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nixie1990

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Just out of curiousity,
My rabbit cant be a free house rabbit because of my dogs. (one of them is quite the hunter, but theres a lock on my bedroom door)

I just have a few questions about how you keep your house in one piece.
I let Harry out in my room while I clean up, he digs and bites at my carpet, he chewed my phone cable (even though I was keeping an eye on him, he must have been quick!) and now that he's worked out how to get under my bed, thats the only place Ill ever find him when he's out.

So how do you lot protect your carpets? And anything else in the room?
I know cables would just need tidying up/moving. But what about carpets/furniture?
 
They have to understand the word NO! We started this practice very young. Our boys if caught doing something they shouldn't get a NO and put back in their crate.

They got the point. They love being free just below eating. When you take their freedom away, they start listening.

They may not know the word, but they surely know the tone of your voice. All our boys stop at NO. But they will test you every once in awhile. So be consistent.

Why don't you do your clean up or straightening up of your before letting your bunny run. Then lay on the floor with him. That way you can really observe. Especially the chewing and digging.

Yea you will definitely expel energy, but your bunny will learn to respect what's yours.

Also,lol all my boys hide under a chair when they know they have either been bad or really don't want to go back in the crate. The later is usually the issue. It's like a kid saying, "I'm not tired. Give me 5 minutes more.".

K :)
 
I can't have my bunnies free roaming the house, there's just too much for them to die from like lots of electrical appliances. Not to mention Faith would eat all the wood in sight. I'm not willing to have chew marks in all of my furniture. They have their own room that is divided up into areas for them individually. Fortunately Humma is not a baseboard chewer or carpet digger, and he's got lots of distractions ( he's almost 3)Faith is both so I am careful to remove carpet (the room is not carpeted) and give lots of chewables ( she's 7-8 months)! She loves trashing willow tunnels, she gets 1 every 2 weeks. :biggrin2:

Maybe use an x-pen to section off an area for your bun? I used that with Faith when she first arrived and had to be quarantined for the first month. She was in the living room.
 
Again, I must be lucky. I've never had any of my bunnies chew any of my furniture. And regarding wires, Kreacher tried it once, old disconnected phone line, I said NO and he's never touched it again or any other wires. The only thing I do restrict them from is from going under anyone's crate. That I use an Xpen for.

The carpet is the only thing that they will dig once in a while. I'll say No show them a box of paper I have and that's where they go to have a ball digging.

Again, I guess I'm lucky or doing something right.

K :biggrin2:
 
An xpen works fine for me, with a sheet of linoleum over the carpet. For one thing, there is too much chance of lead paint in this old condo, about 100 years old.
 
My guys are in a large penned in area because bunny-proofing a house is near impossible. A room could work, but carpet and bunnies in my experience don't mix well (no worries though you can get around it with some cash).
First: Block off your cabling! PVC pipe is my new thing for this. If you get big pieces you can run all cables through it and bunnies can't get at it. I have watched my guys cut cables in 1/2 nibbles.
Second: Cover the carpet. Some bunnies can roam free on carpet, but living on it means accidents and carpets are hard to clean. I would suggest hardboard and vinyl flooring.
 
No way would my bunnies be allowed to roam free! I have a bull terrier pup that would do damage! What we do for them is set up a play area outside (i dont have much open space inside) and have them play there, while Macho, my pup is crated.
 
Our Cookie is a "house bunny" whenever we are home :) he isn't allowed in our bedrooms though (just because I have allergies and they aren't bunny proofed. But when we are home he has free run of the kitchen living room, stairwell, upstairs hallway and upstairs bathroom. He is a fairly well behaved boy... But it is VERY important they know the words "NO!" he will sometimes start to dig or chew on the carpet but all I need to do is say NO, and he will usually move away and find something else to do... And if he doesn't move, I go over and claim the space away from him and redirect him to an appropriate place to play :) but he has tons of toys and places to dig... So I think that makes a difference too! And he also gets along great with both our dogs too, so that makes things easier...
 
