Curious. Do You Let Other People Hold Your Bun?

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agnesthelion

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Agnes does not mind being held at all..... By me of course :) I can pick her up and put her down with no problems.

Every time someone meets Agnes, they want to hold her. For some reason it makes me nervous! No one I know has had rabbits or even understands my obsession :) so I feel embarrassed to tell them no, she doesn't like it OR that it makes me nervous, but on the other hand when I hand her over I can see the discomfort in Agnes and worry she will kick and they will drop her....

So what do you all do?
 
Cookie doesn't like to held at all lol by anyone lol but he is very social and loves when we have company :) well, he loves everyone except my father inlaw hahaha not sure why but he thumps every time he is at our house lol
Anyway, we always let him out to visit with everyone when we have company and he will jump up in laps and get pets and such... But I don't let anyone grab him or try to pick him him up, simply because he doesn't like it... I mean he is our bunny and we only pick him up when we have to lol
I understand your being nervous... I always explain to our guests and family that bunnies are better enjoyed by observation :)
 
I understand your being nervous... I always explain to our guests and family that bunnies are better enjoyed by observation

^^^^that is a good way to say it. When people are in our house, I let her out and tell guests to just sit and see if she comes up to them. You can tell she defeinetely knows who I am and my son is.....she is pretty snooty when it comes to going up to people :)

Alot of times it's my neighbors when we are outside chatting and they say.."go get your bunny we want to see her" so I go get her and then everyone wants to hold her outside where there is no safe place to put her down. UHg, I hate it! Makes me nervous!
 
My rabbit gets so mad at me for picking her up and she will not sit in my lap. I get the impression that she thinks I should just know better and she blames me if someone else tries picking her up. I pick her up often just so she will allow me to look her over and trim her nails. Occassionally she will sit in my lap (only if I am eating veggies). She loves to sit in my husbands lap when she is in the mood. When we have company, she will sit on them too if they are sitting on the floor or couch. I find this very strange as she doesn't fit in laps, she needs the support of the floor or couch to sit in laps. She is very hard to hold and pick up because she weighs 22 lbs. My neighbor who is 6 years old can pick her up and sit with her???? She just loves this little girl and is very tolerant but it worries me. I prefer that no one pick her up when it comes down to it. I can see the distress in her even when she is being good. I take her to do pet therapy work and I do not allow anyone to pick her up for the safety of rabbit and human. I also struggle with people wanting to touch her nose (like when greeting a dog) and her ears. I think that some people are offended when I ask them to touch her back instead.
 
Hmm. Most people don't really ask to pick mine up! Whenever anyone asks to hold them, I have the person sit on the couch and then I put the bun on his/her lap. Never really put a lot of thought into why I do it that way, but it's because some bunnies get nervous when being held by a stranger and would do better on the couch (less kicking, less nervous, more willing to sit there and be petted). If someone wanted to stand there and hold one of my bunnies, I would only really let them hold Rory or Phoebe Mae. The others can get wiggly at times and I wouldn't want the person to drop my bun if they aren't used to holding rabbits.
 
Depends really. Sebi my daughter can lug around no issues but not a lap bunny. Pidge..noooo. murphy i wont let people hold, more fear shell squirm and fall and i have to make sure i dont move her arm in an awkward way bc it could damage more or hurt her
 
I don't let people I don't know handle or hold my rabbits. Most of them do not know how to handle rabbits. They are pet the rabbit while I hold them though.
There are few people who I will let handle my rabbits and even then it depends on the rabbit. Even in the rabbit hopping club there are members who I don't want to handle my rabbits.
 
Nancy McClelland wrote:
Nobody but the immediate family gets to pick up or hold ours. Just prefer it that way and don't have to worry about my babies as much.
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

Occasionally one of my sons' friends will ask to hold someone and I mention how they're not keen on being held but they can offer a raisin or cheerio instead and give them a pat. That usually goes over well. Kids and feeding cute animals treats go hand in hand. :)
 
Well I feel better that it's not unusual for me to have reservations about people holding Agnes. Now I just need to be more comfortable telling people no!!
 
I just look at it as..."If they drop my rabbit, will I regret the choice?" If the answer is yes, then I try to bite hindsight in the butt and avoid, avoid, avoid!

I don't let people pet my dog Troy either. There's always SOMEone that'll smell weird or move suddenly and I just never want to risk it. Appeasing someone isn't as high on my ladder as keeping my own safe and sound, you know?

It's hard saying no to people. We're brought up to be polite. Be strong! :)
 
SO true, sammy!

I'm just a worry wart by nature so I struggle with my own self (all the time, not just on this) on if my concern is actually a valid one OR if I'm overreacting like I tend to do 99% of the time...lol

That's why it helps to know I'm NOT weird by worrying about this.....:)
 
Bunny hardly let's me pick him up, and I don't think my husband has successfully ever gotten him off the floor! It's funny though, because when I took him to the vet, he had no problem picking him up and moving him around. I guess they just really know how to handle them!

Bunny is quite social too, and loves guests. But I just tell them he doesn't like to be picked up. It's just so tempting because he's so fluffyyy!!
 
If you are outside! NO WAY! Wuld I let anyone else hold the bun... What if they dropped her or she jumped out of their arms! She could get hurt or just run off...

I would just politely say, she is safe in my arms, but feel free to pet her :) if they don't like that then they don't need to see her :)

She is yours you have the right to decide who holds her... Just like if you had your human baby in the grocery store and a stranger asked to hold her... I doubt you would say sure here ya go! Lol well, I know I wouldn't ;)
 
Olivia doesnt really let anybody hold her except me and occasionally my daughter. I let people pe her but the minute she gets distressed I simply say " she has had enough, i dont want her to bite you" That usually gets people to leave her alone. One time I was at the vet and these 2 little kids wanted to pet her so I let them (I was holding her). Olivia grunted at them and I told them she was getting angry and she didnt want to be messed with. Their mother got so mad at me and actually called me rude for not letting them pet her. She told me if I didnt want anyone to pet her then she needed to be in her carrier. Let me tell you, I got very upset and told her that it was none of her business and if Olivia bit one of her kids, she would blame it on me because I didnt stop it from happening. And i asked her that if my rabbit had a heart attack because she was stressed because of her kids, would she be paying for the bill....needless to say, she shut her mouth quick.
 
Thanks guys :) I'm gonna stand my ground from now on. And yes Liz , agree with your concerns! It freaks me out!! I think people see her fluffiness and first response is to hold her.

No more!! I'm putting my foot down!
 
nope- Oreo he doesnt like being even touched by anyone other than me. Trigger- I can pick her up now but when I go to put her back in her cage she scratches. I do let people pet her when i am holding her though. When i had Chex anyone could hold her. She is very cuddly but when you go to put her down she scratches a little. I just got a message from her old owners saying she loves sitting on her lap and doesnt let the other bunny share,haha.
 
Maybe a better option is to tell them "She isn't keen on being held, but if you squat down on the floor you can see her fluffiness better and might be able to even pet her!" I'm a total animal person, I would throw myself on the floor and wait patiently haha.
 
Harriet doesn't like to be held, so I strongly discourage it. The only people I don't stop are my best friend and her boyfriend (Harriet's god parents) but they don't pick her up often.

I tell people to sit on the ground and let Harriet come to them. As long as you don't try to pick her up, she loves pets.
 
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