Tiny R's razor-sharp teeth are going to get him
into real trouble one of these days. One of the activities he is
going to have to curtail is the nibbling of the upholstery skirt on
my new sofa. So far I have been able to distract him in time to
prevent any serious damage. But I know that the time will come when I
won't catch him in time.
Tiny R is such a quick little scamp. And he certainly has no trouble
making decisions. He spots something to rip and the deed is done in a
wink. That's what happened to the veneer strips on the bottom of the
bathroom door. I saved them and have plans of gluing them back on
someday.
I have made an effort to protect the electrical cords on my living
room lamps. I took the advice of one of the Internet rabbit experts
and bought some plastic tubing that slips over the cords. I couldn't
find the spiral cord covering that was recommended but did locate
some that has a slit on one side like pipe insulation. So I was able
to slip the lamp cords inside.
The new plastic cord coverings don't completely eliminate all
potential for cord damage but so far I haven't found any big chunks
missing. Tiny R can still nip them if left to his own devices for any
extended length of time. But the extra tubing is a harder plastic
than the lamp cords and isn't nearly as enticing.
So far my lamps are all still working and Tiny R isn't lying on his
back with his feet in the air and electrical burns on his mouth.
Little does he know the danger he puts himself in as a result of his
indescriminate chewing.
Chewing on cords is a habit
Enjoyed by our sneaky house rabbit.
He thinks it's great fun
When we race with our bun
To get there before he can grabbit.
Tiny R is our cord chomper's name.
Chewing lamp cords is his favorite game.
Power, printer or phone,
He won't leave them alone.
Our "com" center's just not the same.
Who would guess that rabbits are really quite
playful little characters? Tiny R's favorite toys are the cardboard
tubes that come inside toilet paper rolls. He grabs one end of a tube
with his teeth and flings it up and down. Then he hits things with it
like the tube is a bat. Finally he puts it down and rolls it around
his cage with his head.
Finally, when he is finished playing with it, Tiny R holds the tube
down with his feet and shreds the ends with his teeth. He rips and
tears until the poor tube finally gives up and has to be carried away
to the fireplace. In this game, Tiny R always emerges victorious.
Luckily, toilet paper tubes are not hard to come by and new opponents
show up on a regular basis.
Before Christmas I found a 2" in diameter jingle
bell while I was shopping. I looked it over very carefully to make
sure it was solidly made and wouldn't come apart if it were dropped
or played with. After a thorough testing, I was satisfied that it
would probably take an elephant stepping on it to get the bell apart.
Then I put the bell in Tiny R's cage to see what he would do with
it.
Well, Tiny R is a curious little rabbit. He immediately inspects
every new thing that comes inside his home. So when he saw the new
bell, he went right over to it and gave it a sniff. Then he gave it a
push with his nose. When the bell made a tinkling sound, Tiny R
backed up and sat looking at it for about 30 seconds. Then he hopped
back up to the bell and gave it another push, this time a little
harder. Again the bell made a noise and this time it rolled a little
way. Now Tiny R was very
interested.
Tiny R hopped up to the bell and began pushing it around his cage
until he made another discovery: the bell had a metal part like a
little handle. It stuck out just far enough to tie it onto something.
Or, in Tiny R's case, get his teeth around.
Without further hesitation, Tiny R snatched the bell up with his
teeth and gave it a vigorous toss.
The bell landed on the bottom of his cage with a great clatter. Tiny
R grabbed it again and repeated the act several more times before he
tired of the game. Then he pushed the bell over to the edge of his
cage with his nose and flopped down to take a nap.
It's been over a month now since Tiny R got his
bell to play with. And even though the bell is an "old" toy now, Tiny
R still likes to play with it. Usually this happens in the morning
when we are getting up. After a while I noticed that the bell was
ringing fairly regularly in the morning. So I started taking notice
of what Tiny R was up to around that time of day.
It soon became apparent that Tiny R had figured out something that
gave him quite a bit of power. Every time he rang the bell someone
would come over to his cage to watch him. And when he had our
attention, he would beg for treats or tell us that he was ready to
come out for a romp.
I had to laugh. Tiny R was using his bell to signal for room service.
