Why Doesn't My Bunny Like Me? - A Guide To The Bunny
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What many people don't realize when they are contemplating getting a rabbit is the sheer amount of time it can take to bond with a bunny. Unlike dogs, who will be licking your face within a day or two, or cats that soon warm up, a rabbit can take, quite literally months to even be on 'speaking' terms with its new owner.
For this reason, rabbits, especially young ones, are generally not suitable pets for children, unless your child happens to have a particularly patient and understanding temperament.
Rabbits will also often strongly object to being handled. Initially you will probably have the most success scratching around the head, between the ears, and on the nose. This simulates the grooming act of a submissive bunny, and even the grumpiest bunny will sometimes allow, nay demand, that their owner pet them there for extended periods of time. Don't be surprised if you get a little warning nip because you stopped too soon, many bunnies are huge fans of this kind of touch, and it can be an excellent way to bond with your little fuzzy bundle of furry joy.
You may even be rewarded for all your hard efforts with a little bunny lick or two. If your bunny considers itself to be dominant or in charge, it may simply groom the areas near you. This is his or her way of saying that you have done well, they quite like you, but you will of course understand that to go any further with this mutual grooming would be to break all bounds of propriety.
The bright side of all this is that when a rabbit does bond with you, it bonds strongly. Depending on the rabbit's temperament it may become a snuggler, or it may always remain slightly aloof. Aloofness does not mean that the rabbit is not happy however. A happy rabbit will often run and jump, and perform little rabbit dances known as 'binkies', where they leap and twist in the air, shake their ears and generally seem quite pleased with life.
There is an strange quiet companionship that comes with owning a bunny. If you wish to have a tounge lolling excited companion, pick a dog. If you wish to have a wheedling purring mass on your lap by the fire, pick a cat (not that bunnies are above begging when they want something, oh no, the soulful stare of a bunny who wishes to have that which you have can be quite hard to refuse.)
A rabbit is a quiet, sometimes playful creature that will take time to get to know. The rewards are great however, and the relative few who discover the delights of the bunny world are generally entranced forever.
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Hi LyndseyLou,
I've written a hub on this subject for you, because I think this is a VERY common problem for many rabbit owners.
Have a look here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Bunny-Care-Guide-How-To-Ge
My bunny has screamed four times since i adopted him. that scared me so much i didn't know what to do 'cept pet him. But he is still not so friendly with me. :(
do you think an 11 year old should get a bunny???
"do you think an 11 year old should get a bunny???"
No, rabbits are delicate and shy creatures. They get scared easily by fast movement and loud noises. I would not suggest a rabbit as a suitable pet for young children, also because children enjoy picking animals up and rabbits, as prey animals, are afraid of being picked up. When picked up poorly a rabbit will thrash and kick and can break it's own spine in the process.
"My bunny has screamed four times since i adopted him. that scared me so much i didn't know what to do 'cept pet him. But he is still not so friendly with me. :("
I have been Elfi's care taker for 9 months now...the first two were spent just getting her to tollerate my exsistance, but perserverence pays off...learning how she expresses herself was more rewarding than instant affection
OK Thats to long for me to read, can u tell me it not so long??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hate reading but i love my rabbit and i want it to b happy!!!!!!!!
Its only a little bit of reading, don't be lazy! :)
I have had my bunny for a month now and she appears to be getting worse with me. When I first brought her home I let her get used to her new house before even attempting to touch her but after a few days, I was able to scratch the top of her head and cheeks. In the second week, I had to try and pick her up as there were ants in her hutch and I had to clean it out which was a little struggle but ok. Ever since then I was able to get her out to put her in her run and then to put her back without much of a struggle but now she appears to be getting worse as she is sensing what I want to do and now runs from me and there is even the odd growl and pounce if she is feeling scared but I feel that I need to put her in her run everyday so that she doesnt get lonely or bored in her hutch. On average it takes me up to an hour to get her out of her hutch and the same to get her back into it and I have tried ramps and grabbing and enticing her out. She is now 4 months old and I have done a little reading and am thinking of having her spayed as this may help with her mood, what do you think? Are there any other techniques to get her to get used to me?
My bf and I just bought a mini rex for 3 days.Its our first time having a bunny and me having a pet.
On the first night, she was very very quiet and abit scared to let us get near her or touch her.But on the second day, she will start sniffing our fingers and gradually allowing us to touch her.
