Why It's Important to Free Roam Your Bunny
A rabbit can be a great pet. They are very gentle, adorable, and cuddly. In fact, you can train and domesticate your rabbit to be very much like a cat or a dog.
Your rabbit can be a great source of joy for the whole family. Sadly, many do not see their rabbit in the same way that they do their cat or dog. They keep their rabbit locked up for most of the day, putting it in a cage or pen so that it has only a minimal amount of time out with you and your family. Then, you were upset when your animal didn't act all cuddly and sweet with you. Would you act cuddly and sweet if you were locked up all day?
Let Your Rabbit Free Roam!
The secret to this is to let your cat free roam. In the same way, you allow your dog or cat to wander around the home, sleep on your bed, lie on the floor, and eat out of a bowl, you can do the same thing with your rabbit. In fact, you can train your rabbit in very much the same way. You will find that your rabbit will become accustomed to using a litter box or other tray you have set up to relieve itself. It will eat and drink from a bowl where you assign food. It will lay where you tell him or her, including up next to you at nighttime.
However, letting your bunny wander to domesticated is not the only reason you should do this. The truth is that your rabbit is a social animal. It longs to be around other animals, including yourself. They are also very intelligent animals required to be around others to find great enjoyment. When your rabbit is locked in a cage all day, even with one other rabbit, it can become depressed (yes, rabbits can become depressed!). Your rabbit wants wander, enjoy its space, and hang out around with others to become a happier bunny.
Once you have trained your bunny, you will find that free-roaming will benefit you, the rabbit and your entire family. Think about how much fun it will be to come home and find your bunny waiting on the couch. You can sit together while watching TV or enjoy countless hours of it hopping around your home, maybe even interacting with your cat or dog.
How to Train Your Free Roaming Rabbit
As you can see, there are many great benefits to teaching your rabbit to free roam. Now, your next step is to help it to learn.
First, realising that God did most of the work for you is important. Rabbits are accustomed to wandering around, finding a comfortable resting place or feeling safe, and are fairly tidy animals. This means that a lot of the work is already done for you.
You want to teach the animal where he or she should go to the bathroom, where the food is, and where the animal is allowed to roam. While you want greater access around your house, there may still be areas where you want to avoid your rabbit wandering around. Fortunately, rabbits are very intelligent animals and can learn from your instruction.
To get started, you want to protect your house, so the bunny does not get injured. Just like he would protect a puppy or kitten, make sure that nothing around the home poses a danger to your rabbit; these are animals that like to chew, so electrical wires pose a risk to them. You also want to keep the animal away from furniture it may wish to. Rabbits need to strengthen their teeth, and they do this by chewing, so make sure that you protect your furniture.
To ensure the bunny does not get trapped or lost, you may need to install baby gates or other barriers preventing the rabbit from having complete access. You don't want your bunny falling down the stairs or trapped in a duct.
It is easier to train your bunny if it is spayed or neutered. You can then use the same type of litter training you use for your cat. Ensure the litter box is on a hard, stable service so that it does not move when your body sits on it. You want the letterbox to be shallow, and it should have a litter on the bottom and a small amount of hay covering the waste. This is where rabbits are used to going to the bathroom outside, so try to emulate that environment.
Initially, you want to limit your bunny's area to a small region that includes the litter box's location. Over time, allow the space to expand. This ensures that the rabbit will always remember to return to the litter box. They will also know where to come for food and water.
In a very short period, you will see that your rabbit is going to catch on. Then you will have the free-roaming rabbit you desire, making you and your family much happier.