He had found out that he could communicate with "his servants" by
ringing his bell. And it definitely was no coincidence. He knew
exactly what he was doing.
I had always thought that rabbits were rather limited in their
ability to plan strategies. But Tiny R lives right in the house with
us and has ample time to observe us as much as we observe him.
Apparently he has us figured out pretty well. Perhaps he has also
figured out that if he gets carried away with his bell-ringing, we
always have the option of removing the bell. So far, Tiny R has kept
his requests within the bounds of politeness.
The other evening Eric heard a clattering,
scraping noise coming from Tiny R's cage. When he looked to see what
was going on, there was Tiny R's food bowl pushed up to the front of
the cage near the door. And it was, (gasp!) empty!
We thought it was amusing that Tiny R had come up with a plan to let
us know that his food dish needed filling. But we also thought it was
just a coincidence. Probably just playing or maybe a little miffed
that the bowl was empty. Who ever heard of a rabbit actually thinking
up a way to communicate his desire for more food other than the
traditional begging?
Well, several days later it happened again. This time it was obvious
that it was not an accident. We were sitting right near his cage when
we heard the scraping noise again. So we watched what he was doing.
Tiny R's intentions were obvious. He slickly manuvered the bowl up to
the cage door with his nose.
When we looked inside, we could see that the bowl was almost empty.
Only a few loose pieces of alfalfa were scattered across the bottom.
Tiny R doesn't like crumbs.
Once the bowl was positioned so we couldn't ignore it, Tiny R sat by
the door and looked at us as if to say, "O.K., now how about filling
it up?". So we did and Tiny R was happy again.
About once a day, Eric plays with Tiny R in the
hall. That way all the doors can be closed off and the end near the
living room is blocked off with a piece of plywood. The only thing
that Tiny R has access to is the table at the end of the hall, and he
has never shown any inclination toward chewing on it. He just likes
to scrunch down as flat as he can a slither under the the low shelf.
Then he pops out the other side and is on his way again. Of course,
we still watch him like a hawk. The table is a rather nice old wooden
table and we really don't want any teeth marks on it.
When Tiny R is playing in the hall, Eric gets down on his stomach so
his face is at Tiny R's level. Tiny R loves it. He comes right up and
looks at Eric and sniffs him and touches his hair. After the
formalities are over, Tiny R hops up on Eric's back and sits there
like he is a little prince surveying his kingdom. After 30 seconds or
so, he hops down and gets on with the business of being a young
rabbit.
Tiny R likes to do speed runs, complete with side kicks and a variety
of diversionary manuvers. After he tires of running, he sneaks back
to the end of the hall by the little table. Then he does the activity
that gets him into big trouble.
]
Tiny R starts trying to dig a hole in the carpet. Naturally he gets
hollered at to make him stop. A stern, loud "NO!!!" usually does the
trick. He wheels around, looks us over carefully to see if we really
mean it and then hops off in another direction as if it was all his
idea anyway.
But sometimes he is a regular little pill. When he hears the
ear-shattering "NO!!!", Tiny R stops digging at the carpet just long
enough to turn around and defy us before going right back to his
destructive activity. His front claws are as sharp as little knives.
If left on his own, the carpet would end up with a ragged hole right
down to the hardwood. Naturally that kind of behavior cannot be
tolerated, no matter how cute he is. Barney Fife of the old Andy
Griffith TV show had at least one thing right...."You've got to nip
it, nip it in the bud!".
That's when Tiny R finds out exactly who is the boss around here. If
he cooperates and acts even half-way repentant, he finds himself
being herded down the hall toward his cage. This at least leaves him
a few shreds of dignity. And he can always pretend that going back to
his cage was all his own idea. But if he tries to make a break for
it, he quickly finds himself scooped up without ceremony and taken
back to his cage. By this time he knows the jig is up and hops back
inside. He usually pouts a little while but within a minute he has
forgotten all about his brush with the law. After a short nap he
awakens in his usual sunny mood. All is forgiven. And all is right in
his little bunny world.
Now that Spring is here, Tiny R will be able to spend some time
outside. Last Fall, Eric made a large open-bottomed box with a
screened top for him to play in on the grass. It is kind of like a
bunny playpen. He can dig in the grass and dirt if he gets the urge.