She became very friendly and she will run around and do a little hop or standing on two feet in her cage.What makes us excited was that its was only her second day and she already will start to approach us and do some sniffiing. =)
On the 3rd day, we let her out of her cage and I can feel that she is a happy bunny. She will run and hop around, sniff every corner and even ran towards us and sniff. But she 's a bit reluctant to let us carry her back to her cage.
We bought some toys and a toilet bowl for her to pee n poo as we decided to give her some toilet training. Amazingly, just two hours after we placed the toilet bowl in her cage with some of her poo in it, she seems to know that she is supposed to pee n poo there. She was lying lazily at the opposite end of her toilet and suddenly she started running towards the toilet bowl, sat on it, and did her business there.
She's playful, friendly, very active and intelligent!! Everyone in the family loves her. Even my bf's mum who dislikes pets started to play with her.
My bf and I want to give our bunny the best we can afford to give as bunnies lifespan are very short and we want our bunny to be a happy bunny.
Play with your bunny as often as you can. Look at how your bunny behaves to understand its character. Just sitting infront of your bunny looking at it or talking to it will let her know your presence and that you are giving it your attention. I think thats consider as ''bonding'' too. =]
I Have a rabbit she is evil. I have tried bonding with her but she likes scratching, biting a nd just generally goes for me when I feed her or clean out her hutch. She is olny 10 months old and I can go nowhere near her. I have to wear gardening gloves to pick her up otherwise I will be scratched and bitten badley. Can you help?
I adopted to Mini Lops, mother and son named Andrei and Sasha, about 2 years ago. They still haven't warmed up to me. If I lay still in the middle of the floor, they have no problem licking me and hopping all over me, but the minute I try to pet them, they make a bee line back to their cage. They treat me like the hired help, only good for feeding and cleaning. It makes me kind of sad, my last bunny, Freckles, was a mini rex with big personality and liked nothing better than laying on my lap while I stroked her ears and tummy. The furballs I have now seem to just tolerate me. What can I do to get them to warm up to me?
What can i use to cover exposed cables that my Simba has already gotten to?
I have two 4 year old rabbits; that i have always thought were very happy apart from the female one who satrted being agressive and still is after a couple of months when i first got them but we learned to live with that. i have read aout there body language recently and discovered they are quite angry little rabbits! they are regular cleaned out, fed every day. and given lots of love. i feel awful that they have felt this way all this time, and i dont know what to do becuase i love them to bits and they are practically my life!
I'm sorry to hear about those whose bunnies aren't too friendly. I bought my ex-girlfriend a netherlands dwarf bunny and she named him Gustav (and made me take care of it). He used to be a timid little bunny but by letting him be as a house bunny he grew to be very sociable. The problem is, he's so secure in his environment that NOTHING SCARES HIM! He gets on the couch and poos and pees there (his potty training got messed up because my ex-girlfriend borrowed him for two days last month and he probably got confused with his home setup) and we tried to scream at him or throw some things beside him to scare him but he just stares at that thing and doesn't care about anything (Don't worry, we've never hit him, we love him!).
That he's not afraid of anything however lets me play with him! I get to play tag in the livingroom with him, and he always binkies when he's running after me. I also sit on the floor and we sniff each other's noses out and I guess that's how we bond. I guess that bond manifested with the fact that he always lies flat forward with feet out on the floor beside my computer chair (sometimes I almost step on him but I'm now very careful) to keep me company. Right now he's running all around the room probably looking for something to chew on (he likes soaps and candles).
Gustav has been a really good pet for me (I got to keep him after breaking-up with my ex), and he's my first rabbit. I guess we were lucky in choosing him from the store (the alternative bunny was a beautiful jet black rabbit but kept shivering when touched, Gustav was just calm and nice). It is true that the rewards are great and I'm probably going to be entranced forever with rabbits. :)
I got my bunny in April and things started out great. she let me pick her up and everything, but now she is very agressive. She bites me and whenever i put my hand in her cage to pick her up or pat her, she runs the other way and starts grunting and snorting. What does this mean? what am i doing wrong? I want to have a strong relationship with my bunny, and i want her to like me. Please ,if you have any insight to make my bunny happier ,please let me know!
LyndseyLou says:
17 months ago
A week ago I was joyed by adding a Netherland Dwarf to my family. I am getting a little frustrated. I have spent hours each afternoon since I got her, yet she still will not come close enough so that i can even touch her. If i even move, she freaks out and has to run as far away from me as possible! I have even tried having a handful of yogurt drops, but she still is very hesitant to come near me. Is this typical and is there anything I can do that will help her trust me? Any tips would be so helpful!