Everyone’s favorite pet, the rabbit, can be taught to high five! It’s a fun and easy way to show your bunny how much you love them. This article will discuss how to teach your rabbit to high five. Here are the steps to follow so that you and your furry friend can enjoy this silly trick together.
Many rabbits are smart enough to learn tricks, but training can take some time. How long depends on the rabbit’s intelligence and how often you practice. Make sure your bunny is healthy, spayed/neutered, has access to hay and water, and isn’t forced into doing tricks when they’re not ready or feeling well.
Contents
A Detailed Guide on How to Teach Your Rabbit to High Five
Step 1: Determine Where to Practise
You will need to choose a place in the house where you and your rabbit are the only ones present. This is important because there may be an occasion when your bunny gets excited, forgets herself, and tries to run off with what she thinks is a great new toy. This would not be an appropriate time to have her high-fiving, so practice somewhere where she cannot escape from you!
The best places I’ve found for practicing are my living room or bedroom floor. However, if these rooms aren’t suitable options for you, then pick another room of your house that meets the criteria above, i.e., it’s empty, and your bunny can’t get away from you if he wants to!
Step 2: Distract Your Rabbit
Your bunny mustn’t be trying to run away from you during the first few practices. Distraction will help keep him where he is, so you can move him more quickly if necessary.
You have two options here: toys or treats. Both types of distractions are useful during high-five training, but sometimes one works better than the other, for sure, bunnies!
Toys
Cage Mat’s – Clean out your rabbit’s cage and spread his favorite mat on the floor in front of him. How long he stays focused on it will depend on how interested he is in it (which might change depending on whether he’s exhausted after running laps around your house like a crazy rabbit or not).
How long he stays focused will also depend on how many times you’ve done this before, which should be as often as possible if the mat is not already familiar to him. How frequently you do this depends on your bunny. If you find he gets frustrated with it every time, find something else!
Bunny Chew Toys – Tie your bunny’s favorite chew toy to a string so that it dangles above the floor in front of him or hang it from a door handle, for example. It mustn’t move too much because anything more than just slightly swinging back and forth will frustrate some bunnies.
How long she stays interested in it depends on how hungry she is, what mood she’s in, how chew-resistant it is, and how often you do this!
The above methods are just examples of how to distract your rabbit. Many other types of distractions work well for different bunnies, so keep trying until you find one that works for yours!
Treats
How long they stay focused on the treats depends on how hungry they are, what mood they’re in, whether there’s anything else around them to eat (like another treat or their dinner), and how often you’ve done this before.
How often you do this also depends on your bunny. Some rabbits quickly learn to ignore food rewards without getting distracted, while others don’t pay much attention unless there’s an immediate reward. Try different things until you find something that works for your bunny!
You should only use one type of reward at a time because switching between them can confuse you. The same goes for distractions – choose one and stick with it!
Step 3: Motivate Your Rabbit
The best motivation for high-fives is a small piece of your rabbit’s favorite treat. How much they are willing to do to get the treat/reward depends on how hungry they are, their mood, and how complete their pellets are! How motivated they are will depend on everything mentioned above, so keep trying until you find something that works forU them.
Some bunnies will be happy with just one tiny bit of dried fruit or a couple of parsley leaves, but others might need more than this – it depends on your bunny and what kind of rewards work for them. If your bunny only seems interested when there are more significant rewards like carrots or fresh herbs, then obviously give those instead!
You can also use toys as motivation if treats don’t work. How motivated they are to play for it depends on how hungry they are, what mood they’re in, and how often you’ve done this before (how exciting/fun/entertaining the game is to them). But, of course, how often you do this also depends on your bunny.
If your rabbit doesn’t seem interested in food or toys, I would suggest using both during training sessions. How much effort she puts into playing for the treats depends on how hungry she is, what mood she’s in, and how often you’ve played these games together before.
How long she stays interested will also depend on whether something else around her interests her more than the high-five. How motivated they are will depend on how hungry they are, their mood, and how many times you’ve played these games before!
Step 4: Get Your Rabbit To Stand Up
Depending on what works best with them, you can make your rabbit stand up for high-fives in many different ways. How you persuade your bunny to lift his paws also depends on how long he can sit still when you do this (how quickly his heart rate goes down when he relaxes), which isn’t always the same even among bunnies of a similar age and breed.
Some will get into a half crouched position, while others might watch you from a distance without moving at all! How much your rabbit wants to do this also depends on how hungry they are, what mood they’re in, and if there’s anything else around them that interests them more than the treats/toys/high-five.
How hungry they are, what mood they’re in, and how complete their pellets are will also impact their willingness to stand up. How interested your bunny is in the high-five will depend on how much he likes it and all of the above factors!
Step 5: Get Your Rabbit To Put His Paws Up
It might take a little time to make your rabbit put his paws up, but you should notice a difference within two weeks of training. Some rabbits will be happy with just one tiny bit of dried fruit or a couple of parsley leaves, but others might need more than this – it depends on your bunny and what kind of rewards work for them.
How hungry they are, what mood they’re in, and how often you’ve done this before (how exciting/fun/entertaining the game is to them) will also impact how willing they are to raise their paws!
How quickly your rabbit puts his paws up after he stands or gets excited by the reward you offer him depends on how motivated he is. How hungry they are, what mood they’re in, and how often you’ve done this before! How motivated they are will depend on how often you do this and all the other factors mentioned above!
Step 6: Get Your Rabbit To Put His Paws Up And Land On All Fours
Depending on your rabbit’s personality and breed, some bunnies might be happy with just one tiny bit of dried fruit or a couple of parsley leaves, but others might need more than this – it depends on your bunny and what kind of rewards work for them.
How hungry they are, what mood they’re in, and how often you’ve done these games together before (how exciting/fun/entertaining the game is to them) will also impact how likely they are to put their paws up and land on all fours.
How motivated they are will depend on how hungry they are, their mood, and how many times you’ve played these games before! Finally, your bunny’s interest in the high-five will depend on how much he likes it and all of the above factors!
Step 7: Finish The Training Session
You can finish the training session once your bunny has successfully put all four paws up and landed on his toes. How long your rabbit stays interested in the high-five will depend on how hungry they are, what mood they’re in, and whether anything else around them interests them more than the treats/toys/high-five.
How motivated they are will depend on how hungry they are, their mood, and how many times you’ve played these games before! How interested your bunny is in the high-five will also depend on their personality and all of the above factors! These steps will help in how to teach your rabbit to high five.
Conclusion:
It’s not that difficult how to teach your rabbit to high five. All you need is a little patience and time, and we guarantee you will succeed in training your pet this cute trick! You should first ensure that both hands are visible when holding out an open palm towards the bunny.
Then try gently stroking one hand with the other before presenting it again for them to sniff – this can be repeated until they make contact by their own accord. When they eventually start making contact on their own without any prompting from us, then we know our patient training has paid off.”
