Smart Bunny

[ilovetegocalderon]

How would you train a bunny to learn something like this????

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPGcEsK62Ys&mode=related&search]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPGcEsK62Ys&mode=related&search[/ame]=

 

[Penna]

I can see someone training their rabbit to do that. My Belle is trained that when I say potty, she runs back to her cage and sits in the litterbox. I have no idea how she learned that. And when I say towel, Maggie comes to me. When I take her upstairs on the nice carpet, my mom's paranoid that she's going to pee on it even though she's litterbox trained. So I put one of those things, that parents use to change diapers with underneath a towel. When Maggie started wondering off the towel, I would just say the word towel and she'd come back, and now she comes to me when I say the word towel. xD

Maggie also knows the word kiss, and when I say it she gives me rabbit kisses. I'm not sure how she learned that though.

Both Belle and Maggie know the word treat, and will stand up on their hind legs and start looking for the treat.

 

[polly]

Dido would stand on his back legs and give me a kiss for sweets, he would also take a raison from my lips.

If i tell Saffy its bedtime she goes and jumps in her hutch

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

Thats the cutest thing. :biggrin2:

 

[monklover]

That's a cute video! Buddy is trained to go inside when I give him a pellet! :biggrin2:

http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i91/monklover/?action=view&current=BuddyandMeganll094.flv

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

How do you train them? A lot of my family members think bunnies are stupid and I want to rub it in their face. :grumpy:

 

[monklover]

I really didn't know I was training Buddy at the time! I gave him one pellet, took a step back, gave him another, and kept doing that all the way until we reached his hutch. Soon, I gave him a pellet and he ran to his hutch! :biggrin2:

 

[TK Bunnies]

Awww that's cute

 

[Penna]

Well.I didn't really intentially train Maggie or Belle, kind of similar to what monklover said.

 

[monklover]

I think it is funny how when you say "towel' Maggie comes to you! :biggrin2:

 

[naturestee]

Cute! Some bunnies are very willing to learn tricks. Me, I'm just too lazy to teach them anything not necessary, LOL!

All of my rabbits are trained to go back to their pens for their supper. They also come when I call because they expect yummy goodies.

Oberon is trained to hop from his pen to the dog crate in the living room. I lock him in there so the other bunnies can play, since his pen blocks theirs. I started by luring him with veggies and calling his name. Now he goes immediately unless he's been spooked by a loud noise or decides he needs a massage before he can move, LOL! He gets a small piece of veggie and praise every time.

Fey also does this trick. Sprite is stubborn and I have to pick her up to put her in. But she runs to the same spot and waits for me, then expects her treat every time.

If you want to train a bun to do something, look at what she already does naturally or will do easily for a treat. Then reinforce the behavior with a command word followed by praise and treats when she does it. I had been doing this to train Fey to jump in my lap, and I could probably train Sprite to jump on my shoulder if I wanted to.

 

[browneyedgal]

Mimi responds to the followingcommands.

When I say"Come here" and she will run to me. When she gets near a cable, I tell her "eih, no!" and she will avoid investigating it. I tell her "sayang" (which means 'love') she will present her head for stroking. When I want to tell her that I am taking her home,I tell her 'come on let's go' and she willingly lets me carry herto take her back. When she is up to mischief, I tell her "catch you" and she will bounce away. She has a teddy bear soft toy and when I ask her "wheres Bear Bear?", she runs to the bag or wherever the soft toy is located and shows me where it is.


I taught her the words initially bydemonstrating what I mean but I do not need to follow up on it now as she seems to have learnt the commands by associating what I say with what will follow.

Contrary to popular belief, Rabbits are very clever.




browneyedgal

 

[naturestee]

OMG she finds her teddy? That's so cute!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Rabbits are easy to train with the right tools; in other words, with food, LOL. Rabbits are extremely food motivated! I had Zoey trained by voice and hand signals to come, jump up, jump down, when I said bed time she would jump on her box and wait for me to pick her up to put her in her hutch. Now that training when down the drain because I wasn't consistant after I bonded her to Mocha.

So really the key is consistancy and food. Find a treat they really like (small pieces only, you don't want to over do it) and start with saying commands when the bunny does something you like. For example, if you want to teach your rabbit to jump up on something, when they go to jump up on it themselves, say a command like "up" and reward immediately. Eventually they will start to learn that the word is associated with what they just did and they get a treat for it.

Oh and it also helps to make your rabbit work for their treats all the time. Make them do something before giving it to them.

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

I'm going to have to try these techniques! Thanks so much for the advice.