And we sit nearby to make sure he doesn't dig out or come in contact
with anything that could hurt him. The screened top is a pretty good
barrier but you can never be sure that a cat might not come over the
backyard fence.
Rabbits like to do as they please.
But it's easy to make a bun "freeze!!!"
When you've tired of his game,
With a squirt gun take aim,
And give it a good solid squeeze.
It's one way to make your bun learn
That your "NO!!" is not to be spurned.
With a look of surprise,
His act he'll revise,
After making a 180 degree turn!
When Tiny R is playing outside his cage, we give
him an old wash cloth for a toy. He doesn't mind having the cloth put
over his head or moved around in front of him. He gets very
interested in the cloth and follows it around. Then when it is thrown
down in front of him, he rolls it up with his front feet. In a matter
of seconds the cloth looks like a rolled-up tortilla. And when we
open it up, he rolls it up again. Two or three more times and Tiny R
is ready for a new challenge.
Another game Tiny R likes to play is "hiking" his bell between his
hind legs like a football. If rabbits ever get a football team
together, he would make a great "Center". He can shoot the metal bell
backward between his legs with enough force to propel it a good two
feet.
But his latest favorite toy is nothing more than a wadded up piece of
newspaper. We figured if he wanted to rip and tear to get rid of a
little steam, why not give him something that he could really
destroy.
Well, Tiny R thought that was a great idea. He took to
paper-destroying with enthusiasm. And after he had thoroughly
thrashed the paper, he hopped under a piece of it that had landed
like a tent. He looked very pleased with himself. And, best of all,
carpet digging didn't even cross his mind that day.
A couple of nights ago, Eric had Tiny R in the
hall to play. Instead of using the piece of plywood to block off the
living room, Eric leaned it up against a stool like a ramp. He wanted
to see if Tiny R would climb up the plywood to get to the stool. It
was a pretty safe bet that Tiny R would check it out since he is
extremely curious and loves to be up high.
Sure enough, Tiny R tried climbing up the ramp. It was a little
slippery so he took it slow. Eventually he figured it all out and was
convinced that it was safe to climb. And, before you know it, there
he was, sitting on the stool looking very, very smug.
Tiny R slid down the plywood ramp and climbed it several more times.
All this time Eric was watching him from the floor where he was
sprawled out to block the living room off in place of the
plywood.
Then, all of a sudden, Tiny R took off at a dead run from the end of
the hall, streaked up the ramp and launched himself into the wild
blue yonder. He went flying through the air right over the top of
Eric. Tiny R landed with a "whumph!" and kept right on going. I
caught sight of the black ball of fur when he whizzed past my legs as
I sat watching TV. He was going so fast that he almost lost control
as he made a tilting left turn past the fireplace hearth. He
screeched to a halt by his cage and turned around with a rather
shocked look on his face.
By this time Eric had scrambled to his feet and came rushing in.
"Wow! Did you see that? Tiny R
flew right over the top of me like Evel Knevil!". And that's how Tiny
R earned the title, "The Greatest Stunt Bunny in the
World".
Doors hold great fascination for Tiny R. Even
though we have learned to keep all the bedroom doors closed when he
is out for a romp, he knows that there is something extremely
interesting lurking just beyond his view. And he does his very best
to figure out how to get the doors to open. Even just a little way.
Just far enough for a small bunny the size of Tiny R to slip
through.
As he does his tour of duty down the hall, he stops in front of each
door and gives it a little push with his nose. Sometimes he stands on
his hind legs and tries to push them open with his front feet. Just
checking.
Occasionally the doors don't latch when we pull them shut. This
usually occurs as we are racing down the hall trying to close all the
doors before he gets there. Tiny R is always right on our heels
trying to beat us to the open doors.
The other day Tiny R was out of his cage and I was watching him play.
He hopped down the hall but I didn't care since I had already closed
all the bedroom doors. My attention was distracted for a minute of
two. When I finally remembered Tiny R, I couldn't see him anywhere. I
checked in the living room and the bathroom. I was sure he wasn't in
the kitchen because Tiny R can't get very good traction on the tile
and doesn't like to go in there.
