Fun and Easy Tricks to Teach Bunny Rabbits

© Instagram / bunny_brigade Bunny tricks

If you happen to own a rabbit, you probably know that they are much smarter than people think. They are capable of learning quite a few things and can learn to recognize both verbal and hand cues. 

Using positive reinforcement training, it’s easy to train a bunny rabbit to do all kinds of tricks- much more so than their less trainable, yet still very cute, guinea pig counterparts. It's even possible to learn how to litter train a rabbit.

To get you started, we spoke with professional trick trainers for tips on the best ways to teach your rabbit tricks.

Sit

Rabbits can learn “sit” just like your dog can! It’s a fairly easy trick, so a good one to start with. 

Most rabbits will probably just offer a sit, so you can “capture” it by marking it when your rabbit does it and then rewarding them. 

Sit Tips

If that doesn’t work, you can also try luring them into a sit by putting a treat near their nose and then slowly drawing your hand back. 

As they follow the treat, their rump will naturally have to go down into a sit. Mark and reward!

Stay

Once your rabbit knows sit, you can also teach them to stay. 

This is a useful trick, as you can use it when you need to open your rabbit’s pen but don’t want them to hop out. 

Stay Tips

If you have trained a dog to stay using positive reinforcement, you can use the same techniques here. Ask your rabbit to sit, and then, instead of marking right away, delay your mark for a second or two, then mark and reward. 

The key here is to build up duration slowly. If they break their stay, it’s OK. Just get them back to where they were and start over, marking at a shorter interval this time. 

Sit Pretty

There is nothing cuter than a rabbit “sitting up” or “sitting pretty.” It’s actually a natural position for them and one they do when they hear or see something that catches their attention. 

It’s a great trick to teach for photo ops or just for fun. 

Sit Pretty Tips

Like sit, you can wait until your rabbit offers this fun trick and then mark and reward. If your bunny is not offering to sit pretty, you can use the lure technique here, too. 

This time, put the treat near your rabbit’s nose and slowly lift your hand up and back just a bit so they sit on their rump (otherwise, they will be standing on their legs, which is not a stable position for them). Mark as soon as the rump is down and the front legs are up. 

Mat

© Getty Images Bunny mat training

The mat trick teaches your rabbit to go to a blanket or grass mat and stay there until released. 

It’s a bit more of a complicated trick but can be useful if you need your rabbit to get into a safe area quickly or to stay out of the way while you are cleaning their area. 

For more rabbit tricks, check out Always Pets.