Rabbit Training

Question
QUESTION: Hi! I have a female mini rex bunny that is about 1 and 3/4 years old. When I first got her (about a year ago) she was very big and very big for her new cage. I felt really bad. So I let her out in my garage to play and run around on the weekends. She seems very happy, until she has to get back in the cage, at 4-6 p.m. I have to bring her in because the nights get chilly. At about that time whenever she sees me she runs away and hides in a tight spot. It gets very confusing and I usually have to chase her around and grab her hard to catch her. I hoping you know an eaiser way to get her to go back in her cage? Or a way so that she doesn't run away once she sees me?

ANSWER: Hi,

well, you could consider gating off the really hard spot she runs to with a pet exercise pen.

The other thing you could do is get her to come into the house herself, by putting a favorite treat inside she has to come over to, or by giving her a treat she likes, before picking her up.

If she gets dinner at a certain time, she can learn to come inside the house.  You probably have some phrases she knows now, like "<her name", treat" or "dinner", something like that.  It's how we get our guys up at night.  It becomes routine very shortly.  Positive reinforcement is usually a big winner with rabbits.  The trick is to get them to want to go up (come in) on their own, because it's what you both want.

Always make sure she has water and hay in the garage, they get dehydrated very, very easily.  Especially in dry winter weather and hot dry summer weather.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the tip! But she never once has came into the house by herself from 4:00 and later. Strangely, that's the only time she won't come in. Any time during the day she wants to come in the house and play. I think that's because she's figured that from 4:00 and later that we have to bring her in. Probably that's because she's "afraid" that we'll catch her and put her in the cage even though she wants to stay outside.

Yes, I have tried putting treats next to the door so she'll come in but she never comes. Also, whenever I get her in the cage I give her a treat so she thinks it's "good" to come into the cage. But that never works.

I have tried using verbal commands like,"come here" but they never work. The only thing she responds to is" when you see me, run away." Do you know a way to solve all this?

Answer
Hi,

well, sometimes it can take awhile for a new habit to kick in.

One thing you might have to try is if you give her some attention before the 4:00pm timeframe, before she has gone back out to that part of the house, is while someone is petting her and playing with her, have another person go and close the door to the garage.

I think you will probably need a couple good metal pet exercise gates that you can put in the garage so that you can pick her up without problems.  She also has to learn that sometimes it is necessary for you to pick her up and running away and hiding is not going to work anymore.  That is one habit that is not good to keep having her do.

Bottom line is there is no one thing that would stop this except not giving her access to the garage in the winter.  And that might be an option if she has enough room in the house.  But usually there is no one way that works for all rabbits.