Training Tips?
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Tauntz
Well-Known Member
As far as sitting on your lap, it is best to sit on the floor beside their cage & open their cage door. Then sit there watching TV, listening to some relaxing music, reading or other minimal activity while ignoring the bunnies. They will soon relax & come to explore you. Be patient & respect their space & their feelings. Some days you feel like being cuddled & others you don't, same with the buns. Always use positive reinforcement. Treats can help but you don't want to overdo. I often spend time with my buns handfeeding them their greens (my buns are young adult buns just over a year old now so greens are good. Don't feed greens/veggies/fruits to buns under 6 months old as their digestive tract is very sensitive & not ready to handle those foods.). I also reward them for their good behavior by giving them either a Craisin or small piece of banana, their favorite treats. This has worked for me & my buns. I'm sure others will come on a bit later in the morning & give you their bunny training tips. I'll be following this thread to see what I can learn to help me work with my buns.
DogCatMom
Well-Known Member
Trying to expand my repertoire of behavioral approaches for a rabbit before one arrives (within the month, ideally; within the next couple of months, I certainly hope!)
Training
Background: My dogs have all earned the Canine Good Citizen certificate; it's pretty basic, but it's a "requirement" in my eyes for my dogs. One dog earned his Bernese Mtn. Dog Novice Draft Dog title. (Good boy!) My (part) Maine Coon cat knows *and* does Sit, Go Play, Take It (treat from my hand), Off!, Come, Stay, Walkies, and Wait. His "Wait" is incredible; he's held it without being told for over 10 minutes--longer than any of my dogs!
What "around the house" behaviors can rabbits be expected to learn through training? Obviously, they need to learn to accept grooming (coat and nails, teeth and rear end looked at) and being petted. But is it realistic to try and train
--"[Name], come!" (or equivalent)
--"[Name], bedtime!"
--"Dinner!" or "Food!" or "Treats!"
--"Walkies!" (yes, I take my two male cats outside on a harness and leash so they don't forget that the outdoors is there; why not a rabbit? Jackets designed for leashes exist....)
Can rabbits "do" stairs? My house has two stories. The rabbit will primarily be upstairs, but to go outdoors, DH and I always use the back door, which is downstairs. The stairs have rubber protectors on the treads. Of course, I could carry the rabbit--in a towel, if need be.
What other behaviors would be reasonable to try and teach to a rabbit/train a rabbit into performing?
Corrections
For negative reinforcement (getting a rabbit to stop doing something the person doesn't want the rabbit to do), what's effective?
--clapping hands together suddenly & sharply?
--loud tongue chatter behind teeth ("t t t" sound)?
--sudden "anh-anh!" phrase?
--standing up suddenly from a sitting position while saying "No"?
--something else? (pls specify; thx)
For a stubborn rabbit on whom the above (or similar) non-touching techniques don't work, does a spray bottle of water set to "stream/jet" rather than "spray/mist" work? It works very well on my cats, but of course "rabbit" ≠ "cat."
In times of desperation with a cat's repeated bad behavior, I have put my hands on the cat and simply held it in place while saying "No!" until the cat stopped doing whatever the Bad Thing was, then let the cat go free. Does this work with rabbits?
OTOH, are rabbits (esp. Angoras, if anyone knows) "soft" in terms of training? Bernese Mtn. Dogs, despite their size, are surprisingly "soft": sharp tones of voice will demoralize most of them completely. The dog I trained for Novice Draft Dog was demoralized for a week or two after I corrected him sharply once when he was a few months old. My current male is a little "harder," but not much; his ears and tail go completely down if I look at him angrily. Before the current boy was neutered, he was much more hard-headed, and I actually called him a "Bad Dog" once while holding his collar (I had had to pull him TWICE off of another dog he...ah...wanted to dominate via humping). He was extra lovey-dovey by the time we got back home, wanting to show me that he wasn't a "Bad Dog" after all.
So...training rabbits. Positive reinforcement, of course, but what's realistic in the way of expectations, and what do they respond to in the way of corrections for spontaneous unwanted behaviors?
Training
Background: My dogs have all earned the Canine Good Citizen certificate; it's pretty basic, but it's a "requirement" in my eyes for my dogs. One dog earned his Bernese Mtn. Dog Novice Draft Dog title. (Good boy!) My (part) Maine Coon cat knows *and* does Sit, Go Play, Take It (treat from my hand), Off!, Come, Stay, Walkies, and Wait. His "Wait" is incredible; he's held it without being told for over 10 minutes--longer than any of my dogs!
What "around the house" behaviors can rabbits be expected to learn through training? Obviously, they need to learn to accept grooming (coat and nails, teeth and rear end looked at) and being petted. But is it realistic to try and train
--"[Name], come!" (or equivalent)
--"[Name], bedtime!"
--"Dinner!" or "Food!" or "Treats!"
--"Walkies!" (yes, I take my two male cats outside on a harness and leash so they don't forget that the outdoors is there; why not a rabbit? Jackets designed for leashes exist....)
Can rabbits "do" stairs? My house has two stories. The rabbit will primarily be upstairs, but to go outdoors, DH and I always use the back door, which is downstairs. The stairs have rubber protectors on the treads. Of course, I could carry the rabbit--in a towel, if need be.
