How to Stop Your Rabbit From Chewing Your House

Bunnies are just the most sweet, sensitive, precious souls who just seem like they can do no wrong. But in reality, they can do so much wrong. If left unchecked, bunnies can become little monsters, chewing their way through the house, peeing and pooping everywhere, and really fulfilling that stereotype that bunnies are just kind of a nuisance. This is absolutely not the case if you train your rabbit properly. Disciplining a rabbit is very different than disciplining a dog or a cat, so today I’m going to give you some tips on how to best teach your rabbit the ways of your home without scaring your bunny and making them terrified of you.

One thing that I do want to note before we get started is that I’m going to be referencing potty accidents. This is not a article on how to potty train your rabbit; I have that article also in somewhere here, and you can check it out. But this is for rabbits who are already potty trained and are just having some accidents around the house.

Any new pet owner knows that one of the most shocking things that happen when you bring home a pet is that they don’t understand what “no” means. I remember when I brought my bunny home, and she would just run rampant over my apartment, chewing on everything in sight. I would yell “no” at her, and she would just stare at me and be like, “What? Do you need something?” So how did I go from that little monster who couldn’t even understand what “no” meant to having a well-behaved, free-roaming bunny? I’m going to give you my three levels of discipline that have helped me with my bunny, teaching her over time what “no” means, what not to do, and that there are consequences to bad behavior.

Level One: Scolding

It’s hard to discipline rabbits because you can’t really make contact with them since you could hurt them. They have really sensitive skin and bones, so even just tapping your bunny can actually hurt them and terrify them. Plus, because rabbits are prey animals, physical contact can actually really stress them out and give them a lot of anxiety. So there’s a happy medium that you need to find in teaching your rabbit who the alpha bun is without terrifying them. If you ever spot your rabbit chewing on something they are not allowed to, get right up in their face and yell “no” and then slap the floor on the ground.

This is emulating their stomp that rabbits will do. What’s wrong? Are you stomping? You’re fine. Okay, stomping for rabbits means “I do not like this. This is not okay. I am unhappy.” So if you can yell “no” and stomp next to them, they’ll start to connect the dots that this is not okay. I specifically use this scolding technique for chewing instances when my bunny is doing something that she is not supposed to be doing. Eventually, you can remove the stomp and just say “no,” but because they’ve learned to associate that “no” with the stomp, this is not okay, and it can become an actual verbal cue.

Level Two: Physical Contact

Oh, that sounds weird. If you find that just yelling and stomping “no” next to your rabbit is not working, you might need to get a little more hands-on, if you will. I personally think that the most effective way to tell my bunny that she doesn’t like something is to physically pick her up and say “no” when she’s doing it, combining that verbal cue with something that they hate. Rabbits in general do not like to be picked up. It’s similar to a hawk coming out of the sky and picking them up; their prey instinct just goes into overdrive, and they freak out. So if you see your rabbit doing something that you don’t like, scoop them up really quickly, hold them up to it, and say “no,” letting them know it’s not okay, and then put them back down. This is also especially useful if you have an area in your house that your potty-trained rabbit still likes to have accidents in. If you ever see a pee accident on your sofa, on your bed, or on the floor, pick up your rabbit whenever you see it, hold them in front of the accident, say “no,” and then instead of putting them back on the ground, put them into their litter box. This works best if you do it the second they have their accident, but it still can be effective if you pick them up and hold them in front of an accident if you find it later.

Now, if you have a rabbit that’s extremely difficult to pick up and you see that they’re chewing something and you’re like, “There’s no way I’m going to be able to grab them; this is a lost cause,” you can slightly move them out of the way. So if your rabbit is chewing on something, you can put your hand between their face and, let’s say, the basket that they’re chewing on and push them away while saying “no.” Don’t shove them, don’t toss them, just move them very gently to make that contact to say “this is not okay.” It’s a less direct way than picking your bunny up, but it still gets the point across that what they’re doing is naughty. Anytime that you’re making physical contact with your rabbit, make sure it’s gentle, make sure you are picking them up properly, and make sure that you are moving them away gently because you never want to injure your rabbit.

Level Three: Timeout

So you’ve scolded your bunny, you’ve picked your bunny up, but they are still just chewing in that same spot, they’re still peeing in that same spot, they’re being naughty. Next time you catch them in the act, pick them up and put them into timeout. Timeout can be an exercise pen, timeout can be the bathroom with the toilet bowl closed so that they can’t get into trouble. It can be a small space that they do not like. Just put them in there for 30 minutes. As you’re doing it, continue to say “no, no, bad, bad bunny, bad rabbit,” whatever you want to say, and put them right there. Timeout really only works if you do it when you catch them in the act so that they can learn if I do this act, I’m getting put into rabbit jail. Sometimes rabbits can be like little kids; you can scold them over and over, but until you really show action with either picking them up or putting them in timeout, they’re going to keep being naughty.

Now remember, if there are things you absolutely do not want your bunny to touch, make sure you bunny-proof appropriately. You can cover your sofa with blankets to keep them protected. You can use bunny-proofing materials, but you want your rabbit to understand that “no” means “no,” and you want to be able to discipline them appropriately. They are a member of your house; there are certain rules they need to learn to follow. Just letting your rabbit get away with all of this naughty behavior is only going to make you more frustrated with them and make them feel like they are the alpha bun in your home. So with that, it is time to prove that you are actually the alpha bun, not them. I hope that this helps you and your rabbit live in harmony together in your home.

Thank you so much for reading! If you like bunnies and love this kind of content, let me know in the comment box bellow. If you found this article helpful please share it.