Bunny Care: How to Discipline Your Rabbit

Author:
Bunniez
Updated:
Apr 5, 2023 12:56 PM EDT

Bunnies and bad behavior go together like peanut butter and jelly. Here's what you can do to minimize their misbehavior.
Pablo Martinez/Unsplash

How to Discipline a Rabbit: Five Tips

One of the first things you'll realize as a bunny owner is that your bunny is quite naughty. Rabbits are always sticking their noses into things they shouldn't, chewing things they shouldn't and biting that which they shouldn't, which sometimes includes you. Here are five tips for disciplining an unruly bunny—show your rabbit who's boss.

Bunny-Proof Their Environment
Don't Use Physical Discipline
Use Vocal Discipline
Use Behavioral Discipline
Learn to Cope With Some Naughty Behaviors

1. Bunny-Proof Their Environment

When dealing with rabbits, the best discipline is prevention, or as the old wives would say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you have things you don't want your rabbit to chew on, get them out of the way. If you leave your new pants on the floor where bunny can get at them and subsequently chew enough holes in them to make them more like a sieve than pants, then really, it's your own fault. (And yes, that was, on one occasion, my fault.)

Bunny-proofing the areas your rabbit is allowed in is the first step to effective control of your rabbit's behavior. However, no matter how much you bunny-proof, it is almost certain that your rabbit will find naughty things to do, so you really do need to come up with some strategy for coping in those situations.

These five tips will help!
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2. Don't Use Physical Discipline

The first thing you shouldn't do is hit them in any fashion. A rabbit will not construe any form of smack as a constructive comment on their behavior. Instead, they will become angry, affronted, and possibly even more aggressive. It is difficult enough to establish a good relationship with a rabbit when you treat it as if it were the king or queen of the world, let alone if you dare lay a hand upon it.

3. Use Vocal Discipline

Rabbits aren't dogs; they're not going to really learn a great deal of English commands. 'NO' can be quite effective, although it is more a case of tone and pitch being indicators of trouble rather than any recognition of the word itself. If your rabbit bites you, a shrill squeal can be an effective deterrent, and clapping your hands or shouting are also good ways to get a bunny to stop the activity it is engaging in. You may be the recipient of some dirty looks and foot stamps for your effrontery, but the bunny will at least have ceased the activity.

4. Use Behavioral Discipline

You can also try turning your back on your rabbit and/or stamping your foot as they do. These are powerful indicators of disdain in the rabbit world, and should your rabbit care what you think, they may be quite effective.

5. Learn to Cope With Some Naughty Behaviors

To conclude, it is probably best to think of your bunny as a small, haughty, cyclonic force of nature. You can corral it and provide it with outlets upon which to vent, such as toys, which are very important unless you want your bunny chewing the skirting or other household fixtures. You can cease behavior on a one-off basis by the hand clapping or no shouting method, but at the end of the day, disciplining a rabbit is like herding cats or houseflies, whichever is harder.

Comments

Steve on August 21, 2020:

Alot of "cool" people talking about hitting or killing an animal because it doesn't behave the exact way you want it to. What else do you expect from people who can only feel tough against animals. Especially Eric with his gun theory. Pathetic human and guarantee his kids are going to be just as brain dead as him

Darren Unger on August 15, 2020:

i have 2 buns. They are a lot smarter than people think. The only issue i really have with them is at the crack of dawn, they start slamming the fence to the living room. I have them each in their own room until Im ready to start the bonding process (a month after they get neutered) but they just really want to hump eachother.

Bob on June 22, 2020:

I was just reading through some of the comments and I couldn’t believe some of them. In my opinion you are a horrible human if you hit your rabbit or any animal just cause the poop not where they are supposed to (josh) I know that he wrote that comment a years ago. I have a 7 mouth rabbit he chews on his cage something that helps him from chewing is me telling him no and GENTLY pushing his mouth of of the cage keeping him from chewing on it. It definitely help something is spaying him with room temperature water ONE time (rabbits should NOT have to much water on them at a time). If your rabbit if still chewing on stuff it might be because they might not have enough hay (about 89% of their diet should be hay) and if they don’t has enough chew toys or even if they cage isn’t big enough for them and they might just want to play. Rabbits a amazing animals but they do required lots of care and they are very smart animals. You should never discipline in a way that would hurt you because rabbit are a LOT more fragile then we are. So if you wouldn’t do it to a human you care about you should definitely not do it to a rabbit.

