4 months so they are a good buy.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi I totally agree with everything Beth has said.

We have 4 bunnies (soon to be 6) and they all chew. We give them pieces of cardboard and they love it, they will chew till their hearts content. We have also had our converter buttons chewed and baseboards, the trim around the doors etc. but like everyone said rabbits are chewers. You just have to keep am eye on them. When we say NO to them they actually do stop what they are doing.

I would never rehome any of my rabbits because of chewing, I decided I wanted rabbits in my life so I must take the responsibility to watch them and make sure that nothing is around for them to destroy, and if they do happen to chew something, that is my fault for leaving it in their path to chew.

Susan:running bunny

 

[~Bracon~]

I have the same problem with my two buns. When I got my first bun Bracken, she was chewing stuff on the first day home, so since then we kind of accepted that she was a natural chewer. But over time the chewing got worse, she completly destroyed her hutch door to the point of it falling off, so I had to buy a new one which cost me another £200. Ive tried evrything, toys, cardboard, treats, EVERYTHING! We no It has nothing to do with any sort of problems with her teeth so I put it down to bordom, as she only does it when I puther back in her hutch. Now my other bunIts doing exactly the same because he coppies everything she does.Ive tried some "chew stoppa" from pets at home but Im convinced its carrot flavord because she chews it even more!

 

[MsBinky]

Is she spayed? Females can get very aggressive and cause this kind of destructive behaviour at times andspaying her would make the two of you much happier.

 

[seniorcats]

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/chewing.html#discipline

An article on chewing - may help. it also has a link at the bottom on training rabbits.


http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/index.html

More info on destructive beahvior and training


http://exoticpets.about.com/od/rabbitcare/f/rabbitchewing.htm

Good info on chewing and training

 

[Usagi_Chan]

She is spayed

 

[naturestee]

UsagiChan, I'm not totally against negative reinforcement, BUT it has to be done in a way that is not harmful and won't potentially cause other problems. Negative reinforcement through pain is a bad idea with rabbits because they are prey animals. Pain causes a fight or flight response and continued use of pain as a negative reinforcement usually results in either an aggressive or a very scared rabbit. I do have a friend who uses the shock collar on a dog because all other training methods had failed to decrease her barking and the neighbors were threatening to call the police. It worked, but even on the lowest setting you could tell that it really hurt her and for a while she was afraid to even go outside because she associated it with the shock (she only barks outside). Rabbits are so much smaller and more delicate than dogs that shock collars would probably hurt them even more.

I have had problems with my rabbits chewing too. I watch them like a hawk and when I see them go to chew something they shouldn't, I say no and clap my hands. If they continue, I say no and spray them with water. All of my rabbits understand the word no now and respond to it. If something is really tempting for them I block it off or alter it. I rub a bar of soap on woodwork that is very tempting for Loki, it works better than the other deterrants I've tried. It's a taste deterrent so they'll still take a small nibble. Vick's Vaporub works on wires but doesn't last long. I put a cardboard box over the carpet where Mocha likes to shred it. All wires are covered with plastic spiral wrap that I found in Home Depot and hidden behind furniture where possible. Headphones, Playstation controllers, etc., are kept out of bunny reach. One nip can not only destroy the wire, but if it's live it can also kill the rabbit. I won't take a risk like that. Not to mention that cords are like candy for many rabbits, maybe because they resemble twigs or roots. They just can't help but nibble.

This is definately something that you have to keep on top of in order to stop. There are no quick fixes and since each rabbit is an individual there is no guaranteed prevention or training method. The most important thing is to keep things that she might chew out of her reach. Don't leave your MP3 player on the couch, make a habit of always putting it somewhere that she can't possibly get such as on a high shelf, on top of the TV, inside a drawer, etc. Do the same for anything else she might take an interest in too. In my house, anything left out is claimed by the cats and rabbits. If we don't want them to chew it (my cat Lily is actually the worst wire chewer in the house) we put it away.

 

[lagadvocate]

I think that the fact that you are not finding information on rabbits and shock collars on the web is indicative of it being a bad idea. Rabbits can and do die from fright or shock. Also, their bones are so fragile that they are capable of breaking their backs just from kicking too hard. Imagine the spasm that would follow an electrical shock.

If you truly feel that your only options now are electrocution or relegating her to a backyard hutch, then perhaps yourthought of finding her a new home may be your best option.

A dog shock collar is cruel. It's even tough to watch a dog get shocked by one of those things. People have held them in their hands to "see how bad it really is" , and have shrieked like children even on the lowest setting. A more reasonablemethod of negative reinforcement is using a spray bottle of water. When the rabbit chews, spray her on the head once or twice while loudly saying no.

You posted here for advice, and the general consensusappears to bethat shocking her is a bad idea. What you choose to do with that information is, of course, up to you. Rabbits are chewers. My rabbits are 4 and 5 years old and still go insane trying to chew carpet. I've protected as much as I can, but there are still plenty of big holes.

We all have lists of things that have been destroyed. I've lost a vacuum, a television, a dvd player, a paper shredder, and a stereo due to cords being chomped in two. EVERYTHING I have now is covered with cord protectors or put out of their reach. Many of my things, from my shoes to my sofa, have bunny chew marks in them. I do the best I can. I love rabbits and therefore will brace for the chewers as best I can in order to have them as companions.

