# chewing on clothes



## erikamc (Feb 26, 2017)

How do I discourage this? She has cardboard, she has lava rocks, she has wood, she has hay and hay products, she has paper. I try telling her no, saying "ahhht", I've even gone so far as to blow in her face! after all of these I remind her she has more appropriate things to chew on. Some days are worse than others. I know bunnies, especially young bunnies, much like puppies and kittens, explore their would with their mouth. My tactics don't seem to be working though, so what do I do?!? While she is only 12 weeks and I wouldn't expect a puppy or kitten to stop right away, I have also never had a puppy or kitten go "oh wait, you don't want me to do that? let me immediately do it again"


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## Aki (Feb 26, 2017)

A rabbit is not a cat or a dog. Except in very rare cases, you can't educate a rabbit - things like litter training work because rabbits are naturally clean and have 'bathroom spaces' in the wild too. Rabbits don't bite clothes or electrical cords because they explore, they do it because their ancestors have lived in the wild for thousands of years and that they have never been bred for temperament, which means that a rabbit bought as a house bunny today is still very close to his wild cousins - cutting soft things placed in front of their face is instinct and you can't unlearn this (cords = roots, rabbits cut roots that goes inside their burrows, they can't help it). I sometimes see someone claiming that their rabbit learnt to not touch books / cords but those are really rare exceptions. 
There is only one rule which applies to rabbits and things: you don't want it eaten, you protect it by putting something hard around it (for cords) or putting it where the rabbit can't touch it. 
Of course, rabbits get a bit calmer as they age and will destroy less things. Don't get too excited, though, I noticed a decrease in destructive habits after they reach their 4th year - my Aki is almost 8 and don't do much damage anymore (she used to chew clothes like crazy as a young rabbit). Be prepared, you will lose a lot of your possessions in the process.


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## Blue eyes (Feb 26, 2017)

:yeahthat:


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## stevesmum (Feb 26, 2017)

And remember, it only takes one nip to put a hole in a favourite shirt or pants. Don't wear anything you care about to lounge around the house. Once Cali nipped my favourite yoga pants and made a hole in one second. I could have throttled her. They were my good "going out" yoga pants haha.


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## Nancy McClelland (Feb 27, 2017)

the only way to keep clothes and shoe laces safe is not to wear them around the bunnies--I wear slip on shoes and shorts--if they can get to them they WILL chew on them, it's what bunnies do!


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## erikamc (Feb 27, 2017)

so, hang out naked with the bunny, got it!


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## katiecrna (Feb 27, 2017)

Rabbits don't usually get "no" and blowing in their face. Just move her when she starts to chew your clothes. 
Rabbits are stubborn and most are not really trainable, if they were we wouldn't have to rabbit proof and block off areas of the house. This is normal rabbit behavior.


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## doodlebugger (Mar 6, 2017)

This is normal behavior. What I have found is that my rabbits will chew clothes if they are in their way - like they want to go somewhere, but there are clothes or shoes sitting there. We find that by redirecting the rabbit to something else, or getting them to move on, helps, but I don't think that they can really be trained. Conditioning is possible.....like when you rattle a bag of greens, they know that they are going to get fed, so they might come running. But I think it works with bunnies only if they are getting a treat or something they want, not something unwanted, maybe that is positive reinforcement and not conditioning? Anyways, we used to have a Flemish Giant, and he went where he wanted, did what he wanted, and if it was in his way, even if it was an $80 Macbook cord, he was going to chew it or move it with his mouth (yes, that really happened - thankfully we had a warranty that covered accidental damage!!!!). So, it's best to just bunny proof the area that the bunny is running in, and make sure that there is no temptation. You probably don't want to be naked, but definitely wearing clothes that it wouldn't be upsetting to get holes in.


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