Training

I didn't want to hijack a thread but I was interesting in how to train your rabbit.

My rabbit is 4 months and not spayed yet (planning on 6months). Is it even possible to start training her now? I see people use treats to train, but my rabbit is too young for treats. She has unlimited hay, and pellets at this time and I give her a small amount of veggies a day. The love for her food does not override her emotion/anxiety/hyperactivity if that makes sense to anyone. So I'm not able to use her food to get her to do anything. Right now she is getting more comfortable with me. I've only had her a month. She comes up to me and sniffs me and sits on my lap for a second, but as soon as I reach my hand out to touch her she is off. She does not like to be petted right now. Will getting spayed help calm her? I'm being patient but this is my first bunny and I want to make sure I am doing everything right to get her to be comfortable, stress free but also socialized. She is so independent right now bc she gets unlimited food, and also she doesn't like pets from me, so from her point of view I offer nothing to her. I don't know if I make sense lol but any help is welcomed

Yes. Spaying will make a difference. She can be spayed as soon as your vet is willing. (She isn't too young now).

If she comes up to you, sniffs and sits on your lap, that's just great. Let her. Resist the urge (at this stage) to pet her when she does this. Otherwise, she may stop hopping onto your lap. By just letting her sit there, she is learning that you are 'safe.'

After some time of her doing this, you could hand feed her a pellet or a sprig of a favorite green while she sits on you. This would reinforce that idea that the lap is a safe place. Eventually she will accept pettings while there. Just bear in mind that hormones can influence her behavior and make her unpredictable. So keep that in mind. Once she's spayed, you'll get to know her better.

I adopted a female rabbit who was abandoned because she was aggressive. Her previous owner planned to euthanize her. The rescue spayed her and i adopted her. I was shocked to learn she had been a bit of a bitey diva before. Shes nothing like that now. And since i adopted her she is becoming more social. They defintely change over time with spaying and gentle handling. I get a kick out of her, it pains me to think about how close she came to being put down due to bad behaviour due to hormones.

Both my buns were on the euthanasia list for aggression at their shelters. Brandy, my female, was pretty aggressive when we got her (now I use her to teach young children how to act around rabbits- she's VERY calm and you can literally do anything to her). Whiskey, my male, is still skittish, but he's never actually been aggressive to us. They are both always learning (I spend a few minutes each day just training them).

It's much harder to train them when they are young because they just can't have many treats when they are that young! Once you can, it's so much easier.

Good luck!