Bitter Spray

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Steph16

Steph16

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So I have been having a continuous problem with Jacob biting his cage. So I have recently tried training him with saying "NO" and rewarding him when he stops.

But today I was at Petsmart and I found a bitter spray for dogs. It has rosemary and bitter taste in it. Just wondering if it would be safe for me to use with Jacob. I would spray it on the sides of his cage, so he stops biting it.

I found a link online for it. In the description it says the ingredient list.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10870887&lmdn=Training+&+Behavior+Control
 
I haven't used that particular brand but I've used the Bitter apple spray before with ok results. It doesn't coat plastic very well so when my rabbit was chewing the edge of his litter box it didn't really stop him. Instead I rubbed the edge with a bar of soap. That worked great, one test bite and Gimpy hated it. Never had a problem with chewing the litter box again.

So in my experience the bitter spray can work it just depends on the rabbit and what you are spraying. Some rabbits will chew even with it on. Mine would sometimes still chew, even though I could see he didn't like the taste. I personally had better results using a light coating of soap. After trying that he never chewed it again.
 
Bitter spray and rabbits can be hit and miss. While the product would be safe (although you don't want them drinking it or anything), some rabbits actually like the taste of some of the products. It won't hurt to try, but don't expect it to totally stop him from chewing. I would recommend you wrap a paper towel around the spray part as they can leak a bit and you don't want it on your hands as it really doesn't taste good.
 
Q-tip loves it. Try hot sauce if your bun likes the bitter spray. (Of course, Q-tip loves that too). I've found the only thing that can stop my little cage biter is having the cage door open during the day, and when bites the cage at night, I toss a towel over half of her cage. It confuses her enough that she stops biting.
 
I'd be careful with rewarding him when he stops. In his bunny brain he may associate the cage-biting with the treat than the stopping with the treat. :p

I find non-rewards for unwanted behaviours work best. If you can, ignore it. In this case, it's annoying, but he's not damaging anything, so just ignore it and eventually he'll realize he's not getting attention by doing it and should stop. Make sure he's getting plenty of run time every day to expend some of his energy. Give him lots of toys and plenty of hay in his cage to keep him occupied.

As for unwanted behaviour that is damaging (chewing, digging, nipping, etc.) I find bunny time-outs work quite well.

Hope that helps!

Rue
 
Yeah I have tried to ignore it before... doesn't really work to well at 2:30am. And if I ignore him, he just intensifies with adding digging to the equation, so I am not going to use hot sauce. Don't want him getting it in his eyes.

I think he is just the most stubborn bunny ever. He wont get it in his tiny little brain that biting the cage is not a good thing. No matter what I do. Even if I have a hundred thousand toys in there, he will run over them and bite his cage.

Gotta love your bunny!
 
Does he have anything else in his cage to chew on? Is he getting out of cage play time? How is his hay intake?
 
I had the same exact problem with Cheeto when he was caged. I put a towel over the bars at night and he seemed to stop. When I needed to clean the towel, I was up all night with him chewing again! (He was caged in my closet, two feet away from me! It was SO LOUD!)
So, I mixed vinegar and lemon juice, sprayed it ALL over the bars, and he hasn't chewed them since. I would use a towel/paper towel to "back" the spray though, because it really smells awful if it's all over your floor!
You could also try adding baking soda on top of the spray; I've heard that works wonders.
Good luck!
 
funnybunnymummy wrote:
Ear plugs. He keeps doing it because you're responding. ;)

Buns can be tough to train, but they are trainable. You just have to be more stubborn than they are. :p

Hope that helps!

Rue
Click to expand...
:yeahthat: The vinegar really did help, he didn't chew. However, since I let Cheeto have free range of the room, he's turned into such a well-behaved bunny. I couldn't tolerate him chewing things around the room, so he learned "NO" pretty fast. You kind of have to be mean at first.
I never put him in a cage now, ever, and part of this has to do with great bunny proofing, but another part is a very well-trained bunny.
Good luck!
 
The bitter spray didn't work... He, like many other bunnies, likes the taste.

Oh don't worry I have plenty of things for him to chew, he just decides he does not want to chew them. I give him paper towel rolls, those flavoured wood chews, he has compressed hay chews, his hay covered roll (the lady at the pet store said he would love it and would have it done within a couple of days... that was like 10 months ago),his carrot and I even put my old stuffed bunny in there with him, so he can have a little buddy.

He eats the average amount of hay. I bought him an additional litter pan, but he didn't use it, so it's now his hay bin. I have to fill that every few days.

I give him his hard pellets at night, and I do find that it does quiet him down for most of the night.

I had a towel on the floor for him, but now it has ended up as the cage wall to prevent him from chewing. I also put another one up last night along the section of the cage he is biting now. But this morning I noticed he may have moved to the wall that has no covering. I may have to hit up the $1 store and get more tea towels.

I will have to try the vinegar and lemon juice thing.

Also he is responding to "NO!", I just don't think he always remembers that it's for the cage biting, when he is biting the cage.

Side Note: Does anyone know off hand where to get wicker for cheap in Southern Ontario? Cause he loved those rolled up wicker balls with like peanuts or walnuts inside, that you find at the pet store. But they are like $4 for 2 of them and he goes through them in like 2 days. I just want to get some cheap, untreated wicker for him to chew on.
 
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