And if your bun is licking you and the they bite you they are just growing you because they love you that’s how they grow each other and them self’s.

All in all you should always think twice before you discipline your sweet little bunny

Lolo on October 17, 2018:

The person who said they smack their bunny around is a terrible excuse of a human

Eric on July 24, 2018:

I find a lot of people are total rabbit apologists, stuff like when you get a bunny you must realise it is now your boss, if it is aggressive and gores you down to the bone you must just squeal loudly etc etc etc! Neah. It's this simple, rabbits are not good pets in general, they are historically either a source of poor nutrient food in times of starvation or vermin in better times. I get some may be agreeable but the majority do not like human contact mainly because they see us as natural predators and will generally act accordingly. Dogs and Cats have been around us much longer historically and have served practical functions in the day to lives of our ancestors, you protect me and I will feed you is a strong basis for a relationship between species. Rabbits are a case of one sidedness, they provide no practicality, well maybe for sellers and breeders who can produce these insignificant fluffy little critters at little expense (a diet of hay and pellets is cheap) compared with animals that require a meat diet before sale and profit. The trouble with this mass breeding for profit is the complete lack of selective trait breeding, meaning they retain the same basic fear of people generation after generation. Chances are if you own a bunny, it doesn't like you, it just puts up with you because what choice does it have? The way I see it is if I have a pet in my home that bites me or my kids simply because we were feeding it then it's getting a .22LR to the head, if it's a rabbit it's going in the pot

Zoe on July 23, 2018:

I’ve tried a lot of these, but when my bun nipped me (he’s never bitten me) I gave him a little pat on the butt and he doesn’t nip me anymore. I love him to death and I would never smack him harder than a tap, but it worked for me. I also just start making loud noises when he’s doing or by something he shouldn’t be. He’s very very well behaved and I don’t really like the comment that said the dude killed their bun. That’s just wrong and I feel so bad for that baby.

Pml on November 13, 2017:

Some of these comments that I read the people that beat there rabbits to death should be charged for killing these innocent animals and if you didn’t like loud noises than you shouldn’t have gotten a rabbit or return them no point in beating these rabbits to death and I hope you don’t get animals in your care and if u did I hope you will be charged for animal abuse that is not how you discipline animals

Rob on November 06, 2017:

My rabbit has become very annoying, digging in his cage. I smack him around

sarajo on June 01, 2017:

yes I have a lop ear rabbit that is a naughty one and he is a male so that's y he is so curious. I was wondering if u could help me keep a bunny from being this habit. Well he loves to run and gets and he has chewed up things from high places because he jump high, but I'm still new of his behavior I'm just thinking of what I should ?

Shay on December 20, 2016:

My rabbit has never done this before she likes to Chew and scratch thinks she's not supposed to and idk what well help.

Hopefully this method will help.

Quay on April 27, 2015:

I read through comments all the time that state that rabbits aren't this or that yet mine has surpassed all of the "rabbits aren't" notions. My Marley is affectionate, smart and responds to anything I tell him. Sometimes he is stubborn, reminds me of the nature of cats. I haven't taught him tricks as he isn't a puppet or a show animal. I taught him right from wrong the same way I did any other animal, by tapping him on the nose. He used to chew cords out of fear that he would get shocked I had to take action. I took my chewed cords, held them to his face and sternly said "NO!" before tapping is nose with it a few times saying "NO" with each tap. Needless to say he does not chew ANYTHING *unless it's my clothing to show affection* I litter box trained him by picking him up and putting him in his litter box and made him stay there saying "LITTER-BOX" every time he tried to leave, other than territorial droppings he is fully trained.

