Change of heart on being in her cage

[indianavex]

Hey all!

So something like a year ago I posted about my rabbit Cassie being disinterested in leaving her cage. It was very slow going but after several months she began coming out when it was quiet and no one was around, though only to scope out the 3 foot radius by her cage door before promptly running back inside.

In the last week, things have changed. Cassie has decided she is a wild and free bun who does not need to use her cage for anything and that I am a horrid beast who keeps her locked in there like a princess in her tower. She now bolts out the door whenever given a chance and hops and runs around my entire room. All great and good, as she's not terribly destructive and just tends to enjoy exploring about. The problem is when it's time to pack up and go home because I have to go to work.

I usually try to coax her in when she's already back in front of the door. But she often bolts in any direction and tries to hide under my bed and/or inside my closet. If I manage to catch her, it's a fit of flailing, kicking, and angrily squeaking until I get her by the door to her cage and she flings herself out of my hands and into her cage. There, she proceeds to thump and stare me down. After about 5 minutes, though, she just goes back to begging at the door to come out. (She's forgiving like that)

Long of the short, my bunny has decided she doesn't want to be in her cage when I want her to be and it gets dramatic. Anyone have any advice on how to alleviate some of the scuffles? Bribery half works because she follows my hands to the door, sniffs inside, then hops away.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We had one, Bambi, that would jump back into her hutch if we didn't close her door. We've gotten all of ours used to getting picked up and then put up--just took time. With Cosmo, he's so nosy that I just ignore him when I go in the rabbit room and he'll come over and start bumping my leg at which point he gets picked and put up.

 

[Azerane]

My suggestion to you is to work with her when you've got time to and don't have to be going out to work. Let her out to run around and coaxing her with pets and treats, do whatever you can do to attempt to calmly pick her up, be persistent with it and try to get to the point where she's not running away when you want to pick her up. When you've got her picked up, reward her with pets and maybe a treat and then if she's not struggling, put her back down again (not in her cage). If you keep picking her up and just putting her back down, she doesn't actually know when you're going to pick her up to put her in the cage, so she has no reason to fuss. The next step is to make sure there's a really good reward in her cage for her already, then pick her up and put her in the cage (right by the treat if you can) so that she associates going back in the cage with good things.

Is the time you leave for work the same every day? If so, rabbit's are pretty good at getting used to routine, so if you shut her up at the same time every day and save a particular treat for that, you could probably have her coming running to go back home to get her reward at that time every day.

I hope that made sense and is of some help to you

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Can you put a pen around the cage? This would keep her contained and give her some more freedom when you are not around. When you are there, you can open up the pen. You could even just give her a pen and use the cage bottom as a litter box or something.

Try only feeding her and giving treats in the cage. You can train her to go to the cage for a treat. Even giving pellets right before you leave can get her into the cage to eat.

 

[FuzzButtLover]

Pretty much what Azerane said.

Can you give her her greens at that time? She will learn VERY fast that if she wants her greens she has to go back in!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Reading this is just like when I first started letting my boys out and it was murder getting them back in their cages and enclosure. I can´t really remember when it became so easy to get them back inside and how I did it, I did give treats and coaxed but it just suddenly happened.

At first they used to bound in the opposite direction, hide under furniture and it was frankly a bit stressful for us all trying to corner them to pick them up and get them back in. I think you just have to be patient with them, I hated scooping them up and putting them away and they used to stand at the door wanting to be back out.

Now, when it´s time to go in either at bedtime or, if they´ve been out during the day and I need to go back out, I just walk behind them and tell them it's time to go in and off they go. Houdini, I must admit, had the odd naughty moment when he runs off but he always goes back inside quite quickly. I can´t believe now how easy it is and how they understand what they have to do, bunnies are such smart little devils.

So be patient and one of these days, she may just understand what she´s supposed to do.

 

[indianavex]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

I don't tend to intentionally let her out before work, rather, I try to always refill her water bowl and tidy up the cage a bit before I leave for the day. I can be gone anywhere from 8-13 hours in a work day and try to make sure she's all set. If I happen to turn for a second, she pops out. I do let her out as long as she likes when I'm home and just hanging around, though. Unfortunately I can't do a pen because I don't have the space in my bedroom. She's in my bedroom specifically because I'm in an apartment with two other roommates, one of whom has a small dog that either wants to eat/lick/hump Cassie whenever he sees her. Not good. I just keep the door closed and let her roam the room.

She's never really been crazy about being picked up (as per any bun I suppose!) and I've worked with her about it over the last year. I've tried to keep lifts stress free and reward-based but the struggles into the cage are particularly melodramatic. I suppose I'll just have to consistently treat going into the cage as a bribery/reward situation and hope eventually she decides to work with me! She's always been a bit fussy and stubborn but she loves mama and she does usually seem to come around.....eventually!

 

[Chrisdoc]

I´m sure she will, mine just decided to head in there on there own one day and they´ve been doing it ever since, they are so good now. By the way, is that her in your avatar, cute little bunny :thumbup

 

[missyscove]

I've worked with my bunnies so that every time they get locked up, they get a treat. I usually say "go home" as I encourage them towards their cage and it's gotten to the point where if they hear the pellet cup (they get most of their ration of pellets as treats) or a treat container, they run into their cage and then turn around and look at me expectantly.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Same here...tell them they have to go home and get the container to feed them their pellets...they do understand commands and usually go straight in.

Sent from my GT-I8160P using Rabbit Forum mobile app

 

[middlemuse]

Aria gets 1/4 cup of pellets a day, and I split it up so she gets half in the morning, and half at night. I do it that way, because I always let her out for an hour or so while I get ready for work, and then of course when I get home. She always gets her pellets in her cage, and she loooooves the pellets, so I never have any problem. We have a whole routine--I go to the closet, open the pellet bag, and between the sound of the closet door and the bag, she comes running. She weaves around my ankles and trips me up, and when I dump the pellets into her bowl she skids in as fast as she can and gobbles them up.

It probably does help that she has a really big cage, and it's the only place I give her hay and veggies, and most treats. I've worked to make sure she associates her cage with food. It's kind of necessary for me because I'm still not comfortable picking her up. (Wish I was, but it's so traumatic for both of us when I try.)

Is your bunny food-motivated? I think the real challenge would be if she's not.

 

[Chrisdoc]

I agree there as most bunnies will go in for the night when they hear their food. However, I have noticed that mine now spend time in there even when the door is open. Snowy prefers to sleep in there sometimes in the afternoon and last night, I didn´t even have to call them to go home as two of them were in and the third raced in when I called his name. As long as she sees the cage being somewhere where good things happen, I´m sure she´ll reach the stage where she will not mind going in there.