Bunnies are sensitive animals. You have to discipline them, and it is crucial to be strict but not harsh on the rabbits. It is necessary to redirect their behavior when they do something inappropriate. The bunnies will often memorize bad and dangerous experiences throughout their existence.
There are a few decent ways you can use to discipline the bunny. It is better to keep your authority over them and give them alone time to calm down. When they show slight misbehavior, you can squeal or hold a foam bottle. You have to remember, NEVER shout, kick, or avoid the bunny’s bad or misbehavior. You can change their bad behavior, but do not make them nervous or dislike you.
There are some methods you can use to rectify the bad behavior of the bunny. You must follow the below steps to have a friendly bond with the rabbit and make a long-term safe connection.
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Using Powerful Voice
Bunnies are also intelligent animals. They can memorize many phrases and voice commands if you educate them from time to time. At first, you might find it difficult. Later on, you can encourage the rabbits to learn by giving treats to them. It is one of the ways you can use to teach the bunny more words and actions. Educating them with a firm and strict voice is more effective than giving them treats or saying “good job” to bunnies.
Teach the word “no” at first. You can use this phrase to stop the bunny when it is going to do something dangerous. Act firm and strict in front of the rabbit, but do not show aggression. It is also good to train the bunnies with commands like “hello,” “sit,” “come here,” “stop,” and more. You can also teach the bunny how to climb up or get down from the sofa or bed.
You will face difficulty while teaching them not to do stuff. At that moment, educating the bunnies using tricks like giving treats is the best solution. They can learn the correct behavior with ease. Also, the bunnies will know about the things that can make you proud of them and feed treats. While giving them treats, make them understand the acceptable behaviors.
Showing Superiority
Another way to rectify the wrong behavior of the bunny is to apply weight to its back area. You have to remember that you should not keep your hand onto the bunny by force. It is better to keep only a little pressure for some time on the bunny. If you are not confident with this method, do not try it because it may injure the rabbit.
The above method works for sure because bunnies hate it when you restrict them. When you do not play with them or give them enough attention or did not feed them on time, they will feel annoyed. It is not a wrong or dangerous behavior, but some people might find it improper. To prevent this kind of behavior, you can put a tiny amount of pressure on the back.
You can also use this method when your bunny acts too playful or shows aggression to other rabbits. As the bunnies like to have all the attention, they might have instincts to harm other bunny buddies. You can redirect this kind of misbehavior by applying pressure on them with ease.
Say No To Physical Force
When the bunny did something wrong or exhibits ill behavior, and if you hit them, the bad behavior will not stop. You should know not to hit or spank the rabbit. If you hit the bunnies, it will spook them. When you beat the rabbits, they will be afraid of you and hide for the whole day/s.
Every bunny has a different personality, and hitting them will make them nervous and afraid. When the bunny knows that it is in trouble, do not pick it up from the ground. If you do, the bunny will be more nervous and will be afraid of your presence. Sometimes, hitting the bunny will make it more aggressive.
If you physically punish the bunny for chewing on your couch or other home decors, they will act aggressive and arrogant towards you. It is natural for rabbits to chew on everything, and if you hit them, it will be a disaster.
Buy A Spray Bottle
You can stop the naughty behavior of the rabbits by a sudden mist or spraying water. But, do not use this often. When the bunny is chewing on any object, do not spray water on them. It is better to sprinkle the water into the air while saying “No” to them in a commanding voice.
Your powerful voice attracts the attention of the bunny and will stop them in an instant. But, when it turns towards you but is still misbehaving, spray the water on it to prevent its action.
You should never spray water in the face or on the back area of the bunny. Like the kittens, bunnies also do not like to be in the water. If you endlessly spray water on the bunnies, they will either feel nervous or will start to misbehave again. If you can not reach the bunny within time, you can use this method. When you spray the water on the bunny twice, you have to give it a time out.
Giving Time Outs
It is an impressive way of “punishment” you can give to your bunny without being aggressive. Use this method to rectify the naughty behavior of the bunny. You should use this method at the same time with a powerful voice. It means that you would not resist the bad behavior of the rabbit.
The time out is similar to how you will put the siblings in different corners to reflect upon their wrongdoings. You have to keep a specific timing-out spot for the bunny, and it should be a quiet place, and the bunny should not get the attention. Keeping them in their pen is not a good idea as it is their happy home. Select a room or any corner in your house where the bunnies can not get attention and where they can not receive social interaction.
It is better to keep the timeout duration quick and short and not a long time. Let the bunnies understand what they did wrong.
Make A Sound Whenever The Bunny Bite You
Bunnies will nibble you so that you will give them more attention. But in rare cases, the rabbit will bite you when it is not getting enough attention from you. When you did not follow their schedule or visit them often or make them annoying, they will bite you.
You can understand the clear difference between an affectionate nibble and an angry bite. When the rabbit bites you, and if it hurts, you can groan in hearable noise. This sound will terrify the bunny, and it will stop doing that. You should not act aggressive and do not shout, which may shock them.
When you make these groaning noises, the bunny will understand that it is harming you. When the bunny realizes the whole situation, it will stop biting you. The rabbits do not want to hurt you intentionally.
NEVER Clap
Whenever the bunny hears loud sounds, it will start to feel afraid. It is better to know that making loud noises would not stop the bunny from misbehaving. Instead, the rabbit will run away from there as they are scared. Startling the bunny with clapping sounds will harm its health and sometimes can even result in its death.
You have to remember that you should never clap when you are around the rabbit. Even if you clap in low sound, it will still shock them. You can use other ways to discipline the bunny, and there are many best alternatives to clapping.
A Few Behaviors That You Have To Handle And Tolerate
When you want to change a few wrong behaviors of the rabbit, you can give them a few toys so they can chew on them. Like any other creatures, bunnies also have different personalities, and they will do the things they like.
Giving them toys will help them to vent out their frustrations. Also, they will be busy with the chewing toy and would not chew on other objects.
Sometimes you have to let them do a few things, such as nibbling at you and chewing on your slipper for a few moments. You should tolerate them and do not be mad at them. It is good to laugh it off when you caught the bunny doing these things. You can take these objects away from the rabbit so that they can stop chewing. It will help in reducing the mischievousness of the bunny.
Decent Methods To Change The Bad Bunny Behavior
Bunnies like to chew on things that have a chewy and elastic texture. Give them plenty of stretchable and teething toys. Teach the rabbits some exercises so that they will know what they should not do.
For sure, it is not possible to prevent bunnies from doing every playful thing. It is better to shift their attention to other things so they can enjoy chewing on the objects. Also, it helps them to release their stress.
Bunnies are active animals with high-energy levels. If you give them plenty of time to exercise and more toys, they will be enthusiastic without doing other nasty things. In every pet shop, you can get playing bridges for bunnies. The rabbit can chew on it, run in every direction, and can play with balls.
When the rabbits want something to use up their energy, allow them to play and have fun rather than keeping them aggressive. The only thing that you must need while disciplining your bunny buddy is plenty of patience.