How to Exercise Your Rabbit
Play tag., Hold treats out for your rabbit to reach., Play fetch., Hide food., Create a digging box., Train your rabbit to follow commands., Walk your rabbit on a leash.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Play tag.
Rabbits like to run around, including after people.
If your rabbit is coming towards you, turn and run away so it will chase you.
Then, turn around and start chasing your rabbit so it can run away in the other direction.
You can turn around again to make your rabbit the pursuer once more.It may take a few times for your rabbit to figure out what you are doing, but once it learns that this is just a game, it’s a great way to get some running exercise.
It can be good to crawl while doing this.
Being closer to the ground will help your rabbit get comfortable with you. -
Step 2: Hold treats out for your rabbit to reach.
This is good to get your rabbit to stretch out different parts of its body.
Make sure the food is just out of regular reach so your rabbit has to really extend to get there.Hold a treat in your hand in the air above your rabbit’s head.
Make sure it has to stand up and stretch to get there.
Put your rabbit on a box or table, and either hold or place a treat just off the edge.
Your rabbit will need to stretch its neck to get there.
Just make sure your rabbit doesn’t slip or fall off the edge. , Unlike with a dog, you will be the one doing the chasing here.
Give your rabbit a toy and let it toss the toy in the air.
Chase down the toy, and return it to your rabbit., Take some small treats or pellets and hide them somewhere your rabbit likes to explore.
It will smell the food, and try to hunt down a treat.Alternatively, you can put some raisins into a small paper bag, and let your rabbit dig around the bag to find them., Rabbits love to dig around.
Take a large cat litterbox, or something of similar size, and layer the bottom with newspapers.
Put some crumpled up newspapers on top to encourage digging.
Your rabbit will enjoy shredding and tearing apart the newspaper.By rummaging around in newspaper, your rabbit will probably get ink on its nose, paws, and other parts of its body.
Don’t worry, the ink is nontoxic, so your rabbit will be just fine. , Rabbits are intelligent creatures, and are quite easy to train.
Think about commands you want your rabbit to follow, and create steps for it to accomplish them.
Reward good behavior with praise and a treat, but just be sure the rabbit doesn’t do something else first, or else you will be rewarding the wrong behavior.
Include simple command words, like “Sit” or “Jump,” so your rabbit begins to associate those words with what you want it to do.
Once your rabbit is getting the hang of its tricks, start weaning off the treats, so it only follows commands.
Some good tricks include getting your rabbit to jump up and down onto places like the couch or your lap, running into and around certain parts of its play area, house breaking, or stopping aggressive behavior.
You can also use a clicker to reinforce what you are doing.
When you provide treats, also click so the rabbit associates the sound with a treat.Make sure you don’t yell at or hit your rabbit during training.
This will only make the rabbit uneasy or scared of you, which you definitely don’t want.
Your rabbit should associate your hands with food and affection, and if you hit your rabbit may become more aggressive., If you want to take your rabbit out for a bit, attach it in a harness with a leash.
Your rabbit will probably resist the harness at first, so make sure you have little delay between putting it on and going for your walk.Look for H-style harnesses, which you’ll probably find the cat section of the pet store.
Don’t use harnesses or collars that go around the neck, as these can cinch the neck and cause injury.
Make sure you have a stretchy leash, and don't tug too much while walking, as that is also a good way to hurt your rabbit.
In general, rabbits will prefer more unstructured freedom to roam and explore rather than a restricted walk.
Still, this can be another way to get your rabbit out for some movement.
Never leave your rabbit leashed if you are not around.
Left alone, your rabbit may chew through the leash, get tangled in it, or be unable to escape a predator. -
Step 3: Play fetch.
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Step 4: Hide food.
-
Step 5: Create a digging box.
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Step 6: Train your rabbit to follow commands.
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Step 7: Walk your rabbit on a leash.
Detailed Guide
Rabbits like to run around, including after people.
If your rabbit is coming towards you, turn and run away so it will chase you.
Then, turn around and start chasing your rabbit so it can run away in the other direction.
You can turn around again to make your rabbit the pursuer once more.It may take a few times for your rabbit to figure out what you are doing, but once it learns that this is just a game, it’s a great way to get some running exercise.
It can be good to crawl while doing this.
Being closer to the ground will help your rabbit get comfortable with you.
This is good to get your rabbit to stretch out different parts of its body.
Make sure the food is just out of regular reach so your rabbit has to really extend to get there.Hold a treat in your hand in the air above your rabbit’s head.
Make sure it has to stand up and stretch to get there.
Put your rabbit on a box or table, and either hold or place a treat just off the edge.
Your rabbit will need to stretch its neck to get there.
Just make sure your rabbit doesn’t slip or fall off the edge. , Unlike with a dog, you will be the one doing the chasing here.
Give your rabbit a toy and let it toss the toy in the air.
Chase down the toy, and return it to your rabbit., Take some small treats or pellets and hide them somewhere your rabbit likes to explore.
It will smell the food, and try to hunt down a treat.Alternatively, you can put some raisins into a small paper bag, and let your rabbit dig around the bag to find them., Rabbits love to dig around.
Take a large cat litterbox, or something of similar size, and layer the bottom with newspapers.
Put some crumpled up newspapers on top to encourage digging.
Your rabbit will enjoy shredding and tearing apart the newspaper.By rummaging around in newspaper, your rabbit will probably get ink on its nose, paws, and other parts of its body.
Don’t worry, the ink is nontoxic, so your rabbit will be just fine. , Rabbits are intelligent creatures, and are quite easy to train.
Think about commands you want your rabbit to follow, and create steps for it to accomplish them.
Reward good behavior with praise and a treat, but just be sure the rabbit doesn’t do something else first, or else you will be rewarding the wrong behavior.
Include simple command words, like “Sit” or “Jump,” so your rabbit begins to associate those words with what you want it to do.
Once your rabbit is getting the hang of its tricks, start weaning off the treats, so it only follows commands.
Some good tricks include getting your rabbit to jump up and down onto places like the couch or your lap, running into and around certain parts of its play area, house breaking, or stopping aggressive behavior.
You can also use a clicker to reinforce what you are doing.
When you provide treats, also click so the rabbit associates the sound with a treat.Make sure you don’t yell at or hit your rabbit during training.
This will only make the rabbit uneasy or scared of you, which you definitely don’t want.
Your rabbit should associate your hands with food and affection, and if you hit your rabbit may become more aggressive., If you want to take your rabbit out for a bit, attach it in a harness with a leash.
Your rabbit will probably resist the harness at first, so make sure you have little delay between putting it on and going for your walk.Look for H-style harnesses, which you’ll probably find the cat section of the pet store.
Don’t use harnesses or collars that go around the neck, as these can cinch the neck and cause injury.
Make sure you have a stretchy leash, and don't tug too much while walking, as that is also a good way to hurt your rabbit.
In general, rabbits will prefer more unstructured freedom to roam and explore rather than a restricted walk.
Still, this can be another way to get your rabbit out for some movement.
Never leave your rabbit leashed if you are not around.
Left alone, your rabbit may chew through the leash, get tangled in it, or be unable to escape a predator.
About the Author
Jeffrey Reed
Experienced content creator specializing in organization guides and tutorials.
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