Happy #bunday everybun! Pain management is CRUCIAL when your bunny is in stasis, and a vibrating massage pad can help bust up gas bubbles in the GI tract, providing your bun with some relief.
Vibrations can be a little scary for a bunny, so after you find one of these (search eBay), itâs time to teach your bunny to feel comfortable while on one!
Want training help? We offer private sessions for really specific behavior training like this. Reach out to us at bunnytrainer.com!
Itâs #TrainingTipTuesday! Todayâs tip is that training is GOOD for bunnies! Rabbits and other small pets are often not equated with needing lots of mental stimulation, but this is simply untrue. Itâs important to know what mental stimulation actually is.
Mental stimulation is really a catch-all term for a lot of things. Itâs a term we use to quantify behavioral needs, natural behavioral expression, enrichment, and even emotional needs. ALL animals require mental stimulation. They need to have the opportunity to practice behavior, to DO THINGS in their environment, to be happy and fulfilled. Animals need to be able to express themselves in order to be happy. Much of small mammal husbandry has moved in this direction. We recommend bigger enclosures (or none at all) instead of tanks and cages. We feed fresh foods and hay-based diets instead of concentrates. We neuter and vet the animals instead of letting them rot in a hutch outside. We see them as family members rather than toys. Meeting their behavioral and mental needs is the next frontier.
I had not done a training session with Tula for over a week due to being quarantined with Covid. Iâd pop out and feed her and clean her pen and that was it. This was right after I did the first training session since being sick. I had to trim the video so it wouldnât be too long! This is why I consider clicker training to be the ultimate way to bond with your pet. They just absolutely love it!
Itâs #TrainingTipTuesday! Todayâs tip is to play by the rules you set! Often, when our pets jump ahead in our training plans to a next step, we start holding them to that criteria. That can lead to frustration because the rules suddenly change! What ends up happening is that the animal loses motivation because they 1) donât get reinforced for what you just accepted and 2) they may not be ready for the next step, so they have decreased success.
Hereâs an example of a situation where we might be tempted to bump criteria, and the better way to handle it. Iâm working with Tula in this video on ring toss. Ultimately, I want her to place the ring over the cone, but weâve been working on her picking up the ring and moving it to her right. A few times here, she has successfully placed the ring on the cone-yay!! I could be tempted to only click and treat those responses where the ring ends up on the cone now, but that would be a sudden rule change. So, I give more treats for those extra good responses, but continue to reward what I was accepting before as well! This keeps Tulaâs motivation up, which Iâll need if I want her to keep trying to get that ring on the cone!
It's your last chance to register for our "Teaching Food Puzzles" live event! This webinar will cover how to help your rabbit become more interested in toys and solve food puzzles! A portion of each registration will be donated to Orlando Rabbit Care & Adoptions!
We'll be discussing the benefits of increased foraging time and mental stimulation for bunnies and other small pets, and then showing you how to help your bunny solve puzzles!
Our live event is tonight at 6:30 pm EST, and will be recorded. All registrants will receive a copy of the recording, so if you can't make it live, you don't have to miss out! Registration is $25, and a portion of each registration will be donated to bunny rescue! To register, DM us with your email address, and we'll get you signed up!
Only one day left to register for our Teaching Food Puzzles webinar!! Weâll be donating a portion of each registration to @Orlando Rabbit Care and Adoptions!! Our webinar will help you teach your bunny (or other pet!) to play with toys and learn to solve food puzzles! This can decrease boredom and reduce problem behavior.
Our webinar will be held live tomorrow night at 6:30pm EST, and weâll have a Q&A at the end! Registration is $25. DM us to register!!
Happy #TrainingTipTuesday! The @PupPod is the ultimate puzzle toy: the food and the toy are connected only by wireless technology, so your pet REALLY has to think to understand the link between the two. Let me tell you a secret though: Tula didnât have to learn this on her own. I helped, and it wasnât hard. Did you know that you can teach your pet âhow to enrichment?â
So many great toys are on the market for small pets, but I am ALWAYS flooded with comments from people disheartened because their pet âjust doesnât like toys.â Tula is a curious and smart little cookie, but I know whatâs it like to have a bunny who wonât even look at a toy you give them!
