Spreading happiness through furry skin, little paws, and deep eyes is the topmost work done by rabbits. Rabbits are herbivores. It means that they have a plant-based diet and do not eat meat. Their diets include clover, grasses, and some cruciferous plants, for instance, brussels sprouts and broccoli. They are opportunistic feeders and eat fruits, seeds, roots, buds, and tree bark.
Punishing helps to train.
Rabbits tend to do whatever they want and sometimes will not listen (much like cats), so sometimes they need to be reminded how to behave! Keep in mind; you need not punish your rabbit but help steer him in the right direction with patience. When a rabbit is ‘naughty,’ he is doing what is natural to him. That is where training and discipline come in!
We have shared some tips for what you can do to discipline your rabbit:
- Voice training: When your bunny does something, use his name and say ‘NO,’ firmly and sternly. Make eye contact with your bun when you. Say this. Stay calm, and raise your voice, but do not yell.
- Nose down: Take your index finger and firmly but gently push his nose down toward the floor while saying ‘Oliver, NO.’ It helps him understand that you do not like his behavior, and you are ‘dominating’ him.
- Time out: If your bunny does not listen to “{bunny name}, NO” after a couple of times, you can shut him in a bathroom or closet for 10 minutes to show him your disapproval.
- Water: Use a spray bottle on the mist setting only to spray your bun if he continues to do something he should not.
- Squeal: If your rabbit nips or bites you (sometimes rabbits nibble when they want something or want your attention – it is not always aggressive): give a high-pitched squeal as soon as she nips or bites you. It will let her know that she hurt you, and she should not nip or bite you.
Litter Training
If you are keeping a pet, suppose it is a rabbit, you can quickly train your pet in less than a month. For example, you can litter-train your bunny! But, spaying or neutering must come first. It is almost impossible to litter train wild rabbits. If you cannot resist letting the bunny have the house run immediately, be prepared to have him consider your home as one colossal litter box.
In the same way, you can potty train your bunny. As they are likely to understand things while preparing, you can easily make your rabbit understand the difference between good and evil. You can teach him enough ethics so that he gets love even from house guests. It is vital to make your house clean and friendly living space. That is why you must make sure that your rabbit is not pooping everywhere. It is prevalent for rabbits to poop in small amounts in their housing enclosure outside of the litter box for territorial reasons. Sometimes poop may be kicked out when the rabbit jumps from the litter box. It is quite irritating and disgusting for you or mainly for your guests. The cause for this varies, but spaying or neutering an intact rabbit can solve the issue in many cases.
Arrange big and small litter boxes at different locations of your house so that you take him to the litter box whenever the rabbit is going to pee. Over time, you will start noticing the change in your bunny’s behavior while going to poop. The rabbit should understand that he cannot poop anywhere in the house, he will make sure that here poops in the litter box his owner has arranged for him.
Rabbits are clean and have a favored urination spot in their hutch. Apply a tray to this location, filled with soiled hay. Once the rabbit recognizes the hay smell, he will pee in the litter tray.
Teach your Rabbit to Use Litter Tray
- When you are ready to train your bunny, you will need time and patience. You will have to watch your rabbit for several hours, so wait until this is an option. The steps for litter training a bunny are:
- Watch your rabbit and learn their elimination routines. You will notice that they urinate in the same place every time.
- Once you understand your rabbit’s toilet routine, remove them from their hutch and clean it thoroughly. The hutch must smell neutral.
- Take a straw and soak it with urine, then place it in the litter tray.
- Return your rabbit to their hutch. You will be locking it in for several hours. Provide lots of hay and toys so that they do not envy this too much.
- Place the urine-soaked hay in your bunny’s litter tray. Place the tray in your rabbit’s preferred elimination location.
- There happen to be some rabbits that get confused when they see a litter box or a tray. Place the tray somewhere approachable for them. Others will be drawn to the smell and pee in the tray.
- Immediately clean the outside area of the litter tray if your rabbit pees outside the tray. It will make the rabbit think that he has done something wrong.
- If, unfortunately, your rabbit poops or pees outside the litter box, make sure to move the litter into the litter tray.
- Do not clean the litter box immediately after the rabbit’s excretion. Give it 24 hours. In this way, your rabbit will learn that it is the specific place where he must urinate.
Repeat the steps mentioned above until your rabbit uses their tray. It will make the rabbit familiar with the usage of the litter tray. It means they will limit their elimination to these locations.
Conclusion
Cleanliness is the most crucial thing that comes to our mind if we are concerned about healthcare problems. That is why whenever a person has a pet animal, he makes sure he trains his pet. In rabbits, they can be easily trained to excrete in litter boxes just by a few simple training steps. Voice training or nose down technique is often used. Mostly, people do prefer voice training. You give your rabbit a name, and whenever he is doing something which he is not supposed to do, shout NO by calling him directly. Over time he will not do anything absurd and behave far better.