About Happy Rabbit

In 2013, I, Dalinique Plender, started a course to become a rabbit specialist at the Martin Gaus Academy. The purpose of this course was, among other things, to train and school the students to start a rabbit school.

The reason I started this course is not so ambitious. I had one rabbit and I knew he needed a friend. When I do something for my pets I want to do it the right way. Of course I could have searched the internet for all kinds of information or read some books, but acquiring a hands-on education was more appealing to me.

Wait a minute, a rabbit school? Of course! Think about it. Roughly 30 years ago people would have laughed if you told anybody you were going to school with your dog, likely wondering why you would do that. Nowadays, if you tell people you are having a puppy, one of the first questions you get is: “You are taking a puppy course, aren’t you?” The difference between a rabbit school and a dog school is that you are not supposed to actually bring your rabbit with you. It is the place to learn more about the behaviour and training of rabbits. And that is the idea behind the rabbit specialist course.

I thought it was a pretty strong course. I found out that my knowledge of rabbits was relativly low. One moment during the course a video was shown A Hutch is not Enough. It touched me, because I realized which mistakes I had made with my rabbits because I did not know; the misunderstandings many rabbit owners have because they also do not know differently.

Here’s an example you might recognize. You are walking in a mall and then you notice a lovely little bundle of rabbit with fluffy hair and lovely ears. You are not able to resist the temptation and you go into the store. Or maybe it was not you who saw it, but one of your kids dragged you into the store. How can you resist such cuteness? Lot’s of people cannot…so you buy the rabbit. Then you pay a lot of money for a hutch, floorbedding, and rabbit food. And if the rabbit is lucky, you also purchase some hay and toys. Then what? You follow the instructions given by the pet store or a neighbour. You feed the rabbit daily and clean out the hutch once a week. But the hutch starts to smell and the hay is pretty messy. You put the hutch and the rabbit outside or further away from your porch. The rabbit gets what he needs to survive, daily water and food. He gets older, more grumpy and not as cute as he was. You forget about the rabbit more and more. Your rabbit gets lonely and bored. Sounds familliar?

That is the reason why I started HappyRabbit. The story can have such a happier ending! By following the 8 simple guidelines of HappyRabbit which almost speak for themselves, you can contribute to a better world and to healthier and happier rabbits. By watching your rabbit and following the 8 guidelines you can discover why your rabbit behaves like he does and how much fun it can be to bond and train with your rabbit. And how easy it can be to teach your rabbit all kinds of tricks and commands! Yes, just like a dog, your rabbit can be trained.

I discovered a whole new world I want to share with you so you too can experience how much fun the world of rabbits can be.