All Things Dog Blog

Rabbit Care, a Guest Post by our Family's Rabbit

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 09:01 PM PDT

Guest post by Robby,
Tanner and Oliver's bunny brother

Hi all you dog lovers. My name is Robby and I'm the missing link at the All Things Dog Blog home. You see, I lived here for nearly 7 years while my 'boy' was away at college. That may sound funny to you, but he did a lot of college!

I'm here today to talk to you about something very serious, so I'll say it in a serious way--Rabbit Ownership. I would have preferred to say bunny adoption, but rabbit ownership sounds more serious. I guess you get it now; I'm serious.

If you're like many families at this time of year, you may be thinking about getting a rabbit for a pet. We make great pets. But we're not for everyone, and your home may not be right for us. Please be sure to ask lots of questions at the adoption agency when you visit to see my cousins. Here's a few things you might like to know about caring for a rabbit:

We like to bond with our owners and enjoy a close companionship. Just like you, we enjoy continuity in our home life. So please, think about that when you consider adopting a bunny. Read mom's info at this post to learn more about this important choice.

Bunnies like me that need a home appreciate your considering adoption from Petfinder. We just want to let you in on a few tips to make sure we all get along just great.

Just like you, we need a healthy diet to stay fit as a fiddle. You can feed us a very small amount of plain bunny food, but we need more fiber and vitamins. Offer us green, leafy vegetables--cabbage, spinach, Romaine lettuce, Swiss Chard--with an occasional dessert of a small slice of banana or a tiny, baby carrot.

Although we bunnies enjoy carrots and bananas any time, we'll easily get very chubby if we eat them every day. So please help us watch our waistlines to make sure we stay slender and healthy.

We also need plenty of Timothy Hay in our diet. You can pick this up at most pet supply stores. We'll go through a bunch of this every day, so be sure to stock up and give us plenty. If there's anything we need a lot of, it's our hay.

Finally, keep our water bottle full and test the bobber-ball every so often to make sure it's still working. We're not very talkative, so it's tough for us to tell you when it gets broken or stuck. We need water just like your other pets!

Wood shavings available at your pet supply store make a fine litter for the bottom of our crate; ask your vet about other types of bedding and the pros and cons of each. Many of us enjoy a raised platform to spend our lazy time on, so we don't have to sit on wet shavings. We really do appreciate your time and effort in cleaning our crates out regularly. You will probably find it smells better when it's clean. It's a Win-Win.

Exercise is good for us bunnies too. You'll have to be sure to cover up electrical cords and anything soft vinyl or plastic. We enjoy chewing these things just like dogs love their rawhide bones. We know you don't want us to eat your iPod cord or electrocute ourselves, so be sure all cords are out of reach or behind furniture/under rugs when we come out to play.

If you want us to be litter-trained, you'll need to limit our time away from our crate at first. Just contain us to a small area for a good while, until you see us return to our crate on our own for our potty business. After we learn the ropes, you can expand our play area. Just be sure to bunny-proof the whole area that we have access too. This will help us play safely.

Most importantly, we enjoy a good rub as much as the dogs do. My favorite rub is between the ears. Marc does this best of all, but I'll take a rub from anyone I decide to befriend. I may be a bit shy at first, but I soon warm up to anyone who stays still long enough for me to size them up. I hope this helps. If you ever have any questions about caring for your bunny, I'll be happy to offer some suggestions.

Meanwhile, watch for mom's Rabbit Adoptathon to be announced soon. Want to join in? It's as easy as highlighting a few adoptable rabbits like me.

Nose wiggles, Robby