I set up their fence enclosure each day and take it down each afternoon just so the weather doesn’t destroy the fence.

I put the rabbits out in the morning (any time between 6:30am and 9am, in the summer), they spend all day outside, then I bring them inside again in the afternoon. Cotton and Buttons have learned that their inside cage is where they can switch off and not worry about the world in the afternoons.

The constant state of alertness they are in when outside tires them out very quickly, so I brought them in at about 1pm-2pm in the afternoon. That way they could have an afternoon sleep and be ready for dinner at 5:30pm. They were, after all, only babies.

While they are outside, I play with them a lot. They are excited when I bring out huge boxes of cardboard for them to play in. They also really like hiding in the base of the carry box that I flip upside down.

Like dogs and cats, rabbits understand one-syllable words faster, so I’m choosing to keep the key words I use with them short and precise. I’m starting to collate a list of words that I’m starting to use.

Take it slowly

Bunnies take about 3-5 minutes to think about what you are saying and act on it. Don’t rush and move quickly around them. I usually say something like “Let’s go inside” a few minutes before I start packing them up. That way they are ready to go inside when you are ready. They will also get used to the actions and patterns you do once you say it. For example, I say it to my bunnies, and then I get their litter box ready for the night, start packing their pen up and picking up the toys. I do this every time after I have said “Let’s go inside”. Because bunnies watch you, they can put the words and the actions together to form a meaning.

In the morning I tell them that “Let’s go outside”, or “today, you’re going outside”. That way, I have time to go and set up their enclosure for the day, and when I go back to them, they are ready to be taken outside.

It’s important to use the key word last in the sentence, that way they remember it. And they WILL remember it.

Whatever you do with your bunny, you must do it with confidence. Don’t be nervous, because your bunny will pick that up and react to it accordingly. I was once told that you treat your bunny like you are a 12 year old girl; play with it, talk and sing to it, hand feed it. Just do it with confidence. The more 12-year-old girl behaviours you have with your rabbit, the more used to things it will become.

The more you use the same words, even if they are in a sentence, the bunnies will pick up on the repetitiveness and start listening for the words. When they can connect a word to an action, they learn it really quickly. And, once they learn one word-action process, they will quickly learn more, and then start to communicate with you.

Word-action pairing is important when training bunnies. For example, when you say a sentence with “outside” in it, like “do you want to go outside?” the bunnies know when you say outside you need to pick them up and carry them outside to the pen. That’s giving them the opportunity to learn that the word “outside” and the action of being picked up and taken outside is the same thing. That way they can make a synapse link in their brain.

Bunnies learn word-action connections really quickly. The only catch is that you have to reinforce the word as regularly as you can. I often say things like “You’re outside,” or “Are you having fun outside?” that way they hear the same word even though it is amongst other words, and they can recognise that it’s the one that is important.

Bunnies aren’t dumb, they know what you are saying. But they can get confused if you mix the patterning up, without practicing the action for the word first. For example, when you put the word “outside” at the start or middle of the sentence and they aren’t used to it – “outside it’s raining”, or “Go outside today” they will not initially register the importance of the word. It is important to put the word last in the sentence until the bunnies learn to listen for it.