Rabbits are not stupid by any means, and just like any other animal they have personalities of their own so each one acts differently. More often than not, they often take on the personality of their owners. And for the love of God please stop spaying and neutering your buns...unless it's for health reasons. It does not, I repeat, DOES NOT change any instinctual behaviors. Maybe from sheer trauma will you notice a change but over time they revert back to normal rabbit behaviors. I'm speaking from personal experience, I've had animals all of my life and have not spayed or neutered any of them. Marley is not aggressive he has NEVER bitten me or strangers and he is very sociable. He binkies on happy days and chills on relaxed ones and licks me entirely too much.

When we are selfless and loving with our pets the results (even in discipline) are always positive. Yes, it takes more time and a bit more patience but it works.

Tony Zhang on October 06, 2014:

I found the best way is to hit the rabbit gently on his back a few time . If he still bites then hit him harder. This will do the trick

So crazy on January 25, 2014:

Omg you killed your rabbit and your saying that it is it's fault what a stupid jerk

Donovon on December 16, 2013:

Yeah thanks for the info but why does my rabbit honk and charge at me every time i stick my hand inn her cage??

Amy Cook on August 07, 2013:

My mum hit a rabbit because it bit her. I told her to stop but she keeps doing it and its really starting to annoy me because she thinks she knows everything about them when she clearly doesn't!!!

Jade on February 10, 2013:

Lol my bunny just died because i beat the piss out of him, literally. I don't blame myself tho, i blame the bunny. He shouldn't have been being so loud and annoying

Brown on February 03, 2013:

I have a black bunny I bought about 2 weeks ago for my girlfriend. Not sure what kind of rabbit it is BUT....I have a pretty big cage for it, plastic bottom/wired top and sides with toys, food bowl, plenty of timothy hay, a water bottle, and I use pine bedding (although you change it more often).

For the most part, it listens. It'll come to us now and hop up on the couch or chair or whatever and will follow us around the house. Most of the time though, it finds a spot on our hardwood floor and sprawls out on its stomach. I let it out for about 4-8 hours a day depending. It has two bad habits. It NEVER pees or poops on the floor but if it gets on the couch and stays up there too long (it will hop down a lot tho) it'll poop on the couch. Other than being on the couch, it'll go back in its cage, do its business and come back out. It does however like to get behind our entertainment center and it doesn't chew on wires but I don't want it back there so anytime it gets back there, I give it one chance by shewing it out or picking it up and moving it. If it goes back in there, it gets 30 min in its cage and usually that does the trick for the remainder of the day but it does it again the very next day lol.

sally on January 09, 2013:

spray acid in there eyes

sophie on June 19, 2012:

i loved it and it worked!!!!$

lisa on June 16, 2012:

I find when my rabbitsmisbehave -mainly nipping or chewing I find getting eye contact and a very firm 'NO' tends to work although u have to be persistant and consistant. Eventually they get the message. NEVER 'hit' or 'smack' or use any other form of psysical abuse as this won't work and may just make ur bunny worse. Think of how you'd react if some1 slapped or hurt u in any way -if it was me I'd bite harder which is exactly what a rabbit will do. Rabbits can't communicate by speaking they can only show pleasure or displeasure by their actions and leaning to 'tune in ' to your rabbits behave with make life easier and happier for both of you

purnimamoh1982 on June 13, 2012:

Very useful advice. I like your statement "Rabbits are not dogs". Very true. I wish I had read your instructions before I went through so many trials and errors to train my rabbits. Still I must confess that it was not very difficult. They can not be trained in many things, but whatever, they can be taught, its not difficult to impart. Please read my experience of keeping rabbits in my home https://discover.hubpages.com/animals/On-Pets-An-A...

Kisa on May 28, 2012:

sorry again but i just wanted to say that the only good thing my bunny does anyway is when i let it loose in my room it follows me anywere i go in there. its as if he is a magnet to me and im the piece of mettle.