You can prevent yourself and your bunny from becoming bored, and at the same time keep him in shape, build a strong bond with him and stimulate his mind, by playing games with him. You’ll be surprised at what your rabbit is able to do.
Playing tag
One of the easiest games you can play with your bunny is tag. Make sure you have his favourite treat ready. Don’t play when he is tired, and the game is over when your rabbit decides it’s over!
Step 1 Play in an open area where your bunny is comfortable. Give him a small piece of his favourite treat and allow him to eat it.
Step 2 Run to other side of the room where your bunny can see you and call his name.
Step 3 When your bunny reaches you, give him a small piece of his treat and allow him to finish it.
Step 4 Run to another part of the house, but preferably still visible, and call his name.
Step 5 Allow him to reach you and give him a small bit of his treat.
Repeat the steps above until your rabbit calls it quits.
Hoppity hop
Use your rabbit’s natural instinct to hop over objects. You might not get much exercise, but your rabbit will.
Step 1 Build a ‘wall’ with small objects. It should be low enough for your bunny to jump over it easily.
Step 2 Get your bunny’s favourite treat ready by breaking it up into small pieces.
Step 3 Bring your bunny closer to the wall. Show him the treat.
Step 4 Move your hand with the treat over the wall and call his name. As he jumps over the wall, say the cue ‘hop’.
Step 5 Move your hand to the other side of the wall and call his name again. Once again, say ‘hop’ the moment he jumps over the wall.
Repeat this until your bunny has had enough. In time, you can replace the wall with small agility-like jumping equipment.
Climbing steps
If you have a short staircase with a few steps, you can use that for the next game. Otherwise, you can create ‘steps’ by stacking two or three boxes on top of each other. Make sure that the boxes are not too high and that your bunny can jump onto them with ease. Use boxes of different sizes, with the biggest one at the bottom and the smallest one at the top.
Step 1 Get your bunny’s favourite treat ready.
Step 2 Move your bunny to the bottom of the steps and give him his treat. Allow him to eat it.
Step 3 Move your hand to the first step and call your bunny’s name. Allow him to jump up to the second step and give him another small treat.
Step 4 Repeat step 3 until he reaches the top of the stairs.
Step 5 When your bunny is at the top of the stairs, move your hand back to a lower step.
Step 6 Repeat these steps until he has reached the bottom of the stairs.
You’ll soon realise when your bunny has had enough of the game.
Tunnelling
In the wild, rabbits hide in tunnels, which explains why bunnies love them so much.
Step 1 Buy a tunnel, as pictured above, which is available at most pet shops.
Step 2 Get your bunny’s favourite treat ready.
Step 3 Place your bunny at the one end of the tunnel with your hand and a treat at the other end.
Step 4 Call your bunny’s name. When he gets to the other side, allow him to eat the treat.
Step 5 Move your hand and a treat to the opposite opening and call his name again. When he reaches the opening with the treat, let him eat it.
Step 6 Repeat the back-and-forth movement in the tunnel until your bunny has had enough of the game and moves on to something different.
