Understanding Your Rabbit's Behavior
While more and more people are finding rabbits to be the perfect indoor companions, many still don't know much about them nor do they understand their behavior. While most of us are familiar with dogs and cats, there is a major difference between rabbits and these other common house pets. Both dogs and cats are, by nature, predators. Rabbits, on the other hand, are prey animals. Even though our pets are not living in the wild where the danger of being eaten is ever-present, they are still very instinctual animals and will exhibit many behaviors that may seem strange until we understand the basis for them.
Contrary to popular opinion, rabbits are not particularly cuddly. Most do not like to be picked up and held. For a rabbit living in the wild, being picked up generally means you're going to be someone's dinner, so it's frightening for most rabbits. They are, however, very social animals who enjoy human companionship when given on their terms. This may mean sitting on the floor interacting with the bunny or allowing it to hop up and lie down next to you on the couch.
Rabbits are intelligent and can be litterbox trained and trained to voice commands. Many enjoy digging and chewing. Unlike our teeth, or those of dogs and cats, rabbit's teeth grow continually, so chewing is necessary in order to keep their teeth in top form. To keep them from destroying your house, they should be provided with appropriate items to chew such as apple branches, untreated willow baskets filled with hay, cardboard, or rabbit-safe wooden toys. Digging is also a very enjoyable activity for many rabbits. Providing items such as "diggy boxes" (boxes filled with hay, newspaper, old phone books, etc.) or cardboard tunnels can prevent your rabbit from digging your new carpet!
If they don't have one already, you may also want to consider adopting a partner for your bun to provide companionship when you can't. A lonely rabbit is more likely to become bored and depressed or hyperactive and destructive. Most people find that two rabbits are not twice the work of one. For more information, check out our bunny bonding basics.
More information on rabbit behavior will be added to this site over time. Until then, please refer to Bunny Boot Camp! and the links at left for additional information.
