user 13875
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A question for the rabbit owners out there.
I've had a Netherland Dwarf for about a year now. We got her as a baby. Back then she was quite timid, but that's pretty normal for rabbits. I posted up here for advice on how to bond with her, and got some pretty good tips.
However over the course of the year, not only has she not gotten any more friendly or affectionate, she's remained really hostile and aggressive in general. When she's out and about, she's not scared of people in the least, she will walk by then and not care. however she will wander around digging, and if you walk by occasionally stamp her foot and pounce on your feet. Very territorial behavior.
The only time she will respond is when you give her food. She'll happily take it off you, then grunt at you as if to say "ok, you've given me my food, now get lost."
We've spent so much time trying to bond with it, reading up in books and on the net about what to do, however nothing has worked and she's just as impersonal as ever. We had her spayed about a month ago, firstly for health reasons but also to try and have her calm down, but that hasn't changed anything either.
I went to the pet shop today to buy her some snacks she really likes, and while I was there I saw this other Netherland Dwarf in a cage, it was so friendly, came up to me and costantly nuzzled my hand, it was adorable. I came back home and gave my rabbit the afforementioned snacks. It took it from me then snarled at me to go away. I've owned animals of different kinds for more than 20 years now, and I've never shown any form of anger towards them, but seeing this behavior and thinking of that other rabbit I saw today, I slammed the cage, shouted at it and stormed off. I've never been so angry at an animal in all my life. I was just so frustrated at it's lack of reciprication I was at wits end.
I really don't know what to do anymore. I think of the rabbit as family, like any animal I've had, but for the first time today I really considered just giving it away, or worse, just releasing it into the local park or something. It made me really upset to think this way, but I have no idea what to do anymore.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
I've had a Netherland Dwarf for about a year now. We got her as a baby. Back then she was quite timid, but that's pretty normal for rabbits. I posted up here for advice on how to bond with her, and got some pretty good tips.
However over the course of the year, not only has she not gotten any more friendly or affectionate, she's remained really hostile and aggressive in general. When she's out and about, she's not scared of people in the least, she will walk by then and not care. however she will wander around digging, and if you walk by occasionally stamp her foot and pounce on your feet. Very territorial behavior.
The only time she will respond is when you give her food. She'll happily take it off you, then grunt at you as if to say "ok, you've given me my food, now get lost."
We've spent so much time trying to bond with it, reading up in books and on the net about what to do, however nothing has worked and she's just as impersonal as ever. We had her spayed about a month ago, firstly for health reasons but also to try and have her calm down, but that hasn't changed anything either.
I went to the pet shop today to buy her some snacks she really likes, and while I was there I saw this other Netherland Dwarf in a cage, it was so friendly, came up to me and costantly nuzzled my hand, it was adorable. I came back home and gave my rabbit the afforementioned snacks. It took it from me then snarled at me to go away. I've owned animals of different kinds for more than 20 years now, and I've never shown any form of anger towards them, but seeing this behavior and thinking of that other rabbit I saw today, I slammed the cage, shouted at it and stormed off. I've never been so angry at an animal in all my life. I was just so frustrated at it's lack of reciprication I was at wits end.
I really don't know what to do anymore. I think of the rabbit as family, like any animal I've had, but for the first time today I really considered just giving it away, or worse, just releasing it into the local park or something. It made me really upset to think this way, but I have no idea what to do anymore.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.