Making Your Home Safe For Your Rabbit

In order for your rabbit to remain safe in your home, it must be thoroughly "bunny-proofed". This means that everything that you do not want to be chewed on by your rabbit needs to be either removed, protected or a barrier created to prevent it.

This is very important whenever you bring a rabbit into your home. Things such as wires, cords and other things which tend to be down at your rabbit's level WILL eventually get chewed on by your bunny, if even in an exploratory way.

Rabbits explore the world with their mouths, just as a two year old human child does. Everything they find will get put into their mouth to discover what it is and because of rabbit's super sharp teeth this can spell disaster for your all your wires and cords that your rabbit comes near. Rabbits deservably have a reputation as being supreme cord chompers.

Cord protectors are the best way to protect your wires and cords. They are not completely chew-proof, but they discourage further chewing and usually work well. If your rabbit chews through a cord protector, he can still chew through your cord.

Most homes also contain many toxic items for a rabbit. This includes houseplants and household cleaners, as well as most medications. Never allow your rabbit to come in contact with any of these items or he can experience poisoning and sudden death. Most houseplants are bad for rabbits so make sure that falling leaves cannot get into his area and that your rabbit cannot jump up to where they are to eat them. Rabbits can be quite acrobatic and climb or jump to great heights.

It is best to get down on your rabbit's level to see where you need to improve your bunny-proofing. Rabbits are remarkably adept at climbing underneath or behind very small spaces.

Unfortunately, your rabbit will find any weaknesses in your bunny-proofing effort. Keep an eye on him, especially after you bunny-proof to see where you need to step up your game. As always, your rabbit should always be supervised when running outside of his usual abode area.

As a final note, you cannot train a rabbit not to chew. Rabbits MUST chew in order to be healthy. You can also never discipline a rabbit for anything and if he chews something you left in his area, then it is YOUR fault and you should have expected him to do so.

When you discipline a rabbit, he will quickly grow to mistrust you. Trust is key in a human-rabbit relationship and so you can never train a rabbit by disciplining him or you will ruin your relationship.