Please dispel my notion rabbits are dumb as a rock

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Love your rabbit
Shop deals on ebay
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
J

johnv713

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
6
Reaction score
1
Location
, ,
Well, I just bought a Netherlands dwarf because my woman thought it was cute to take picture with at the pet store. She didn't intend to buy just using it for photo ops LOL.

Anyways years before I rescued a bunny that was suppose to become rabbit stew the very next day. Glad I saved it but to be quite honest he/she was dense as mud. Always skittish and never really bonded nor acknowledge my existence except taking off at the slightest noise I made.

The Netherlands on the other hand is quite inquisitive, playful, and always wants to be pet or cuddled. That totally surprised me for sure. She's almost dog like that's what I noticed from day 1. So overall how smart are rabbits?
 
Rabbits are quite smart, but it can be difficult with some to earn their trust and so they act very afraid and skittish, which can make it difficult to get to know them better. This is what it sounds like the problem was with your first rabbit. Your new rabbit sounds like she is more friendly, so will be easier to get to know her personality. The key to getting to know and earn a rabbits trust, is spending time with them on their own level(the floor). This link has some good tips for bonding with your rabbit.
http://flashsplace.webs.com/bondingwithyourbunny.htm
 
Trix is smart as a whip. She knows her name. She sniffs my palm then looks up at me when there is no treat. She knows the words "kill the doo rag" and "Get it!!! Get it!!!". She looks up when she hears the tap run (treat time!).

Yeah- Trix sounds like a dummy, doesn't she?
 
Steve can spin on command, and walk on his hind feet. He knows what it means when we say "hop up", "no humping", "want a chip?" And "supper time!" As well as a few others. He acts in a way he thinks is naughty just to amuse us and himself (getting caught up on the couch). He loves and knows he is very loved. Seems pretty smart to me!
 
Intelligence comes in all flavors. Just because your rabbit doesn't meet your standard of intelligence doesn't necessarily make him/her any less intelligent.
 
Sophie has me trained to do all her bidding. I'd say she's pretty smart lol. I find the more time you spend with any animal, the more you will see their intelligence. Not all animals(or people) display their intelligence in a totally obvious way. You have to be patient enough to see it and appreciate it in them.
 
I think my first rabbit was a few years old when I rescued her thereby it she wasn't as friendly as the one I have now. Regardless I had no regrets. At the very least I was able to save her from the becoming someone else's dinner.
 
I think it depends on the rabbit, just like some dogs can be intelligent and some can be a bit stupid.

My bun ended up being smarter than I anticipated, and has even outsmarted me when it's come to rabbit proofing or opening hay dispensers that I thought required opposable thumbs to open!

He's also learnt where the food is kept and sits outside the cupboard waiting for me to open it.

Confidence can make a rabbit appear more intelligent too. Taco was the only baby trying to see what was outside of the hutch whereas the others were content with sitting as far away from the doors as possible. It made him seem more inquisitive and perhaps more eager to learn things. But you can get totally chilled buns that are still really clever so yeah, depends on the bun :)
 
I personally found it depends between rabbit to rabbit and breed to breed. I've had mini rex who were dumb as rocks, but were lovable, lilacs who were smart enough to punish (bite) me for handling other rabbits of their same gender (I quickly took care of that problem) and some who thought being flipped was a death sentence. Unfortunatly for me the smartest rabbits I've owned from those two breeds have had their lives/show times cut short. One was a broken blue mini rex who we had to keep occupied with toys, who enjoyed being petted but not being shown. He died about a year after I got him. The other I still have, he's a lilac who got the third eyelid problem that many lilac lines had. He's since gone blind, but he's always the first to stamp a warning to the other rabbits. After he hears a human voice though he calms down.
 
I feel like every stereotype people normally attribute to cats, are actually more applicable to bunnies. Bunnies do what they want. They are very intelligent, but most of them have absolutely no interest in using it to impress or pander to us. You have a very special bunny there!

I learned a lesson in how whip smart they really are the day I didn't shut my room door properly and Merlin figured out he could nudge it open and gambol into deliciously forbidden territory! From that day onwards, he could recognise doors, and instead of treating them like just another part of the wall he would go up to every closed door and nudge it hard just to see if it would open. I frequently catch him doing it.
 
whiskylollipop said:
I feel like every stereotype people normally attribute to cats, are actually more applicable to bunnies. Bunnies do what they want. They are very intelligent, but most of them have absolutely no interest in using it to impress or pander to us. You have a very special bunny there!

I learned a lesson in how whip smart they really are the day I didn't shut my room door properly and Merlin figured out he could nudge it open and gambol into deliciously forbidden territory! From that day onwards, he could recognise doors, and instead of treating them like just another part of the wall he would go up to every closed door and nudge it hard just to see if it would open. I frequently catch him doing it.
Click to expand...

Ha ha, very true! Just in the last month Sophie has been helping me open her condo door in the morning. She's not satisfied with how quickly I'm opening the door so she tilts her head sideways, puts her teeth on the partially open door and pulls it open! Then she rushes under my arm, jumps out and acts all fancy free lol.
 
I once had a rabbit whom, if she had an opposable thumb, would have ruled the world because she was so smart. Trix is smart, as well, but almost cocky and over-confident, which is why she is awesome. But my rabbit who only needed an opposable thumb to rule the world was the smartest animal I have ever known, by far.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top