Training a house rabbit

[lenna6]

Is it diffcult to train any rabbit to become a house rabbit

[Sarita]

I’m not sure what you mean. Do you mean litter train?

[Elrohwen]

Most of us here think that any and all rabbits should be indoor rabbits. Do you mean litter training? Most fixed rabbits are able to have pretty consistent, if not perfect, litter habits indoors.

[Monkeybun]

Bunnies adapt nicely to coming indoors after being outdoor bunnies. being warm, dry, and hidden from predators is quite nice for them, and all it takes is a bit of litter training to get them fully switched over. get a few litter boxes, and put them around his/her area so your bun learns where to go.

Spaying and neutering goes a long way to helping that as well. The urge to mark isn’t as prominent, and altered rabbits usually settle down nicely to being house pets. Give it a try, you won’t regret it. Indoor bunnies have such great personalities you don’t see when they are outdoors as outside they spend most of their time being scared to death, and don’t have the human contact needed to let their personalities shine.

[bunnyfriend]

One of my rabbits became litter trained after 3 days Litter training is usually very simple and easy, there’s even a good guide on how to do that here on BinkyBunny: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/LitterboxTraining/tabid/62/Default.aspx It doesn’t require as much work as it does to train a puppy to be housebroken in my experience. You basically just provide the right environment and they work it out for themselves. Most rabbits like being clean Bunnies do great as indoor pets, being kept outdoors (even if in a hutch, ect.) is not really the best environment for them. There’s also clicker training which I have had a lot of success with it.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think all domesticated animals take quickly to being doted on and cared for in a home. I had the opportunity to have a dog stay in my house, who had only lived outside as a stray. She quickly figured out potty training, furniture, meals and having attention. My rabbit Rupert was a stray and then spent six months in the humane society with little interaction. Sure he was skittish at first, but in no time at all he was demanding treats, attention and cushy plush beds-and friendship. It’s like I hand raised him now.
It’s different than a wild animal, they aren’t meant to be kept. But domesticated animals cannot thrive without us, so my short answer is no. It’s not difficult at all Bunnies are domesticated pets (domesticated from wild European rabbits actually!) and rely on us for food, water, vet care, attention and a home. They will quickly adjust.

[Quantum]

Bean was a rescue bun from the shelter and had been fostered so he was used to being an indoor bun. I found keeping him in an x-pen for the first couple of days helped him learn where his litter box, food and water dishes would always be. And that the x-pen was his “safe” zone where he’d get pets but nothing “bad” (bad from a bunny POV anyway) would happen. After that, he got free run of the living/dining room areas and he did great and would go into his x-pen at bedtime for his greens and a papaya tablet (yay for bunny crack! ).

But to answer your question, bunnies aren’t predisposed to be “indoor” or “outdoor” pets anymore than dogs or cats are. Bring a bunny indoors–you won’t regret it.

[BinkyBunny]

I think that when you bring any bunny into a new place, you have to limit freedom at first and slowly widen his running space so he can understand where his area is and remember where his litterbox is. It also depends on the size of your place.

Since you haven’t mentioned yet exactly what training you are were asking about, and it looks like litterbox training has been covered, I will add that you will need to house proof. Get cords covered or up out of the way. Just like their are some dangers outdoors, there are things you need to watch out for indoors as well. Electric cords, nook and cranny areas behind appliances for tiny bunnies, and even types of furniture like rockers and recliners are all things that will need to be considered and planned for. Check out the Bunny Proofing section in the Rabbit info Section. https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/BunnyProofingYourHome/tabid/61/Default.aspx

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