Training and foraging for rodents & rabbits

Training & Foraging for Rodents & Rabbits!

Doing fun activities together with your pet is great fun! Did you know that rabbits are very intelligent and can learn all kinds of tricks? From playing football (nose balls) to retrieving and giving a high five! Take on the challenge together and enjoy the game with your rodent!

Training your rodent or rabbit is a fun way to spend time together. It strengthens the bond between the animal and its owner. Through training you can really be busy with your rodent or rabbit. Real "quality time" with your animal!

It is very important to build up the training slowly. Of course we want the animals to enjoy it and to continue to enjoy it! To ensure that the rodents or rabbits enjoy the training it is important to work with positive reinforcement. The easiest way to achieve positive reinforcement is food. The moment the animal does what you intend, the animal gets something tasty.

Please note: never punish your animal! Punishment (in any form) is a negative stimulus. This will ensure that your rodent or rabbit will experience the training as something negative. You can never force the animal to perform a certain action! Positive reinforcement and a lot of patience are the most important things in training. Do not train for too long at a time. Start with a few minutes. Do you notice that your animal's attention is waning? Then stop training and try again in a few days.

A handy tool to use in training is a clicker . A clicker makes it easier for the animal to link the action to the reward. An example: you would like to teach your rabbit to stand on its hind legs on command. You have come up with a command for this and it works! Your rabbit stands on its hind legs! You say: 'good boy!' and take a treat from your jacket pocket.

At the moment that you give the snack , the reward, to the rabbit, the rabbit is no longer standing on its hind legs. The reward then comes too late. The rabbit will not understand that it is getting the treat because it was standing on its hind legs. We can solve this problem with a clicker! When a rabbit has learned to work with the clicker, you can click when the rabbit is standing on its hind legs. If working with the clicker has been learned well, the rabbit now knows that a reward is coming. The rabbit must learn that the sound of the clicker means that a reward is coming. At a certain point, the rabbit will understand that the click follows when performing a certain action. In this way, the clicker helps with timing the reward. Of course, you can also use a word such as 'good boy' or 'good' as an alternative to the clicker. However, a clicker is easier for an animal to distinguish. The animals will hear your voice much more often, and not only during training.

There are so many different training games. You can think of brain games, sniffing mats, agility sets and snack balls. It is fun to alternate with different types of training games. This way we keep the training varied and challenging.

A varied training with positive reward is very good for the well-being of rodents and rabbits. In addition, it is also a very nice way for the owners to really work together with the animal!

Why are foraging toys good for rodents and rabbits?

❤ Stimulate Natural Behavior: Foraging toys mimic the natural behavior of rodents and rabbits, which is searching for food in their environment. By challenging them to search and dig for their food, their natural instincts are stimulated and they stay active and satisfied.

❤ Physical Activity: Foraging toys encourage rodents and rabbits to be active and move around. They have to walk around, dig, push and pull to get to the rewards. This promotes exercise and helps maintain a healthy weight and good physical condition.

❤ Environmental Enrichment: Foraging toys add an element of challenge and variety to the rodent and rabbit habitat. It makes their daily lives more interesting and prevents them from becoming bored in a monotonous environment. This can lead to better overall well-being.

❤ Prevents overeating: Foraging toys make the feeding process slower and more challenging. This makes rodents and rabbits have to work harder to get to their food, preventing them from eating large amounts at once. This helps prevent overeating and weight problems.

In short, foraging toys for rodents and rabbits provide both physical and mental stimulation, help prevent boredom and promote natural behavior. It is a great way to improve their well-being and quality of life.

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