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Author: Melinda

Melinda J is a 35-year owner and devotee of pet rabbits who has been working as a rescue volunteer for 15 years. She is a graduate of the Dog Training Internship Academy of San Francisco and spends time each day training her rabbits. Her professional expertise is in software project management and team coaching.

Rabbit Proofing 201

Posted on by Melinda

One day my husband, David, was singing the praises of our beloved bunnies to a friend whose son had had a rabbit.

Though normally humorous and erudite, the guy went quiet. Then he replied, in a grim tone suggesting traumatic tales of chew-marks too bitter to relate: “They can be very destructive.”

Sadly, I think too many people may feel the same way.

True Confessions Regarding Rabbit Destruction

  1. Moraea ate the walls. 
  2. No other rabbit I’ve ever owned has eaten the walls. 
  3. She’s worth it. (Look at that face!)
  4. She stopped.
  5. I now have a full arsenal of strategies for dealing with a wall-chewing rabbit.  Just ask me.

Continue reading “Rabbit Proofing 201” →

Rabbit Proofing 101

Posted on by Melinda

Behold the “naughty rabbit”!  He (or she) who chews, digs or makes a mess where it’s not wanted!  How can you make your rabbit “be good”? 

Rabbits are natural chewers and diggers.  When a rabbit enters a space, she may see the same objects you do, but to her, their purpose is different.  It generally falls into one of these basic categories: eating, chewing, digging, running on, climbing on, or useless. When the space in question is your home, you may not be very pleased about her conclusions!  But she is not being naughty. You and your rabbit just see things differently.

Luckily, rabbit behavior can be managed, using a combination of: 

  1. Enrichment – providing safe, human-approved ways for bunny to do the things she enjoys
  2. Prevention – making unwanted activities impossible or unsatisfying

Rabbit-proofing is the prevention part. 

This post will be about the basics of rabbit-proofing. This is a to-do list for anyone who is bringing a new rabbit home, or who wants to expand the free-running time or range of their rabbit.  The goal is to make it safe for your whisker-nose to roam around without constant supervision.

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The Pandemic Rabbit Tunnel – Bunbrary Blog

Posted on by Melinda

Things are weird – I think we can all agree on that. Make a silver lining for your rabbit.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, including our pets.  My two bunnies have had to get used to me being in “their” space all day long, 5 days a week, talking and tapping away at the computer.   I wonder if it affects the quality of their sleep?  At any rate — the silver lining is, I have more opportunities to do nice things for them.  Like petting, training, and trying out ideas for enrichment.  So I hope they see my intrusion as a plus. 
 

Today I’ll share one rabbit enrichment tool that was born out of the circumstances of the pandemic.  I’ll also show you how to easily create one for your rabbit. Read more >

How To Win Friends and Influence Rabbits

Posted on by Melinda

Rabbits as Pets?

Most people don’t get rabbits.  I’d wager, recommending a pet rabbit to them is kind of like suggesting they form a relationship with an old sock.  They don’t know how and they don’t see the point.

Thirty some years ago, I was clueless myself.  I’d waited until after college to enhance my home with a pet, but which kind would be best?  A dog didn’t seem practical, because I’d be leaving it alone all day.  I  was allergic to cats.  In a magical moment that literally changed my life, my friend Rebecca said, “Why not get a rabbit?”  The only pet rabbits I’d ever heard of were kept in cages in people’s back yards.  “No”, she said, “you can litter train them.”

Those five words sent me on a lifelong journey that has always included rabbits.  Back then, there was very little information available about pet rabbits.  Today we know a lot more, and the information is literally a click away.  In spite of that, most people are still right where I was back then.

Why are rabbits still widely viewed as boring fluff balls that do nothing but sit in cages?

Continue reading “How To Win Friends and Influence Rabbits” →