My previous bunny Hemingway was one of those guys. I gave him a TON of toys and he wouldnât give them a second glance. Then one day, I heard a tiny bell. I looked outside to see him RINGING THE BELL. He was playing, and I was stoked! It didnât happen through osmosis, though: I taught him how to play.
You can teach your bunny to play, too! Check out our âTeaching Food Puzzlesâ webinar this Thursday at 6:30 pm EST. Registration is $25, with a portion going to @Orlando Rabbit Care and Adoptions. Email or DM us to sign up!! (Yes, recordings are available!!)
I am fundamentally against feeding dogs from the table. A begging dog is honestly super annoying.
BUT I will share my breakfast with Tules any chance I get! đ đ°
Who else likes to share their food with bunnies? (Iâm a total sucker for wheeking guinea pigs too! đ)
*Just in case anyone thinks itâs harsh-I totally use âpeople foodâ to train dogsâŚjust not to beg at the table! đś *
Happy #bunday! Did you know that Tula used to not dig in her forage? She used her nose to shove things, and would chew things with her teeth, but it wasnât until we did some training that she started trying to use digging to uncover treats! Sometimes, even natural behavior doesnât come naturally!
Learn about how you can encourage your bunny to practice natural behavior in our âTeaching Food Puzzlesâ webinar! Weâll
be giving this webinar Thursday, 6/23, at 6:30 pm EST! (Recordings will be available to registrants!). Our webinar is $25, with a portion being donated to Orlando Rabbit Care & Adoptions! Click here to register: https://empoweredanimalsbehaviorandtraining.com/contact-us
Itâs #TrainingTipTuesday! Todayâs tip is about teaching tricks! When it comes to trick training, finding the right prop is about 50% of teaching the trick!!
Iâve been looking for the right-sized ring toss set for Tula for a few years now, and I recently found a set I thought would work. After playing with it for a few sessions, I felt like I the cone was just too tall for her. So, I went out and found a smaller cone to help her out!
Now that she is easily able to put the ring on the cone, her rate of success is higher! That means I can reward her for those successes, and increase their chances of occurring again.
Are you interested in trick training your pet? Check out our TrickBun Spark Team on Facebook!
Happy #TrainingTipTuesday!! I had a really fun experience yesterday that I wanted to share with you guys.
I tagged along for the finalization of an adoption of a rescue dog. I was asked to come because the owners wanted help with some unwanted behaviors from their new dog. The dog, a delightful mixed breed, greeted me with exuberant jumps straight at my face and pawing at my clothes. This is super common behavior when a dog wants attention from an exciting new person! I began to give attention only when all 4 feet were on the ground. The dog, super excited by any attention, tried a variety of behaviors to get me to get excited with her! She jumped, she pawed, she licked, she wiggled, and she desperately tried to make eye contact with me. I indulged any of those behaviors where all 4 feet were planted on the ground! Eventually, she offered a sit-YES!! I bent down, talked, and stroked her chest, and had to pull back when she got over excited and jumped again. I pulled back, and she quickly offered another sit. I immediately obliged. Rapidly, she learned that sit = attention, and began to offer it any time she approached me. Then she began to offer it to other people in the room, as she interacted them. By now, she was able to communicate specifically what she wanted from them: please pet me! With repetition, she will quickly become extraordinarily polite, and I congratulated the new owners on an incredibly smart new family member!!
Behavior always has a function, and figuring out how the behavior serves the animal can provide the key to changing it. In this dogâs case, she quickly learned that sitting was sure fire way to gain the attention she was seeking by jumping up. Jumping up was no longer effective, so it reduced. There were no tools involved in this training session: just observation, empathy, and choices!
I didnât take any video of this, so here is an unrelated, but very adorable video of Tula learning how to play ring toss đâ¤ď¸
Happy #bunday! Tula just started learning this trick a few days ago and is already a master!