BunMommaD wrote:
Our Cookie is a "house bunny" whenever we are home :) he isn't allowed in our bedrooms though (just because I have allergies and they aren't bunny proofed. But when we are home he has free run of the kitchen living room, stairwell, upstairs hallway and upstairs bathroom. He is a fairly well behaved boy... But it is VERY important they know the words "NO!" he will sometimes start to dig or chew on the carpet but all I need to do is say NO, and he will usually move away and find something else to do... And if he doesn't move, I go over and claim the space away from him and redirect him to an appropriate place to play :) but he has tons of toys and places to dig... So I think that makes a difference too! And he also gets along great with both our dogs too, so that makes things easier...
Click to expand...
how did you do that? may i ask what type of dogs you have?
 
We have a lhasa apso mix (she is about 17 lbs and quite the little hunter, will get any mice we have and will chase anything that moves outside!) and a Maltese mix that is about 9 lbs and he is just. A big lover. He and cookie like to curl up and nap together :)

We just introduced them really slowly! The Maltese, Charlie was bonded to cookie and they were buddies really fast... It took Sydney, the Lhasa a little longer... We kept her behind a gate for a while and gave her commands if she got out of hand or too excited (she very good with obedience commands) and then we ended up taking the gate down and putting her muzzle on her for a while (just until she proved herself) and now she will give the occasional growl but always jut because cookie envaids her space... She like to be left alone... Nd when that happens we just tell her to move...

The biggest thing is we have made sure that cookie is the "alpha" so to speak.... And at this point if the dogs get out of like or too excited, even just a little... Cookie will charge them and grunt lol and they immediately calm down :)

Even tho they are all awesome together, they are always supervised! Which isn't hard because the dogs follow me wherever I go lol
 
^Are you from Miami?

Miami is very hot (summer or not). When the bunnies are outside, we're outside with them. They dont stay out longer than 1hr maybe 2, and always in the afternoon, when the sun is setting. I'm a born and raised Miami-an so i know how bad the heat can get, especially for our pets.. Thanks for your concern. :)
 
BunMommaD wrote:
We have a lhasa apso mix (she is about 17 lbs and quite the little hunter, will get any mice we have and will chase anything that moves outside!) and a Maltese mix that is about 9 lbs and he is just. A big lover. He and cookie like to curl up and nap together :)

We just introduced them really slowly! The Maltese, Charlie was bonded to cookie and they were buddies really fast... It took Sydney, the Lhasa a little longer... We kept her behind a gate for a while and gave her commands if she got out of hand or too excited (she very good with obedience commands) and then we ended up taking the gate down and putting her muzzle on her for a while (just until she proved herself) and now she will give the occasional growl but always jut because cookie envaids her space... She like to be left alone... Nd when that happens we just tell her to move...

The biggest thing is we have made sure that cookie is the "alpha" so to speak.... And at this point if the dogs get out of like or too excited, even just a little... Cookie will charge them and grunt lol and they immediately calm down :)

Even tho they are all awesome together, they are always supervised! Which isn't hard because the dogs follow me wherever I go lol
Click to expand...

That is just awesome! Macho is a Bull Terrier, and he's just a pup, so obedience isnt 100% great, but we are getting there! I'm just scared I guess. he sniffs on Bugsy's cage and he looks at him like he's lunch :( I dont think i'll ever work the nerve to let them interact..

thank you for your reply though!! :)
 
Your welcome :) yes, that is smart as puppies are the most reliable... Even if their obedience is really good! Sydney gave the bunny those "you look yummy" looks when we first brought him home too, we made sure to always correct her when she did it and never let her get to close to his cage or touch it... And now both dogs won't get within 2ft of his cage :) space = respect and make bunny feel safe :) it really depends on the dog, I have a friend with a HUGE pit, and she has 6 bunnies and he is like their big brother :) they jump all over him and groom his ears and he just lays there :) it's adorable lol
 
I've actually never had an issue with the buns chewing furniture or carpets...I think it's part luck and part keeping a crapton of various toys in their dens/open NIC pens. Lots of things to chew and throw around. They usually go back to their pens for chewing.

/knock on wood/
 
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