How to Train a Rabbit to Come when Called

Rabbits are very friendly, social and intelligent animals. They like to play, cuddle and they can be trained to come when called.

Give your bunny a name.

The very first thing you have to do is give your bunny a name so she knows when she is being called. Endless are the possibilities when it comes to rabbit names. We named the one we rescued, thumper because he was always thumping his back feet when he wanted attention.

How to get your rabbit used to his name.

Get a little Timothy Hay to entice him to you as you call his name. When he comes to you, pet him on the head and say something like, "Good Thumper." Do this several times a day for a week and if it looks like he understands his name you can decrease the times you give him food to every other time.

Give him a special treat like a piece of an apple every once in a while and praise him as well. This is called positive reinforcement and will work much better than yelling or punishment ever will.

Do that for at least 2 weeks then start calling his name without treats and see if he comes to you. If he does then you can limit the treats or rewards to just sometimes.

Can you train a rabbit to jump into your lap?

Yes, especially if you've had the rabbit since he or she was little and you have bonded well with the bunny. The bunny my family rescued and found a forever home for would follow us around like a puppy and jump right into our laps and want to be petted and cuddled.

This rabbit acted more like a puppy than what I thought a rabbit would but I found out that a lot of rabbits will become very affectionate if they spend a lot of time out of their cage with people in the home.

The best way to get your bunny to jump up in your lap when called is to entice the bunny into your lap with a treat or some hay while patting your leg. This is very important; you must start with treats and patting your leg in the beginning for it to work later on without treats or food.

Do this several times a day and offer hay each time. Pat your leg and let your bunny see the food or treats. When your bunny jumps up on your leg, give him praise and pet him while giving him the food.

After a week or so, you should be able to pat your leg and have your bunny jump in your lap without having to give a treat. But you should give treats or food a few times a day when you call him to your lap for at least another week and slowly stop the food.

After a few weeks you should just be able to pay you leg and have bunny come and jump right into your lap to be petted.