Just kidding-this was a one-time instance! We are still taking it slow while teaching her the right techniques for getting that ring on the cone!!
What are you and your pets doing today?
Itâs #TrainingTipTuesday! Todays tip might surprise you: tips donât solve problems.
âMy dog hates other dogs-any tips on helping him get over that?â
âMy rabbit hates having her nails done-any tips?â
âMy pig freaks out when strangers come over-any tips of getting him to like strangers?â
We get asked all the time for tips-and we love to give them (thatâs why we have a weekly âtipâ post!). The reality is, though, that if all that it took to solve a behavior issue were a few âtips,â then the problem would have been solved a long time ago!! Tips are a great place to get started, though, and thatâs where we usually can get a good conversation started to help begin the process of solving a behavior problem. The process, though, is just that! It takes work, dedication, and patience to get desired results, and itâs always worth it!
Itâs #bundayfunday!! We wanted to feature one our incredible #trickbun students working on their newest trick! Sahra and Sprocket are working on their Expert Trick title, and this is the âcover your eyesâ trick!
Sahra trained this using capturing, technique where you try watch for the desired behavior and reinforce it as it naturally occurs. Over time, the desired behavior increases in frequency, and then you are able to add a cue to it!
Interested in trick training? Check out our @TrickBun Spark Team!!
Happy #TrainingTipTuesday!! Todayâs tip is inspired by one of our amazing clients, who happens to have a deaf bunny. How do we clicker train a deaf animal? Well, itâs actually not too different from training an animal that can hear!
Clicker training really just means âmarkerâ training. A clicker is a type of marker. Markers help tell the animal they did the right behavior, and that a treat is coming. We can use all different types of markers, from clickers to whistles to flashlights to âhand flashes.â We landed on this âhand flashâ bridge after reading the amazing Terrie Haywardâs âA Deaf Dog Joins the Family.â I first grabbed this book after I had a client with a deaf dog, and adapted the strategies here for a bunny.
To help your bunny understand that hand flash = treats, you pair the flash with a treat, as demonstrated here. Donât worry if your bunny isnât quite looking at your hand: they have excellent peripheral vision. By keeping your âflashingâ hand in the same place, your bunny will pick up on the movement and, through practice, that movement will gain significance to them.
Does anyone here have a pet with hearing challenges?
Hi guys! Itâs #TrainingTipTuesday, and I was sitting with Tula last night thinking about what type of training session I should do for todayâs tip. As I watched her go from laying down to sitting up suddenly to itching her side then to sampling hay in her foraging tray, I realized just how much Iâd learned by watching. I will never tire of just observing animals do their thing, and it may be the single best way to learn about them. My tip for you today is to sit with your pet and just WATCH.
You will learn so much about how your pet chooses to spend their time, their eating behaviors, when they groom, what they do before they lay down, what it looks like before they drink water, etc. These mental ethograms are amazing sources of information as you REALLY get to know your animal. You may not learn exactly what every behavior means or why they do it, but you may learn patterns, precursors, and activity.
Iâd definitely encourage you to just sit with your pet and see what you can learn!!
Last chance to sign up for Bunz of Steel! Our group class begins tomorrow night at 5 pm EST! Designed for maximum flexibility, our class is taught over Zoom and is recorded. If you want to join and canât make the lives, you will get access to the recorded classes! Hereâs what our class includes:
𼏠Healthy Treat webinar-all about picking a good training treat and keeping it healthy!
đĽ Recordings of each live class, you can watch at your convenience and as many times as you want (until 7/28/22!)
đď¸ââď¸ Live coaching with experienced instructors! Weâll coach you through exactly HOW to teach each exercise with a focus on bunny safety and FUN!
đť Inclusion in our private Facebook group, where you get support from instructors and teammates throughout the week on your homework
đ TONS of resources, including video tutorials, supporting handouts and guides, and more!!
đ Each bunny gets a certificate at the end of class!!