I think that all of the posts including mine are trying to help you as best we can. After all, what's in the best interest of the rabbits is why we're all here.

-Beth

 

[naturestee]

I lost a recliner. :sofa:

My gentle, sweet Fey has a rarely seen alter ego known as Destructo Fey. In the space of 30 seconds Destructo Fey jumped up on the recliner, tore a 1.5 foot gash in the fabric, and dug out an amazing amount of foam stuffing!:shock:

99% of the time she's an angel.

lagadvocate wrote:

We all have lists of things that have been destroyed. I've lost a vacuum, a television, a dvd player, a paper shredder, and a stereo due to cords being chomped in two. EVERYTHING I have now is covered with cord protectors or put out of their reach. Many of my things, from my shoes to my sofa, have bunny chew marks in them. I do the best I can. I love rabbits and therefore will brace for the chewers as best I can in order to have them as companions.

 

[Usagi_Chan]

lagadvocate wrote:

If you truly feel that your only options now are electrocution...

Electrocution is defined as killing using electricity. NO ONE here was EVER talking about killing. Nor did I state that I intended to put her in a backyard hutch, in fact I said the EXACT opposite. Besides that I live in a city on the 9th floor and there IS no backyard, much less a hutch."

I was specifically talking about how... any method... to control destructive chewing which causes many bunnies to fine themselves homeless. The intent was to see if anyone had ideas that would SAVE bunnies, not see them harmed. I do resent the implication that I'm some sort of sadist.

It seems that whatever I say here is going to be misunderstood so I just won't say anything more on this subject.

UsagiChan

Incidentally, I know for a fact that some of the posters on this board DO keep their rabbits in backyard hutches. So if you're looking for cruelty you need to look elsewhere.

 

[MsBinky]

First of all, electrocution is a word often used to replace 'shock' or 'zap', many people don't realize that it actually means to kill so don't get mad at her because I doubt that is what she meant.

HOWEVER, 'shocking' a rabbit may very well result in its death. I think even thinking of putting a shock collar on a rabbit is a cruel way of dealing with a rabbit for whom it is only natural to chew and I guess it really does show how discouraged you are by this chewing.

There are many way to reduce this destructive behavior and making sure you don't leave thing like an mp3 player on your couch where you know your bun can get to is one of them. I'm guessing the sheet set was on a bed... You can easily close off some rooms to prevent the bunny getting in. My rabbits are not allowed on couches except if they are on me or if they are sick and it's not from lack of them trying. However, if I clap my hands and say "No!" or "Down!" they know right away and sure enough they get off. They can be trained with a little bit of patience. You should definitely look into getting something to cover the wires. There are various things you can buy either at a hardware store or a pet store. It's also reeeeeally inexpensive and way more inexpensive than having your things chewed. I know that at the pet shopthey suggested putting tabasco sauce over the wires but I don't know if it is safe for a bunny.

Is there not a way you can close off a section against a wall that wouldn't be unsafe for you and would limit what the bunny can get to? I know it can be frustrating when they are a bit destructive... I have had things chewed myself, though luckily not furniture.

I hope you can find some tricks to distract her and save your stuff. All buns deserve a good home so I really hope it works out for you and your bun.

 

[gentle giants]

lagadvocate wrote:

If you truly feel that your only options now are electrocution or relegating her to a backyard hutch, then perhaps yourthought of finding her a new home may be your best option.

Yes, a shock collar is a bad idea. However, Usagi had already stated that he had discarded that idea, and that he would never put a rabbit in a backyard hutch. Usagi is feeling understandably frustrated, and I am betting that even without the outpouring of responses here, he would have decided against it anyway.

Despite my quote, this is not aimed at any one person. It jsut seems to me that I have been seeing more people being quick to jump on any bad idea with both feet, and others getting offended as a result.My :twocentsbeing added on now, I will shut up.

 

[seniorcats]

Usagi_Chan wrote:

lagadvocate wrote: ...If you truly feel that your only options now are electrocution or relegating her to a backyard hutch.

Electrocution is defined as killing using electricity. NO ONE here was EVER talking about killing. Nor did I state that I intended to put her in a backyard hutch, in fact I said the EXACT opposite. Besides that I live in a city on the 9th floor and there IS no backyard, much less a hutch."

I was specifically talking about how... any method... to control destructive chewing which causes many bunnies to fine themselves homeless. The intent was to see if anyone had ideas that would SAVE bunnies, not see them harmed. I do resent the implication that I'm some sort of sadist.

It seems that whatever I say here is going to be misunderstood so I just won't say anything more on this subject.

UsagiChan

Don't worry Robert, most of us aren't making a negative judgement - at least I'm not. I do understand the frustration. Many of the articles I looked at stated exactly what you said, that rabbits are often surrendered for the destructive behavior.

I guess I am fortunate in having anold farm house with added on bits and pieces. The former owner added on considerable space including what was to be a playroom for his kids. My bunnies live there and it's easy to bunny-proof. But that doesn't help you.

I wonder if clicker training would work for Thumper?

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/306

http://www.wikihow.com/Train-a-Rabbit

http://www.rabbitstop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=RabbitClickerTraining

If you google rabbit clicker training or clicker training rabbits, it brings up more articles. Sometime rabbit rescues have people who offer clicker training classes for free. You may want to check and see if anything is available where you live.

If you need any more apple branches, just PM me. And please let me know what you think about the propects of clicker training.