What other behaviors would be reasonable to try and teach to a rabbit/train a rabbit into performing?
Corrections
For negative reinforcement (getting a rabbit to stop doing something the person doesn't want the rabbit to do), what's effective?
--clapping hands together suddenly & sharply?
--loud tongue chatter behind teeth ("t t t" sound)?
--sudden "anh-anh!" phrase?
--standing up suddenly from a sitting position while saying "No"?
--something else? (pls specify; thx)
For a stubborn rabbit on whom the above (or similar) non-touching techniques don't work, does a spray bottle of water set to "stream/jet" rather than "spray/mist" work? It works very well on my cats, but of course "rabbit" ≠ "cat."
In times of desperation with a cat's repeated bad behavior, I have put my hands on the cat and simply held it in place while saying "No!" until the cat stopped doing whatever the Bad Thing was, then let the cat go free. Does this work with rabbits?
OTOH, are rabbits (esp. Angoras, if anyone knows) "soft" in terms of training? Bernese Mtn. Dogs, despite their size, are surprisingly "soft": sharp tones of voice will demoralize most of them completely. The dog I trained for Novice Draft Dog was demoralized for a week or two after I corrected him sharply once when he was a few months old. My current male is a little "harder," but not much; his ears and tail go completely down if I look at him angrily. Before the current boy was neutered, he was much more hard-headed, and I actually called him a "Bad Dog" once while holding his collar (I had had to pull him TWICE off of another dog he...ah...wanted to dominate via humping). He was extra lovey-dovey by the time we got back home, wanting to show me that he wasn't a "Bad Dog" after all.
So...training rabbits. Positive reinforcement, of course, but what's realistic in the way of expectations, and what do they respond to in the way of corrections for spontaneous unwanted behaviors?
To the OP. Bandit doesn't like to sit in laps for long, but basically, I just sat down on the floor in his play area and lured him onto my lap with pellets, he eventually got curious enough to jump in my lap and be happy to sit there for a short bit. As for the jumps, I've read that to start with you should just basically have the bar of one of the jumps on the ground and get your rabbit to walk over it and praise them when they do. Then from there you can put it up onto the first rung and progress from there
Rabbits can be stubborn creatures, but they are certainly very intelligent and can learn many phrases and household behaviours. They can learn the meaning of all the things you've listed. I've not worked a great deal with Bandit but I've trained him to stand up, and to spin, and sometimes he'll come when called There's also lots of youtube videos of trained rabbits as well, they seemed to respond well to clicker training, there's lot of tricks to be learned. Bandit is trained to walk on a leash, the "H" style harnesses are the best for rabbits. One thing to keep in mind is if they suddenly bolt, the sudden jolt at the end of the leash can send them into a panic due to the prey response.
They are also capable of navigating stairs, they fly up them with ease, although you do have to be a little careful with them going down. As their back legs are longer than their front, and due to the nature of their gait, they are prone to falling literally head over heels on their way down, particularly if they are going at speed. There has been the odd occasion when Bandit has "escaped" and dashed up the stairs, then when he heads back down, I always stay well behind so he doesn't rush going down them. He tends to take them at a bit of an angle as well.
As for corrective noises/behaviours, you'll have to see what works with your rabbit. Bandit is pretty much afraid of nothing disciplinary. He's not afraid of clapping, stomping, "anh-anh" or many other things, though many rabbits likely will be, though of course always use a sharp "no" so that they learn it's wrong. Bandit is a determined little fellow though. Otherwise, a spray bottle with water does work on the stream setting. You can also discipline with gentle force by pressing the rabbit's head down against the ground as another rabbit would do to show dominance. The head-holding was something I used mainly to correct nipping or unwanted physical stuff like that. It did nothing against carpet chewing etc. lol
Rabbits can be stubborn creatures, but they are certainly very intelligent and can learn many phrases and household behaviours. They can learn the meaning of all the things you've listed. I've not worked a great deal with Bandit but I've trained him to stand up, and to spin, and sometimes he'll come when called
There's also lots of youtube videos of trained rabbits as well, they seemed to respond well to clicker training, there's lot of tricks to be learned. Bandit is trained to walk on a leash, the "H" style harnesses are the best for rabbits. One thing to keep in mind is if they suddenly bolt, the sudden jolt at the end of the leash can send them into a panic due to the prey response.They are also capable of navigating stairs, they fly up them with ease, although you do have to be a little careful with them going down. As their back legs are longer than their front, and due to the nature of their gait, they are prone to falling literally head over heels on their way down, particularly if they are going at speed. There has been the odd occasion when Bandit has "escaped" and dashed up the stairs, then when he heads back down, I always stay well behind so he doesn't rush going down them. He tends to take them at a bit of an angle as well.
As for corrective noises/behaviours, you'll have to see what works with your rabbit. Bandit is pretty much afraid of nothing disciplinary. He's not afraid of clapping, stomping, "anh-anh" or many other things, though many rabbits likely will be, though of course always use a sharp "no" so that they learn it's wrong. Bandit is a determined little fellow though. Otherwise, a spray bottle with water does work on the stream setting. You can also discipline with gentle force by pressing the rabbit's head down against the ground as another rabbit would do to show dominance. The head-holding was something I used mainly to correct nipping or unwanted physical stuff like that. It did nothing against carpet chewing etc. lol