â¤ď¸ A portion of each registration goes to support rabbit rescue! Our recipient for this class is Southwest Florida House Rabbit Rescue- @respectforrabbits
đââď¸ Ready to sign up? DM us or click here to join! https://empoweredanimalsbehaviorandtraining.com/contact-us Registration is $100, and includes all of the above and our 5 week course which runs 4/28-5/26. We would LOVE to have you join and KICK BUNZ with us!!
Itâs #TrainingTipTuesday! Todayâs tip is that teaching your bunny what you WANT them to do is easier than teaching them what you donât want them to do!
In our upcoming group class, Bunz of Steel, weâll be focusing on exercise themed behaviors. BUT these behaviors can also be used to do a variety of things in your bunnyâs daily life likeâŚ
đ Calling them away from chewing cables
đ Asking them to come out from under the furniture
âď¸ Hopping on a scale for a weight
đ Coming over to you when you call them
đ Going back into their pen
đ And more!!
Weâd love to have you join us! Spots are filling up! Our group class will be held over Zoom on Thursday evenings from 5-6 pm EST. Classes will be recorded, so no worries if you miss a class! Each class has a weekly lesson, followed by individual coaching for you and each bunny in the group!
DM us or click here to join! https://empoweredanimalsbehaviorandtraining.com/contact-us
Itâs your last chance to register for our ClickBun class tonight!! This course will give you a solid foundation in understanding how clicker training works, and even give you some exercises to get started!!
Weâll also be helping animals while we learn!! A portion of each registration will be donated to @Red Door Animal Shelter! Registration is $50-click here to join us tonight!
Want to make it, but canât? No worries! Our class will be recorded, and all registrants will get a copy. If you canât join us today, join us at your convenience!!
To register, click here: https://empoweredanimalsbehaviorandtraining.com/contact-us
Weâre so excited about our
upcoming classes this month!!
ClickBun: Foundations in Clicker Training Bunnies is a
90 minute webclass (for humans) that will give you all
of the info and exercises you need to get started
clicker training your bunny (or other small pet!). We
also have a live Q&A at the end so you can get your
training questions answered!! Class is this Thursday, 4/
21 at 6:30 pm EST.
Bunz of Steel is a 5-week course held over Zoom,
where you and your bunny will learn some basic
behavior. Our beginning clicker training class is paced
perfectly for newer trainers and novice bunnies (or
guinea pigs!) and is guaranteed to get those bunz
moving! Weâll provide guided live coaching, and give
you weekly lessons on training methods and
techniques. Weâll begin class with a webinar on rabbit
nutrition and healthy treats! This class meets weekly
on Thursday evenings from 5-6 pm EST. This course
also includes entry into our private FB group where we
have the ability to provide coaching between classes.
Wanna join class, but canât make it live? No
worries-they will be recorded! All registrants get
access to our courses for 3 months after the last class
date. A portion of the registration for each course goes
to a rabbit rescue in need!!
Weâll be donating proceeds from ClickBun to @Red
Door Animal Shelter and proceeds from Bunz of Steel
to @Southwest Florida House Rabbit Rescue!
To register or learn more, click here:
https://empoweredanimalsbehaviorandtraining.com/co
ntact-us
Happy #TrainingTipTuesday! Many people want their pet to âjust stop â. We always ask âWhat would you like them to do instead?â Sometimes, that answer requires quite a bit of investment: time, energy, and set up. Sometimes, rather than training a behavior fully, an enrichment activity can be an easy solution!
For example, we had a consultation this week while pet-sitting Howie. Howie can be a super energetic guy, and he really loves to play! To expect him to just âleave us aloneâ while we ignored him for 45 minutes, we set him (and ourselves!) up for success. We set him up with some enrichment activities to keep him occupied, and he was perfect!
Providing your pet with enrichment can be really helpful when you arenât able to be attentive to them and you need them to be safe and out of the way! Using foraging mixes and snuffle mats, peanut butter kongs, or even frozen treats are great for these types of situations!
What enrichment activities do you offer your pets?
