Training Vs. Human-Rabbit Bonding

[Kathryn Lacey]

My boyfriend and I are going to get a male, Flemish Giant at some point in April or May. I am hoping that there will be one in the humane society when we go to get one, but my boyfriend wants to get one from a breeder. The compromise we made was that if our specific preference isn’t available in a humane society, we’ll go to a breeder. :: crosses fingers for the humane society ::

Anyway, I’ve been researching rabbits for weeks, and I will continue to do so until we get this rabbit. However, I’ve found some things that seem to be contradictory. Training stuff and human-to-rabbit/rabbit-to-human bonding is pretty much all the same stuff, but training vs. bonding seems to contradict each other.

For instance, when litter box training a rabbit, if you see them about to defecate or urinate, you’re supposed to say “no” and herd them toward their litter box. However, when you’re trying to bond with your new rabbit, you’re supposed to sit quietly and let them sniff you and hop away without trying to pet them until it gets to a point where they feel comfortable with you.

Okay, so how am I supposed to train my rabbit if, in order to make it feel secure, I can’t really move toward it until it’s comfortable with me? I don’t want it to be afraid of me, but I’ve also read that the pen is supposed to be a rabbit’s safe haven, it’s own space, so I shouldn’t go into it except to clean it and to feed the rabbit and such.

I’m just unclear as to how I’m supposed to get it to feel safe and content with me and train it at the same time? This will be our first rabbit (for both of us). Any tips or ideas?

[Sarita]

Well, litter training isn’t going to keep your rabbit from bonding to you – once he’s trained anyway you’ll both be happier. The thing with litter training is that it is a matter of seeing how the rabbit behaves – some rabbits are easier to train than others – you want to keep him confined initially while he gets used to his new surroundings and that can help with litter training. Basically with “litter training” you want to sit him up for success and sometimes you have to adapt his environment to what will work best for him/her (hopefully that makes sense).

The bonding and the training are just 2 totally separate things. But I can see how you might find what you are reading as contradictory.

You may find that your rabbit is very friendly or not so friendly – really this is where the bonding comes in – at this point you don’t know how he will be – most any information is based on certain assumptions and are just guidelines which may or may not apply to your particular rabbits at least as far as litter training and behavior.

As far as the pen – some rabbits (most rabbits) are very territorial especially when they are young – this is mostly prevalent for unaltered and adolescent rabbits – but as a matter of fact, you probably want to fool with their “space” when they are out playing.

[Kathryn Lacey]

That makes perfect sense. I am really grateful for your advice. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to start bonding right away or not, but just giving him a few days to get used to the new environment is a great idea. I once had a cat who hid behind our couch for two weeks, only coming out for food and to use the litter box, so I can be patient about giving a rabbit time to get used to things before I start trying to earn his trust.

I’ve read about placing some of his pellets (not the food) and something with his urine on it into a rabbit’s litter box along with hay to encourage them to use the litter box, but I’m not going into this expecting (however nice it would be) him to get it right away, but my boyfriend won’t want him out of his pen much if he doesn’t at least have a vague handle on it. Like… we both know accidents happen, but the rabbit will primarily be my responsibility where training is concerned because I’m going to be home the most frequently.

I figured the best times to clean the pen and such would be when he’s outside of it because of the territorial aspects. I am also adamant about altering any rabbit we get because the benefits (based on what I’m reading) far outweigh the risks – aggression, cancer, etc. etc.

Thank you for your advice. It’s been extremely helpful. ^^_^^

[Sarita]

It’s great that you are reading and studying up on what to expect. I didn’t when I got my first rabbit – it all worked out for the best fortunately, but I imagine that even if I had read up like you are, there would still have been a learning curve because rabbits just aren’t like cats and dogs and while there is alot more information out on the web now, which is great, there is still contradictory info. I also never had the pleasure of knowing someone with a rabbit prior to getting one so I could pick their brains and meet their rabbit(s).

Definitely read the Bunny Info section that is on the Binky Bunny Site and also take a look at the House Rabbit Society website.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Unfortunately for me, I’ve only ever had cats and dogs. I had a fish once, but… I was about nine years old so I didn’t take very good care of it, and it died. A friend of mine had outdoor rabbits that they kept in huts, but they never had indoor rabbits, so going to them wouldn’t give me the best expectations. I know that despite all of my research, I can’t have my expectations too high or too low because rabbits are living, individual beings (just like any animal) and will have their own, unique personalities.

The whole reason I decided to research them more was because Jonathan (the boyfriend) and I are considering getting a rabbit, and I kind of dislike the idea of having something that will need to stay cooped up all the time the way I’ve seen rabbits in the past treated. I now know that that is actually not preferable treatment of a rabbit, and the idea that as long as it’s litter box trained, and we’ve bunny-proofed our house, we can allow it out of its pen to play. We’ll supervise it of course so it doesn’t get hurt, especially in the beginning stages, but I like the idea of a rabbit who can have free range of the house.

I have actually read through every article concerning rabbit care on this website and several of the House Rabbit Society articles, so while I’m definitely no expert, I want to make sure I go into this with the proper kinds of expectations. For instance, I learned that the vast majority of rabbits dislike being held, and if I hadn’t done any research, I never would have known that, but I don’t mind because once they decide they like a human, there are other ways to show affection.

I joined this forum so that I could get a better feel for rabbit ownership as well. Not everything can be found in an article, after all, and I know not everything will be found on this forum, but I’ve got a decent start. I’m just enormously glad that I didn’t go into this without research. I wouldn’t have handled it very well.

[Author]

Messages