Then I started getting worried. Where could he be? I started down the
hall and then the mystery was solved. The door to my bedroom was open
just a little way, just far enough for one small, black, very curious
mini lop to squeeze through. Apparently the latch had not connected
well and Tiny R had pushed the door open and got in.
My first reaction was of fear because I knew that Tiny R would make a
bee-line to get under the bed. And the cord from my bed lamp was
plugged into the outlet behind the headboard. It was one of the few
electrical cords in the house that was not covered with a plastic
protector. I was afraid that poor Tiny R, who is an absolute sucker
for chewing on cords, would be electricuted.
I immediately got down and peered under the bed, expecting the worst.
There sat Tiny R, right under the dust ruffle, looking me straight in
the eyes. Well, I was relieved but then Tiny R decided that as long
as I was down there on his level, we may as well have a game of
keep-away. So he dashed off to the other side of the bed and sat
there taunting me to catch him. Like a fool I played into his hand
and crawled around to the other side of the bed. Tiny R thought this
was a lot of fun and he promptly hopped back to the other side.
By this time I will admit that my patience was wearing thin. Tiny R
didn't mind in the least. But I was not having fun. It was time to
get out the "long arm of the law".
I grabbed a golf club and poked it under the bed. Tiny R thought it
was still a big game until that putter touched his furry behind. Then
he decided that a cold metal hand pushing him along wasn't his idea
of a good time. So he hopped out from under the bed and headed for
the door.
And to show how intelligent Tiny R is, he headed straight for his
cage and got in. I think he knew I was not in a good mood anymore and
decided to head for a safe place until I simmered down. In the
meantime, I spent another few minutes checking out electrical cords
in my room for toothmarks. I felt much better when it was finally
determined that nothing had been damaged and Tiny R hadn't gotten
into anything that could have hurt him.
The moral of this story is: It never pays to get too relaxed when a
bunny is loose in the house. Just remember, an unwatched bunny is
usually a bunny getting into mischief. You absolutely have to keep
him in sight at all times. And you have to be close enough to stop
any unwanted activity before it gets out of hand. Rabbits are so
quiet that a lot of damage can occur before you are even aware.
Actually, if you pay close attention, bunny behavior is fairly
predictable, especially if you spend a lot of time with him. Now that
Tiny R has been a member of our family for a while, I can almost see
the wheels turning in his little head as he inspects his
surroundings. I just have to remember that a bunny is a bundle of
energy cloaked in curiosity. And it's not his fault that he can't
resist exploring, sniffing (and occasionally nibbling) everything
within his territory. The temptation is simply too great.
Tiny R finds it hard to ignore
The mysteries behind a closed door.
He pushes and nudges
And if the door budges
He slips in and starts to explore.
A "putter" can do more than "putt"
When applied to a "Tiny R butt".
When he's under the bed
Gently nudge him ahead
And his eviction is open and shut.
I flipped on the hall light and there it was: a
random scattering of brown yarn down by Eric's bedroom door. And just
a few feet away sat Tiny R trying to look innocent.
Well, that was the big tip-off. Anyone who has ever had a pet bunny
knows they can't be trusted out of your sight. And Tiny R had been on
his own for more than one minute which is ample time for him to get
into trouble.
As I got closer to the scene of the crime, I knew right away where
the brown yarn had come from. The small bald patch in the carpet was
a dead give-away. Tiny R's sharp front claws had been at it
again.
The damage was done. No use crying over it. The only realistic thing
to do was remove Tiny R before he could resume his digging and see if
I could fluff the remaining carpet strands to fill in the hole.
Luckily, the damage to the carpet was not as bad as it had looked at
first. The fibers that remained assumed a more "relaxed" stance and
leaned over the bare spot like five hairs on a bald man's head. But
unlike the guy's bald spot, the hole in the carpet is now effectively
camouflaged. And I doubt if anyone will even notice it now.
But that doesn't let Tiny R off the hook. Before this latest crime
spree, he had been granted a limited parole which allowed him a
little more freedom in the house. But Tiny R messed up and now his
parole has been revoked. He's just going to have to get used to
having a guard with him at all times. Too bad, Tiny R. You blew
it.
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E-mail address: bettyann@cassano.com